Rights during and after Trial

Question 1

What evidence must a prosecutor disclose to a criminal defendant?

Answer 1

All material, exculpatory evidence

“Brady rule”

Question 2

What is a defendant’s right regarding the judge?

Answer 2

Right to an unbaised judge

• No financial stake in the outcome of the case
• No actual malice towards the defendant

Question 3

What are a defendant’s rights regarding the jury?

Answer 3

Right to a fair** and **impartial jury

Right to jury trial

• when a** sentence of more than 6 months is authorized**

Right to at least 6 jurors on a jury

• unanimous if 6 jurors
• need not be unanimous if 12 jurors

Right to have the jury pool represent a cross section of the community

• requires that the pool from which the jury is drawn represents a cross-section

Peremptory challenges must not** be on account of **race or gender

Right to confront adverse witnesses under the Confrontation Clause of the 6th Amendment

• not applicable where face-to-face confrontation would contravene important public policy concerns

Question 4

What is a defendant’s rights concerning his counsel?

Answer 4

Right to effective assistance of counsel

In proving ineffective assistance, defendant must show:

• counsel’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness–errors so serious that he was not functioning as counsel (must point to specific deficiencies); and
• but for the deficiency, the outcome of the trial would have been different

NOTE: this is an incredibly difficult showing, and a defendant is not likely to prevail

Question 5

What is the standard and procedure in taking a defendant’s guilty plea?

Answer 5

A valid guilty plea must be:

• voluntary; and
• intelligent

The judge must conduct a colloquy in open court and on the record:

• the nature of the charges, including the required elements of the charged offense; and
• the consequences of the plea

A defendant may withdraw a guilty plea after sentencing only if:

• the plea is involuntary–defect in the plea-taking colloquy
• jurisdictional defect
• defendant prevails on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel; or
• prosecutor fails to fulfill terms of the plea bargain

Question 6

What is the standard on punishment?

Answer 6

The 8th Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment

• punishments that are grossly disproportionate to the seriousness of the offense committed

NOTE: a sentence may be increased beyond the statutory maximum for a crime if

• additional facts are proved
• facts must be submitted to the jury and
• proved beyond a reasonable doubt

Question 7

What are the Constitution’s limits on the death penalty?

Answer 7

A criminal statute must not create an automatic category** for the imposition of the **death penalty

Jurors** **must** be allowed to **consider all potentially mitigating evidence

8th Amendment prohibits the death penalty against:

• defendants with mental retardation;
• defendants who are presently insane;
• defendants who were under the age of 18 when the relevant offense occurred

NOTE: 8th Amendment also prohibits life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for defendants under the age of 18 at the time the relevant offense occurred

Question 8

What is double jeopardy?

Answer 8

“nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb by the same sovereign”

Question 9

When does jeopardy attach?

Answer 9

In a jury trial**, when the **jury is sworn

In a bench trial**, when the **first witness is sworn

For a guilty plea**, when the **court accepts the defendant’s plea unconditionally

NOTE: double jeopardy does not apply to civil proceedings

Question 10

What does the same offense requirement entail?

Answer 10

Two offenses are not the same offense for the purposes of double jeopardy if each contains an element the other does not

Greater and Lesser-Included:

• Prosecution for the greater offense precludes later prosecution for the lesser-included offense
• Prosecution for the lesser-included offense also precludes later prosecution for the greater offense

Question 11

What does the same sovereign requirement entail?

Answer 11

State and federal** government is **not the same sovereign

Different state** governments are **not the same sovereign

States** and **municipalities** within those states **ARE the same sovereign

Question 12

What are the exceptions to the deouble jeopardy clause?

Answer 12

A hung jury

Mistrial for manifest necessity

Successful appeal

• unless the reversal on appeal was based on insufficiency of the evidence

Breach of the plea agreement by the defendant