All citizens are given the right to a fair jury trial, because the defendant is innocent until proven guilty. What if I said, there are studies that show that cases can be won or lost based on the jury selection, would you believe me? What if I said, that demographics about the jurors like their ethnicity, age, gender and other variables could determine the outcome of a trial, would you believe me? The purpose of a jury
Jury Trial Analysis Paper Introduction Today juries are important part in the criminal justice system and in our court rooms. They deliver a fair and a reasonable verdict in each case to the court. There are several methods within the jury selection which can be used to choose people to serve as a juror. The citizens provide great feedback to their community and it also gives back as well. What is a jury Trial A jury trial is when someone has been charged with criminal offenses but they also have that constitutional right to a trial by jury as well.
Brittney Pope Kyle Evans Intro to Criminal Justice 29 November 2012 All about Juries Have you ever wondered what the purpose of a jury is and where it all started at? Well the idea of jurors started back in England as early as the year 1066. These jurors started off as neighborhood witnesses who passed judgment only on the basis of their morals. According to Justice Byron White, “a jury is to guard against the exercise of arbitrary power to make available the commonsense judgment of the community as a hedge against the over-zealous or mistaken prosecutor and in preference to the professional or perhaps over conditioned or biased response of a judge. Juries were started to establish some justification for the people as stated in the constitution,”
The Magistrate also heard evidence from the defendants’ legal agent 3. for consideration. Prosecutors’ charges against the defendant were proven, and the defendant is found guilty, without a conviction noted on the defendants’ criminal record, and a punishment at the Magistrates discretion, is then delivered by the Magistrate. The two police prosecutors sat opposite each other at the left end of the bar table, one having his back to the Magistrate. Their role was to present the evidence against the defendant to the Magistrate, and the charges that the defendant had been charged with, and under what section they had been charged, and at times withdrawing charges after consultation with the defendants’ legal agent. I observed the police prosecutors consulting the defendants’ legal agent on many occasions discussing alternatives to a prison sentence and what the prosecutors felt was fair in way of punishment for this defendant.
Plea Bargains Andrea Dennis-Hart September 23, 2009 Tony Stroud A plea bargain according to Black’s Law Dictionary is the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge (Black, 1991, p. 798). Many plea bargains need to get the approval of the court, but some may not be; this is when prosecutors may drop charges in exchange for a guilty plea. There are different forms of plea bargains. All involves some form of sentence reduction.
The Courtroom and the Courthouse Batisha Branner CJA/373 August 25, 2010 William Rice A law enforcement officer role in the courtroom is very important to the prosecutors because Law enforcement officers have direct crime scene experience and can testify about their conversations with the defendant. If an officer receives a confession or if the defendant has provided the officer with incriminating information than the prosecutor can use that information against the defendant in court. The law enforcement officers can also be cross examined by the defense counsel. Police officers also can testify about evidence that they have collected at a crime scene that can incriminate the defendant. In some cases the law enforcement officer role in a courtroom can be to just to keep peace, and order in the courtroom.
The prosecutor will try the actual case, make sentence recommendations, upon the defendant being found guilty, and represent the government in appellate court, should an appeal be filed. The burden of proof rests on the shoulders of the prosecution. The prosecution must prove to twelve jury members, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant committed that crime.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin-Cengage. Judgment notwithstanding the Verdict is also called judgment non obstante veredicto. This is usually called at the end of a jury trial. We use this in our court systems in which at the conclusion of a civil trial the judge may be asked to overrule the decision given by the jury. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_notwithstanding_verdict Most of the time this is not granted but the judge.
Today’s legal system has different elements and parts to a crime improving where it can be conducted out by the individual or individuals who committed the crime. The American legal system due process can be described as a set of legal proceedings ratified by the state or by the government to protect an individual’s rights and liberties. This process allows the accused individual to go through a court proceeding to prove his or her guilt or innocence. This process also allows the supposed offender the right to a fair and public trial. It also gives him or her right to be at the trial and to have the right to have an impartial jury.
After the attacks Congress passed the U.S.A Patriot law to increase investigations on terrorist (Wilson, 2009). In 2004 Rusui v. Bush and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld placed limits on the government ability to detain individuals as terrorists; detainees must have access to neutral courts. In summary, the American legal system has evolved over hundreds of years of historical events, landmark cases and applications of our constitution. Our current system of law has its origins in England’s writ of Habeas corpus and Bill of Rights. Due process is essential component to providing citizens protection against government abuses of power.