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![Page 1: Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense. Overview General goals of the court system Provide for an open and impartial forum for seeking the truth Provide.](https://reader035.fdocuments.net/reader035/viewer/2022062305/5697c00e1a28abf838cc9dca/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Courts, Prosecution, and
the Defense
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OverviewGeneral goals of the court system
Provide for an open and impartial forum for seeking the truth
Provide for a fair and equitable hearing using established due process rules
Insure that the process takes place in an atmosphere of legal competence and objectivity
Provide a clear legal outcome
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The Importance of CourtsWithout courts (lawyers, judges), law
has no legs: the law is not self-executingThe rights guaranteed under the
Constitution against government overreach depend on courts being willing to protect themE.g., habeas corpus petitions (“produce the
body”)E.g., can “terrorists” be imprisoned without
access to courts?
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The Structure of CourtsAll court systems are hierarchies of
jurisdictionState, federal, tribal court hierarchiesDifferent powers, functions, and occupational
priorities for different courtsOriginal (limited, general) and appellate
(intermediate, last resort) jurisdictions
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The Informal Structure of CourtsEach court is a system Judge, prosecutor, defense, clerks, probation, police
form a “working group” which participates in decision-making
The court working group often seeks to “work things out” among the participants.
The use of plea negotiations and other nonjudicial alternatives to “work things out” is more common than a formal trial process.
The working group exists because participants need to work together over long periods of time
The “worth of a case” is the basic working norm for informal decision-making
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Overview (cont.)Courts have a heavy work load
Differences between ideal and real (remember the wedding cake model)
Discretion sometimes results in disparityFunding problemsTechnology as a way of dealing with heavy
work loads (e.g., calendaring, jury pools)
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The Criminal Court ProcessCriticisms of the CourtsOvercrowded docketsAssembly-line justice –at the lowest level of
the wedding cakeToo many incentives to plead guilty and to
plea bargainToo few jury trialsSpeedy trials are unattainable
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A Model State Court System
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The Criminal Court ProcessState courts
Every state has its own court systemNo two are alikeSome states still have local courts staffed by
amateurs on a part time bases (e.g. village courts in New York)
Deal with variety of cases ranging from homicide to property maintenance
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The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Courts of limited jurisdiction
The work horses of the criminal justice system
About 13,500 existOrganized at municipal or county levelRestricted in types of cases they hearMay be restricted to civil or criminal casesDispose of minor cases – may do preliminary
activities for some feloniesSentencing options restricted
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The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Specialty courts
Juvenile, family, and probate courtsCourts to combat specific problems
Drug courts, adults, and juvenilesMental health courtsIRS court
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The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Courts of general jurisdiction
Around 2,000 in the U.S.Hear serious felony casesCivil cases with damages over a specified
amountAppeals from lower courts
Review of transcriptTrial de novo
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The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Appellate courts
Each state has at least one level of appellate courts.Highest state court, usually called the “State Supreme
Court”Court reconsiders a case that has been tried in
order to determine whether the measures used complied with accepted rules of criminal procedure and were in line with constitutional doctrines
Appeal is not a new trialCan order a new trial, overturn lower court
decision, or uphold original verdict
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Federal CourtsFederal courts
Legal basis for these courts found in Article 3, sec. 1, of U.S. Constitution
Jurisdiction over laws of U.S. and treatiesMaritime jurisdictionOver controversies between 2 or more states3-tiered hierarch of court jurisdiction
U.S. District CourtsU.S. Courts of Appeals U.S. Supreme Court
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The Federal Court System
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Federal Courts (cont.)U.S. district courts
Trial courts of the federal systemOrganized by Congress in the Judicial Act of
1789Jurisdiction over violations of federal law, i.e.
