Trial Procedures & Rights Flashcards
Bail Hearing
Right to individualized hearing
No constitutional right to bail
Bail is to secure presence in court
Where appropriate it may not be excessive.
Grand Jury Indictment
Not an adversarial proceeding
investigative tool
no right to counsel or right to be present.
Prosecution has no obligation to present clearly exculpatory evidence.
No Miranda Warning necessary
Witnesses may assert right against self incrimination
Plea Bargaining
Plea of guilty is the strongest form of proof known in the law.
May be convicted on plea alone
plea must be voluntary and intelligent
Plea will waive right to trial, right to confrontation, and right to process, therefore court must determine waiver is inteligent and voluntary
Alford Plea
Defendant pleads guilty without admitting guilt
requires other evidence to be admitted to the record to support courts finding of guilt
Right to speedy trial
guaranteed by 6th amendment.
Remedy is dismissal with prejudice
Clock begins to run when D is accused or arrested and held to answer.
Interest served by right to speedy trial
Accuracy and unnecessary pre-trial stigma
Test for Speedy Trial Factors
- Length of delay - more than 1 year can trigger inquiry
- Reason for delay - good reason is one P has no control of; bad is failure of due diligence by P
- Demand for speedy trial - failure to do so may indicate D did not indicate
- Delay results in Prejudice to D
3 types
3 Types of Prejudice
Anxiety
Excessive Incarceration
Degradation of evidence reducing accuracy of fact finding process
Discovery
Violates due process to fail to disclose evidence that is favorable and material
Favorable Disclosure Trigger
Defense makes request - any evidence that would be helpful is favorable
Defense makes no request - only evidence clearly exculpatory
Material - Disclosure Standard
Failure to disclose favorable evidence
D is entitled to a new trial if evidence was also material
Material evidence would have created a reasonable probability of a different outcome.
Disclosure prior to plea bargaining
Disclosure requirement is prior to trial, not plea bargaining
Destruction of Evidence
Will violate due process only where defendant can show bad faith.
Negligent handling of evidence is insufficient to violate due process.
Guarantees of a fair trial
Right to counsel attaches at all stages of proceeding
Imprisonment and right to counsel
A defendant may not be imprisoned for any offense,
regardless of classification
without assistance of counsel
Absent waiver
Trigger for Free Counsel
Actual Result - not potential result
Right to EFFECTIVE counsel
effective counsel is presumed.
To prove ineffectiveness of counsel
D must prove
1. counsel was ineffective
performance fell below a minimum standard of lawyer conduct
2. Based on the totality of the circumstances an effective lawyer would have achieved a different result.
Jury Trial
Right to jury trial attaches where D faces a potential sentence greater than 6 months.
Triggered by potential result, not actual result.
Makeup of Jury
Righty to jury pool that reflects fair cross section of the community
If a distinct group was systematically excluded from the pool
Right to new trial
Exclusion of jurors
party making preemptory challenge of prospective minority jurors will be required to offer a race or gender neutral basis for the challenge
if unpersuasive it will be denied.
Confrontation
6th amendment provides defendant with right to confront witnesses and evidence against him
triggered only by testimonial evidence
Adversarial Testing
Testimonial evidence must be provided under oath and subject to cross examination
Double jeapoardy
Intended to prevent undue harassment and expense
eliminates risk of defendant being placed in jeopardy more than once for the same offense
Double Jeopardy attaches in a non-jury trial
When first witness is sworn and court begins to hear evidence
Double Jeopardy attaches in a jury trial when
when the jury is impanelled and sworn
Not a grand jury
Grand jury’s failure to indict will not trigger double jeopardy.
Same offense
2 Crimes arising out of the same transaction are considered the same offense UNLESS
- Each charge requires proof of a separate factual element
Separate Sovereignties Doctrine
Double jeopardy does not prevent prosecution by separate sovereigns
Defendant may be tried in state court and federal court.
