The prosecution must without a reasonable doubt prove the defendant is responsible for committing the crime. And in doing so must remain within the regulations of the courts. Sometimes the prosecution’s personal, ethical. Organizational, or political beliefs can becomea driving force into a trail which can have negative effects on the courts when misconduct occurs or mistakes are made. When misconduct or mistakes are made it can have very damaging effects on individuals and their lives, but also to the credibility of the criminal justice system.
2003. p. 114). The prosecutor’s main roles are to establishing that those guilty are prosecuted, and to determine which cases are weak and weed them out. Meyer & Grant (2003) state that, “ the tasks that prosecutors perform fall into three broad categories: planning and supervising the investigation phase of criminal and civil cases, case preparations, and responding to the issues related to appeals. The defense attorney’s role is to protect an individuals right when he or she has been accused of committing a crime, and to ensure that the individual is not prosecuted unjustly or falsely tried. 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.
Courtroom Participation Paper Katrina Bland CJA/224 April 30, 2012 Samyra Mosley Courtroom participants are the key factors in determining the results of civil and criminal cases. The key players involved with the court proceedings include jurors, prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses, victims, defendants, and judges. In addition, there other courtroom participants who assist in administrative and instructional objectives these additional courtroom participants are essential to the daily operations of the courtroom. Media attention and documentation is designed to courtroom reporters, interpreters, and speculators. It is important to acknowledge that it takes all of these participants to be active in order for the United States legal system to work efficiently.
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.
We must be sure that finding those answers are done ethically from the crime scene to trial. The Investigator Ethical Considerations From the moment the investigator gets a case professionalism, knowledge of laws and procedure is what has to be followed. If at any time the investigator became biased and used emotion instead of just facts of the case could be compromised. Remaining unbiased in either homicide or rape can be extremely difficult for even the most ethical investigators. Handling evidence properly is one of the most crucial points of any investigation.
Prosecutorial Discretion Prosecutors play very important roles in the courtroom. Prosecutors are granted the right by the courts to have discretion upon a case. Although, prosecutors are obligated to execute the law at both federal and state levels, they still hold the discretion of what charges to try and convict the defendant on. Prosecutors have a wide range of authority in the courts; therefore, the active prosecutor(s) must efficiently analyze any evidence being presented in a case in order to determine if the case will be strong enough to withhold a trial or even if the accused defendant is chargeable. In the case of Bordenkircher v. Hayes (1978), the court stated, “so long as the prosecutor has probable cause to believe that the accused committed an offense defined by statute, the decision whether or not to prosecute, and what charge to file or bring before a grand jury, generally rests entirely in his discretion.” Although there are many factors that come into play when a prosecutor is considering dismissing a case, the most prominent issues are state and federal resources, time, and investigative teams.
It is the responsibility of the judge to oversee all that goes on within the courtroom and ensure that rights are not violated as well as rule on each case that is put before them. The defense attorneys, prosecuting attorneys, and the public defenders, help paint a picture if you will for the judge of what happened. The judge then interprets the information he or she is given to determine guilt or innocence without bias ensuring that the accused receives a fair trial. The role of the Prosecutor
Basing on the above elucidation, one may deduce that eye witness testimony plays a fundamental role in the legal system. Moreover, eye witness frequently plays a vital role in uncovering the truth about a crime. The evidence they provide can be critical in identifying, charging and
They are certain key decisions that people who are being prosecuted have to make. One of the most important is how you plead. A plea is formal statement made on behalf of an accused person or made by the accused in court in response to the charge made against him (Martin, 2003). A plea can be vertical and horizontal. A vertical plea deal is based on whether the charges are reduced in their seriousness and a horizontal deal plea is their number.
A prosecutor is an administrator of justice and an officer of the court. This means that first and for most, a prosecutor must use objectivity and sound discretion in the performance of his or her duties. It is important to understand that the prosecutor, in any case, has two main objectives. Those objectives being to seek justice and to convict the person or persons that have committed a crime. Since a prosecutor is an officer of the court he or she is guided by the standards of professional conduct that are defined by the Bar association and must adhere to those traditions and ethical code of conduct.