civil rights violations, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles and kidnappings
May hear inter-state lawsuits or cases where federal government is a party to the suit
Jurisdiction may overlap that of state courts
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Federal Courts (cont.)U.S. courts of appeals
Organized into 13 judicial circuitsHear 40,000 appeals from district courts
each yearEmpowered to review federal and state
appellate court cases when there is a federal issue present
Do not retry the case or review the facts – only matters of procedure and substance of the law
Current attempts to limit the right of appeal
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Federal Courts (cont.)The U.S. Supreme Court
Nation’s highest appellate body – court of last resort for all cases tried in federal and state courts
Only federal court mentioned in the Constitution
Nine justices appointed for life (good behavior) by the President with approval of Congress
Court has discretion to choose which cases it will hear
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Federal Courts (cont.)Supreme Court process
Most appeals to Supreme Court first evaluated by clerks working for justices
Most cases (90 percent) are brought to the court by using a writ of certiorari4 of the 9 justices must vote to hear the case
If the Court decides to hear a case, it reviews legal briefs and may hear oral arguments
May decide to affirm or reverse the decision of the lower court
Decisions become precedent
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Federal and State Court CaseloadsState courts handle about one hundred
million new cases each year including:20 million civil and domestic cases15 million criminal cases2 million juvenile cases57 million traffic and ordinance violations
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Federal and State Court Caseloads (cont.)Federal courts even though smaller, are
equally burdenedOver 320,000 cases filed each year in District
CourtsCriminal cases increased 55 percent since 1994
Circuit Courts hear more than 60,000 appeals per yearIn 1969 they heard only 10,000 appeals
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Federal and State Court Caseloads (cont.)Causes of court congestion
Rapidly increasing populations outpace growth in court system
People like to sue each otherAggressive attempts to lower crime rate
result in more prosecutionsComplexity of the law and advances in
technologyLegal reform efforts may require more trialsFrivolous lawsuitsLazy judges
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The Jobs of JudgesOfficial roles:
Political: campaign for election (if elected); think ahead
Administrative: manage and supervise court personnel, resources, can have extensive control over probation officers and court clerk
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The Jobs of Judges, contLegal:
Issue warrantsDecisions in preliminary hearings – bind over
or notMake bail decisionsagree to plea-bargainsrequest PSIs (pre-sentence reports)
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The Jobs of Judges (cont.)Primary duty is to oversee the trial process
Ensures appropriate conductGuides selection of juries and instructs on their roles
during trialSettles questions of evidence and procedure – deals
with motionsGuides questioning of witnessesResponsible for jury instructions after case is
presented
Decides case in bench trialsDetermines the sentence (except in capital
cases)
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The Jobs of Judges (cont.)Informal roles
Maintain good relations with court working group
Use discretion guided by legal requirementsPersonal sense of justice in sentencingWorry about appeals and being overturnedExert influence over police and prosecutorsDecisions may shape social policy
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How to Become a JudgeJudicial qualifications
Qualification vary by stateTypical qualifications are:
Resident of the stateBetween 25 and 70 years of ageMember of state bar licensed to practice law
Lower courts may not require law degree
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How to Become a Judge (cont.)Judicial selection systems
AppointmentPopular electionNonpartisan electionMissouri Plan
Judicial nominating commissionAppointed by governor from commission’s listRetention election
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The ProsecutorThe prosecutor
May be called district attorney, county attorney, state’s attorney, or U.S. attorney depending on the level of government and jurisdiction
Responsible for representing the public in criminal trials
Around 2,400 state court prosecutors offices
Employ 65,000 attorneys, investigators, and support staff
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ProsecutorsTypes of prosecutors
U.S. Attorneys – appointed by the President Federal prosecutors are professional civil
service employeesState and county levels, attorney general,
and district attorney are chief prosecutorial officers
Political appointees or elected
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The Jobs of ProsecutorsGeneral duties
Provide advice to law enforcement officers during investigations
Represents the state during pretrial plea negotiations, motions, evidence, and bail hearings
Represents the state at other hearings, criminal trials, and appeals
Legal advisor to county commissioners and other elected officials
Implementation of special programs
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The Jobs of Prosecutors (cont.)Administrator: manage the officeInformal: interact with working groupLegalEvaluate the case fileDecide to take the case forward or
notConduct the case if go forward
Strategy and tacticsSentencing recommendations
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Prosecutorial DiscretionProsecutors have a great deal of
discretionEvaluate case files
Strong or weak case: factual, legal, political?
