Module 3: Courts

Courts and Adjudication and Judges

Adversarial vs. Inquisitorial Process

Adversarial - the judge takes a referee type position between the defense vs. the prosecution (Due Process Model)

Inquisitorial - the judge engages in the process by asking questions and will in turn decide how the case will turn out

Federal vs. State Court System

State Cases: answering questions that deal with state or local laws

Federal Cases: answering questions that deal with federal laws as well as issues from state courts that have federal questions

State courts have the greater caseload because violations of state laws are more frequent than violations of federal laws

Both state and federal courts have supreme courts ("the court of last resort")

John Roberts is the Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court

Problem Solving Courts

Drug Court - inclusion of nonviolent, low level, first time offenders

Veterans Court

Mental Health Court

Domestic Violence Court

Original vs. Appellate

Original - where the case is first viewed/entered into the court system

Appellate - if case is appealed, cases will move to this court

Limited vs. General

Limited - traffic court, family court, and inheritance/estate settlement

General - felonies, fraud, bankruptcy, and so-called "white collar crimes"

Judges

Who are judges?

Largely Caucasian males

Federal Courts - 12% African American, 8% Hispanic, 2% Asian or Pacific Islander

State Courts - 7% African American, 4% Hispanic, 2% Asian or Pacific Islander, <1% Native American

Functions

Adjudicator

makes difficult decisions

Vary between what is permitted into the court to whether a plea is reasonable to what the verdict may be

Negotiator

Referee

Administrator

Lead administrator of a specific court

How to become a Judge

Partisan Election

Affiliated with a political party

Nonpartisan Election

Not affiliated with a political party

May be registered as a Republican or Democrat

Merit Selection

Nominated by committee; appointed by governor for a term

At expiration of term, retention election

Not running against anyone else

If not re-elected, new nomination by committee

Prosecution and Defense

Prosecutors

Types

Local prosecuting attorneys

State attorney general

US attorneys

Roles

Trial counsel for police

House counsel for police

Representative of the court

Doesn't necessarily represent the victim but represents the community/city as a whole

Elected official

Key Relationships

Police

Victims

Judges/courts

Coummunity

Defense attorneys

Fairly good working relationship as well as personal realtionship

People who have different tasks to preform within the system

Example: Fast food - the people in the kitchen and the cashiers are doing different jobs but they have to work together to get anything done

Pleas

What does a plea include?

The sentencing aka proposed punishment

The charges involved

When does a plea get taken off the table?

the day before the trial, usually some sort of agreement is reached, or the plea is taken

Defense

Private attorney

Indigent defense - if you can't afford a lawyer, one will be provided

Assigned

Public defender

Contract

Roaster of lawyers who are willing to take on this role

Certain firms/lawyers contract that they will take a certain number of cases

Government funded defense

Right to Counsel

6th Amendment right for those who risk imprisonment

Gideon v. Wainwright - provision in state court

Miranda v. Arizona - before being question

Ross v. Moffitt - not entitled for discretionary appeals if first is unsuccessful

Typical Actions of a Defense Attorney Processing a Felony Case

Police Station

Courtroom Work Group

Local legal culture

Shared values and expectations of participants

"going rates"

Consistency

Initial appearance

Preliminary hearing

Arraignment

Pretrial

Trial

Sentencing

Appeal

Provide advice during interrogations, ensure constitutional rights are not violated, counsel accused during booking, seek pretrial release, determine facts of case from police records

Appear with accused before judge; seek pretrial release, challenge basis for arrest

Challenge prosecutor's stand that probable cause exists, seek bail reduction if client not released, discover evidence held by prosecutor, counsel defendant as to nature of case, discuss case with prosecutor

Learn charges listed in indictment or information, advise client as to plea, discuss plea bargain with prosecutor

Develop appropriate basis for appeal, request that client be released pending appeal

File a "motion to suppress evidence" or "motion to dismiss charges", help client decide whether or not to take plea bargain

Change plea from not guilty to guilty as result of bargain or assume adversarial stance in jury selection and presentation of defense*

Mitigate the damage, lessen the conviction punishment, prepare client for expected outcome, urge lenient sentence

The Pleas, Trial and Appeal

The Plea

Allows for conviction in cases that may be questionable if they go to trial

Legal Issues

Boykin v. Alabama: voluntary

Boykin form - checklist with signature that ensures that the individual going through the process understands what they are being charges with and that pleading guilty is voluntary

Missouri v. Frye

Must inform of plea - ineffective counsel (6th amendment

North Carolina v. Alford

Alford Plea - taking the plea (taking the punishment) but don't admit guilt for the crime

Pleas without bargaining

"implicit plea bargaining"

evidence is strong

no question of fact

Agreement on appropriate charge, evidence, punishment

Pleas with bargaining

Negotiation process

Multiple offense and level of offense

Threat of jury trial

Delay

"if I delay this case long enough, will the witnesses still want to come forth?"

The Trial

Bench trial

Judge is fact finder and determines issues of law

Emotional or legally difficult cases

The impartial person - weighing the law higher than the emotional stance of the case

Jury

14 total people on the jury but only 12 are active

Trial Process

Jury selection

Opening statements

Presentations of evidence

Rebuttal

Closing arguements

Instructions to jury

Deliberation decision

Types of Evidence

Direct evidence

Circumstantial evidence

Demonstrative evidence

Weapons, diagrams, fingerprints

Eyewitness accounts and testimonies

The Appeal

Based upon claim of error in law or procedure during process

not a question of guilt/innocence

States decide majority of appeals

Few result in acquittal

Writs of habeas corpus

Whether lawfully detained, if claim of constitutional rights violation

Acquittal - a judgment that a person is not guilty of the crime with which the person has been charged.

