Test 3 Flashcards
What are the different types of courts and the kinds of cases they hear?
State Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (municipal, county, district, metropolitan)- Misdemeanors, small civil suits, and beginning of felony charges
State Courts of General Jurisdiction (felony, superior, supreme, county, and circuit)- felonies or more serious civil suits
State Appellate Courts- review the trial process
Federal District Courts (trial courts)- 94 courts that try violations of federal law (civil rights abuses, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles, and kidnappings), issues between states, or in which the federal government is a party
Federal Court of Appeals- Review trials and interpret laws
US Supreme Court- Highest appellate court in the US
Know the significance of the US Supreme Court and how it differs from all other levels/types of
courts
9 judges appointed by the president
Only hears certain cases for which it grants a writ of ceriorari (order for an inferior court records be inspected)
Must interpret the law/constitution
If it makes a landmark decision, the rule becomes precedent for lower courts
Rules by majority decision- both majority decisions and dissents are published
What are the duties of prosecutors?
Responsible for representing the public in criminal matters
Provides advice to law enforcement officers during investigation
Represents the state in plea negotiations, pretrial motions, bail hearings, hearings, criminal trials, and appeals
Acts as legal advisor to county commissioners and other elected officials
What are the duties of judges?
Senior officer in a court of criminal law
Primary duty is to oversee the trial process
Instruct jurors on which evidence is proper to examine and which should be ignored
When a jury trial is waived, in a bench trial, the judge must decide whether the defendant is guilty as charged
Controls and influences court agencies (probation, court clerk, police, DA’s office)
What are the duties of the defense attorney?
Counsel for the accused
Obligated to uphold the integrity of the legal profession and observe requirements of the Bar
What are the duties of a probation officer?
Monitor behavior of offenders
Usually assigned to a specific court through which they work
“Social workers” and “law enforcers”
Goals of Sentencing/Punishment
Deterrence (General and Specific)- General: People will not break the law for fear of getting caught and punished; Specific: Offenders will be encouraged not to repeat their offense to avoid the consequences
Incapacitation- Confinement of dangerous criminals to eliminate their risk to society
Retribution/Just Desert- Punishment of people who violate the rights of others because they deserve it
Rehabilitation- The strategy of applying proper treatment so an offender will present no further threat to society
Equity/Restitution- Criminals pay society/their victims back for their crimes
What is the underlying philosophy supporting probation?
“Most convicted criminals are neither dangerous nor a menace to society and can be reformed if given a second chance”
How and why are attorneys appointed to indigent defendants?
How: Public defender systems, assigned counsel systems (lawyer appointed by the court), contract systems (attorneys under contract with the court)
Relevant landmark cases about indigent defendants
Gideon v. Wainwright- state courts must provide counsel to indigent defendants in felony prosecutions
Argersinger v. Hamlin- State has an obligation to provide counsel in all cases where the penalty includes imprisonment
Types of Bail
Full cash bail- pays full amount
Deposit bail- posts a percentage of bail that is returned at trial
Surety bail- pays bail to bondsman who posts the full bain
Conditional bail- released based on obeying specific conditions
Unsecured bond- released without requiring to pay, must pay if they don’t show up
Release on recognizance- promise to show up at trial
What is the grand jury and what is an alternative to the grand jury?
Grand Jury- has the power to investigate and determine if there has possibly been criminal activity and whether or not an accusation justifies a trial. They issue an indictment or a no bill.
The alternative is a preliminary hearing where a person is charged in front of a judge.
Process for selecting jurors
- Potential jurors are randomly selected
- Venire (initial list of people/jury array) is chosen
- Clerk chooses enough names to serve as jurors and fill-ins
- Voir dire- jurors are questioned and chosen by the prosecutor and defense attorney who select jurors using challenges for cause and peremptory challenges
Differentiate between the methods of sentencing
Indeterminate sentences- “treatment fits the offender,” a range (light minimum to lengthy maximum) is given
Determinate sentences- the maximum allowed for a sentence is legislated, and the judge gives something less than or equal to that.
Concurrent sentences- a person only serves their longest sentence (if they are convicted of >1 crime) b/c all their sentences begin the same day and are served together
Consecutive sentences- a person serves all their sentences for all their crimes. One sentence begins when the previous one ends.
Major landmark cases regarding the death penalty
Furman v. Georgia- Ruled in 1972 that the way the death penalty was being implemented was cruel and unusual punishment
Gregg v. Georgia- (1976) Allowed the death penalty in cases where the person was convicted of at least one aggravated circumstance
Ring v. Arizona- Juries, not judges must send convicted murderers to death row
What are the steps involved in placing an offender on probation?
- Presentence Investigation (basis for sentencing)
- Intake- PO interviews convict as a way to settle the conditions
- Diagnosis/Risk Classification- PO analyzes the client’s character, attitude, behavior, age, employment status, drug history, prior record, and number of address changes and makes a decision about the level of supervision the person will have
- Supervision
- Treatment
Who is most/least likely to succeed on probation?
People who are married with children, have lived in the area for two or more years, and are adequately employed
Forms of intermediate sanctions
Fines, forfeiture, restitution (monetary or service), shock probation, split sentencing, intensive probation supervision, house arrest, electronic monitoring, residential community corrections, and day reporting centers
True bill v. No bill
True bill= indictment, No bill= indictment ignored
Aggravating and mitigating circumstances
Aggravating- they make it worse
Mitigating- they make it better/more justifiable
*Discuss the importance of prosecutorial discretion and use examples to illustrate three
factors affecting prosecutorial discretion.
Importance- screening out the weakest cases, reducing court cases
Factors- Legal issues: justice system characteristics, crime, criminal, victim, quality of police work and evidence, and seriousness of crime. Victim issues: victim cooperation. Extralegal issues: race, gender, ethnic background. Resource issues: availability of treatment/detention facilities, size of caseloads, available prosecutors.
*Briefly discuss three arguments for and three arguments against the death penalty.
For: Deterrence, moral correctness, proportionate to crime, reflects public opinion, error is unlikely
Against: Possibility of error, weak public support, little deterrent effect, bias in its implementation based on race, gender, and other factors, causes more crime (brutalization effect), cruel and inhuman, abandoned by most developed countries, expensive, morally wrong
An order of a superior court requesting that the record of an inferior court (or administrative body) be brought forward for review or inspection
Writ of ceriorari