Decision Options: Go forward and charge the defendant to
court: indictment or information– dismiss case, about 50 percent of the timePlea bargain the case
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Jobs of Prosecutors (cont.)May leave decision to charge someone
with minor crime primarily to police discretion
Charge construction: converting facts into a legal casesame facts can be used to construct different
charges or casescharge construction will determine the level
of punishment if guilty
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Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)Legal issues influencing prosecutorial
discretion on casesQuality of police work and amount of relevant
evidenceLegal weaknesses in the caseSeriousness of offenseDefendant’s prior arrest recordDanger to community
Victim issues influencing prosecutorial discretionAttitude and behavior of the victimReluctance of victim to press charges
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Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)Extra legal/resource issues influencing
prosecutorial discretionOffenders’ race, gender, and ethnicityCost of the prosecution to the systemAvailability of alternativesInterest group’s influence causes to focus on
particular types of offensesFear of losing case – political ramifications
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Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)The role of prosecutorial discretion
Can prevent unnecessarily rigid implementation of criminal law
Humanize operation of criminal justice system
Imposes professional judgments and the sense of the court working group on the processing of cases
Too much discretion can lead to abuseProsecutors have their own perspectives
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Judicial Selection Systems (cont.)Types of prosecutorial misconduct
overcharging a case to be able to plea-bargain latermaking disruptive statements in courtfailure to adhere to sentence recommendations
pursuant to a plea bargainrepresented a criminal defendant currently under
prosecutionmaking public statements harmful to the officewithholding evidence, non-discoveryKnowingly using false or manufactured evidence to
gain convictionusing power in vindictive manner to punish defendants
who insist on exercising their constitutional rights
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The Defense AttorneyIntegral part of adversarial systemRequired to uphold integrity of the legal
professionMust observe and provide zealous defense
within boundaries of law
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The Defense Attorney (cont.)Courts do not require assistance of counsel
for accused in:Pre-indictment lineupsBooking proceduresGrand jury investigationsAppeals beyond first reviewDisciplinary proceedings in correctional
institutionsPost-release revocation hearings
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The Jobs of Defense AttorneysRoles of the defense
Protect rights of clientArgue for client’s side in plea bargaining
and trialsConduct effective trial strategy, lay
grounds for appealDuties of defense
How far to go to protect client?Ethical concerns: balancing rights of
client with public safety and justice
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The Right to CounselLegal services for poor people
Gideon v. WainwrightArgersinger v. HamlinPublic defender systemsAssigned counsel systemsContract systemsPrivate attorneys, pro bono or hired
Most do not practice criminal lawDebate over effectiveness of private attorneys
versus attorneys provided by state
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The Competence of Defense AttorneysStrickland v. WashingtonInadequate and incompetent counsel
Refuse to meet with clientFail to cross-examine witnessesFail to investigate casePoor advice to clientConflict of interest between codefendants’
counselSleeping during trial
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Court AdministrationAdministrative Office Act, 1939States have been slow to apply court
management principlesAll states now have some form of court
administration
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Court Administration (cont.)Computers allow courts to fulfill many
functions more efficientlyMaintain case history and statistical reportingMonitor and schedule casesPrepare documentsIndex casesIssues summonsesNotify witnesses, attorneys, and others of
required appearancesSelect and notify jurorsPrepare and administer budgets
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Court Administration (cont.)Developing areas of court technology
CommunicationsVideoconferencingEvidence presentationCase managementInternet utilizationInformation sharingCameras in court
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