Courtroom Standards Analysis July 30th, 2012 CJA/484 Criminal Justice Administration Capstone David Mailloux Courtroom Standards The courtroom is made up of individuals that are aware of the law to a point and that can make decisions on putting an accused offender away for a criminal act he or she has committed. These individuals consist of judges, attorneys, victims, the accused, and other courtroom personnel. This paper will go over each type of individual involved in a courtroom setting and his or her role. Judges and Witnesses Judges have many responsibilities such as interpreting the law, taking in evidence throughout the case; judges also determine how the hearing and trials unfold while in the courtroom. A judge has five basic tasks, first making sure that order is maintained throughout the courtroom and throughout the trial.
Going before a grand jury is favorable to the prosecutor because the jury only hears what the prosecutor has to say and will then deliberate whether the case should go to trial or not. Before a preliminary hearing ever occurs the prosecutor has to file a complaint within forty-eight hours following the defendant’s arrest. At the preliminary hearing, the hearing judge will seek to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the defendant committed it. All of the witnesses are brought to the court and the defense will cross examine the witnesses. During the hearing the defense will motion to suppress any evidence against them that could lead to a guilty plea.
Denise and Mercedes Background/Review of the Literature: A description of what has already known about this area and short discussion of why the background studies are not sufficient. Summarize what is already known about the field. Include a summary of the basic background information on the topic gleaned from your literature review (you can include information from the book and class, but the bulk should be outside sources) Plea Bargaining is a widely known form of plea and is known as "the process whereby the accused and 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." Plea bargaining usually occurs prior to a trial but in some cases may occur anytime before a verdict is rendered.
The courtroom workgroup consists of the participants that work for the court. The Courtroom Work Group is a group that is comprised of the Judge, Prosecutor, Defense Attorneys, Claimants and Defendants. The roles of the individuals in the Courtroom Work Group are to work together to successfully prosecute criminal cases. This group interacts on a daily basis with all having a mutual goal in mind of production to close the case and put the guilty parties away. In Courtroom Work Groups the defendant are already presumed to be guilty and the rest of the group work together to come to an agreement on the sentencing rather than to actually serve justice.
A prosecutor presents evidence to prove that the defendant is guilty of the crime and the defense attorney tries to prove that the defendant is not guilty. They ensure that the defendant’s side of the story is heard, counteracts overcharging by the prosecution, and to supply their client with the best defense possible including: “providing legal counsel to client, arguing for legal innocence (not necessarily factual innocence), searching out violations of the defendant’s rights, and arguing for reduced penalties in some cases” (Meyer & Grant, p. 144). A prosecutor is paid by the state and cannot be hired, like a defense attorney, by an individual. They are hired by the public to punish those who commit crimes, in order to
Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response Misty Moore, Victoria Hardin and Elizabeth Ortiz CJA/224 September 19, 2011 Rick Rice Courtroom Discretion Q&A Response What is prosecutorial discretion? When a crime happens evidence is gathered, witnesses are found and a case file is established all the information. Due to an overabundance of case files, prosecutors review each file and which will be brought to trial. When there is enough evidence to convince the prosecutor the person suspected of committing the crime is guilty without a reasonable doubt, he or she will pursue the case to trial. Many decisions pertaining to a case going to trial and how actively they pursue the case are left up to prosecutors and how they view the evidence and what the evidence means to them.
Standing on both sides of the judge were the court officers; to the left of the judge was the jury box but there was no jury instead two defendant were sitting there with bright orange outfits on. The first row of the courtroom was reserved. The courtroom workgroup was separate but yet seem very close; they worked together to get the task accomplished. In the American courtroom the actors are there to play out the guilt or innocence of the defendant and to judge the truth (Levenson, 02/2008). The defendant charges.
The judge sits on the bench and is typically a prominent attorney or member of the Adult Felony Division who volunteers time to support the project. The jury is made up of a combination of students serving jury obligations and student community service volunteers. They are sworn in before the proceedings begin. The offender is placed on the witness stand, with a microphone, and is asked questions by both the prosecution and the defense. Each side recommends a punishment and the jury leaves to deliberate a verdict.
At the preliminary hearing, it is determined if there is probable cause. Either the state prosecutor or a grand jury decides whether the case goes forward. If it does, the defendant is arraigned. They are again notified of their rights and asked to enter a plea. Adjudication (trial, basically) occurs to determine guilt or innocence.
This hearing also allows the prosecutor the chance to assess the strength of the evidence and the defense to council to assess the strength of the prosecution’s case. From here the prosecutor may seek to file an information, a formal written accusation, with the court to continue the case or an indictment by grand jury may need