Typical Actions of a Prosecuting Attorney is Processing a Felony Case

Arraignment

Pretrial

Preliminary hearing

Trial

Initial appearance

Sentencing

Investigation and arrest

Appeal

Assist police with preparation of search and arrest warrants, receive case file and screen to determine if prosecution should proceed, advise police on evidence needed

As attorney for government, inform court and accused of charges, usually seek high bail for accused, may drop case by entering nolle prosequi

Establish prima facie case, may nolle prosequi, oppose bail reduction, discuss case with defense

Present charges against accused through indictment or information, acknowledge defendant's plea, continue plea bargain discussions

Prepare case for trial by gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses; oppose pretrial motions filed by defense, accept plea bargain

Respond in court to defendant's change of plea to guilty by reducing charges or take an adversarial stance in jury selection and prove state's case beyond reasonable doubt

Recommend and justify sentence

Prepare argument to counter appeal filed by defense

Additional Vocabulary

Count - Each separate offense of which a person is accused in an indictment or an information

Discovery - a prosecutor's pretrial disclosure to the defense of facts and evidence to be introduced at trial

Nolle Prosequi - an entry, made by a prosecutor on the record of a case and announced in court, indicating that the charges specified will not be prosecuted. In effect, the charges are thereby dismissed

Motion - an application to a court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specific action

Citation - a written order or summons, issued by a law enforcement officer, directing an alleged offender to appear in court at a specific time to answer a criminal charge

Preventive Detention - holding a defendant for trial, based on a judge's finding that if the defendant were released on bail, he or she would endanger the safety of any other person and the community or would flee

Release on Recognizance - pretrial release granted on the defendant's promise to appear in court because the judge believes that the defendant's ties to the community guarantee that she or he will appear

Voir Dire - a questioning of prospective jurors to screen out people the attorneys think might be biased or otherwise incapable of delivering a fair verdict

Reasonable Doubt - the standard used by a jury to decide if the prosecution has provided enough evidence for a conviction

Punishment and Sentencing

Link to Module I and Module II

Goals of Punishment

Retribution - Deserved Punishment

punishment inflicted on a person who has harmed others and so deserves to be penalized

General Deterrence

punishment of criminals that is intended to be an example to the general public and to discourage the commission of offenses

Specific Deterrence

punishment inflicted on criminals to discourage them from committing future crimes

Incapacitation

depriving an offender of the ability to commit crimes against society, usually by detaining the offender in prison

Selective Incapacitation

making the best use of expensive and limited prison space by targeting for incarceration those individuals whose incapacitation will do the most to reduce crime in society

Rehabilitation

the goal of restoring a convicted offender to a constructive place in society through some form of vocational or educational training or therapy

Restorative Justice

punishment designed to repair the damage done to the victim and community by an offender's criminal act

Forms of the Criminal Sanction

Incarceration

Presumptive Sentence - sentence for which the legislature or a commission sets a minimum and a maximum range of months or years. Judges are to fix the length of the sentence within that range, allowing for special circumstances

Earned Time - reduction in a prisoner's sentence as a reward for participation in educational or other rehabilitation programs and for work assignments such as disaster relief and conservation projects

Determinate Sentences - a sentence that fixes the term of imprisonment at a specific period

Mandatory Sentences - sentence determined by statutes and requiring that a certain penalty be imposed and carried out for convicted offenders who meet certain criteria

Indeterminate Sentences - period set by a judge that specifies a minimum and a maximum time to be served in prison. Sometimes after the minimum, the offender may be eligible for parole

Good Time - reduction of an inmate's prison sentence, at the discretion of the prison administrator, for good behavior or participation in vocational, educational, or treatment programs

Truth in Sentencing - refers to laws that require offenders to serve a substantial proportion of their prison sentence before being released on parole

Intermediate Sanctions

variety of punishments that are more restrictive than traditional probation but less severe and less costly than incarceration

Probation

Based of off

1) Severity of the offense

2) the characteristics of the offender

3) the needs of the community

a sentence that the offender is allowed to serve under supervision in the community

Shock Probation - a sentence in which the offender is released after a short incarceration and re-sentenced to probation

Death

death penalty

The Sentencing Process

The Administrative Context of the Courts

Misdemeanor Court: Assembly-Line Justice

Felony Courts

Attitudes and Values of Judges

Blameworthiness

Protection of the community

Practical implications of the sentence

Presentence Report

report prepared by a probation officer, that presents a convicted offender's background and is used by the judge in selecting an appropriate sentence

Sentencing Guidelines

mechanism to indicate to judges the expected sanction for certain offenses, in order to reduce disparities in sentencing

Racial Disparities

Wrongful Convictions

Module I

Module II

Courts administer justice based off of the facts presented and what the judge/jury deems to be the most appropriate punishment

Alleged perpetrators are handled by the police in the court system as well.

The police make sure that these individuals are safe during trials as well as escort them to and from places

Police are active and involved within the court system

Courts make sure everyone is heard

One of the goals of criminal justice is to uphold justice and courts help with that