Concept Map #3: The Courts
Courts & Adjucation
Pretrial Procedure, Plea Bargaining, & the Criminal Trial
Punishment & Sentencing
Function and Structure of Courts
Adversarial Process- Lawyers for each side represent their clients' best interests in presenting evidence and formulating arguments as a means to discover the truth and protect the rights of the defendants
Inquisitorial Process- Judge takes an active role in investigating the case and examining evidence by questioning witnesses
Jurisdiction- Geographic territory/legal boundaries within which control may be exercised; range of a court's authority
Appellate Courts- Courts that don't try criminal cases, but hear appeals of decisions of lower courts
Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction- Criminal courts with jurisdiction over all offenses, including felonies
Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction- Criminal courts with trial jurisdiction over misdemeanor cases and preliminary matters in felony cases
Judges
Partisan Election- Candidate openly affiliated with political parties are presented to voters for selection
Nonpartisan Election- Candidates' party affiliations aren't listed on ballet
Merit Selection- Reform plan by which judges are nominated by a committee and appointed by the governor for a given period. When term expires, voters (dis)approve the judge for a succeeding term. If disapproved, committee nominates a successor for governor's appointment.
Prosecutorial System
Prosecuting Attorney- Legal representative of the state with sole responsibility for bringing criminal charges
State Attorney General- Chief legal officer of a state, responsible for both civil and criminal matters
Count- Each separate offense of which a person is accused in an indictment or an info.
Discovery- Prosecutor's pretrial disclosure to the defense of facts and evidence to be introduced at trial
nolle prosequi- entry, made by a prosecutor on the record of a case and announced in court, indicating that the charges specified won't be prosecuted.
Accusatory Process- Series of events from the arrest of a suspect to the filing of a formal charge (through an indictment or info.) with the court
Defense Attorney
Defense Attorney- Lawyer who represents accused offenders and convicted offenders in their dealing with criminal justice
Assigned Counsel- Attorney in private practice assigned by court to represent an indigent.
Contract Counsel- Attorney in private practice who contracts with the government to represent all indigent defendants in a country during a set period of time and for a specified dollar amount
Public Defender- Attorney employed on a full-time, salaried basis by a public/private nonprofit organization to represent indigents
How the Courtroom Functions
Local Legal Culture- Norms shared by members of a court community as to how cases should be handled and how a participant should behave in the judicial process
Going Rate- Local court officials' shared view of the appropriate sentence for a given offense, the defendant's prior record, and other case characteristics
Continuance- Adjournment of a scheduled case until a later date
Work Group- Collection of individuals who interact in the workplace on a continuing basis, share goals, develop norms regarding how activities should be carried out, and eventually establish a network of roles, all of which differentiate the group from others and facilitate cooperation
Arrest To Trial/Plea
Arraignment-Court appearance of an accused person in which the charges are read and the accused, advised by a lawyer, pleads (not)guilty
Motion- Application to a court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specific action
Bail: Pretrial Release
Bail-Amount of $, specified by judge, to be paid as a condition of pretrial release to ensure that the accused will appear in court as required
Plea Bargaining
Citation- Written order/summons, issued by law enforcement officer, directing an alleged offender to appear in court at a specific time to answer a criminal charge
(ROR)- 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 (s)he will appear
% Bail- Defendants may deposit a % (usually 10%) of the full bail with the court. Full amount of bail is required if defendant fails to appear. % of bail is returned after disposition of case, court often retains 1% for administrative costs
Preventive Detention- Holding a defendant for trial, based on a judge's finding that if the defendant were released on bail, (s)he would endanger the safety of any other person and the community or would flee
U.S. v. Salerno & Cafero (1987)- Preventive Detention provisions of the Bail Reform Act of 1984 are upheld as a legitimate use of government power designed to prevent people from committing crimes while on bail
Santobello v. NY (1971)- Guilty plea rests on a promise of a prosecutor, promise must be fulfilled
Trial: Exceptional case
Bench Trials- Trails conducted by a judge who acts as fact finder and determines issues of law; no jury participates
Williams v. Florida (1970)- Juries of fewer than 12 members are constitutional
voir dire- Questioning of prospective jurors to screen out people the attorneys think might be biased or otherwise incapable of delivering fair verdict
Peremptory Challenge- Removal of a prospective juror without giving a reason
Challenge For Cause- Removal of a prospective juror by showing that (s)he has some bias or some other legal disability
Demonstrative Evidence- Evidence not based on witness testimony but that demonstrates info. relevant to crime, such as maps, x-rays, and photos
Direct Evidence- Eyewitness accounts
Testimony- Oral evidence provided by legally competent witness
Circumstantial Evidence- Evidence provided by a witness from which a jury must infer a fact
Habeas Corpus- Writ/judicial order requesting the release of a person being detained in jail, prison, or mental hospital.
Goals of Punishment
Retribution- Punishment inflicted on a person who has harmed others and so deserves to be penalized
General deterrence- Punishment of criminals that's 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- Goal of restoring convicted offender to a constructive place in society through some form of vocational or educational training therapy
Restorative Justice- Punishment designed to repair damage done to victim and community by an offender's criminal act
Forms of Criminal Sanction
Indeterminate Sentence- Period set by judge that specifies a min. and max. time to be served in prison.
Determinate Sentence- Sentence that fixes the term of imprisonment at a specific period
Mandatory Sentence- Sentence determined by statutes and requiring that a certain penalty be imposed and carried out for convicted offenders who meet certain criteria
Presumptive Sentence- Sentence for which legislature/commission sets a min. and max. range of months/years
Earned Time-Reduction in prisoner's sentence as reward for participation in educational or other rehabilitation programs and for work assignments such as disaster relief and conservation projects
Intermediate Sanction- Variety of punishments that are more restrictive than traditional probation but less severe and costly than incarceration
Shock Probation- Sentence in which offender is released after a short incarceration and re sentenced to probation
Presentence Report- Report, prepared by probation officer, presents convicted offender's background and is used by judge in selecting an appropriate sentence
Sentencing Guideline- Mechanism to indicate judges the expected sanction for certain offenses, in order to reduce disparities in sentencing