Witnesses are present in the courtroom to give testimonies about facts pertaining to the case. Witnesses can be present to help the accused proving his or her innocence or they could be there to make sure the accused punishment fits the crime they have committed. Witnesses fall into three categories; plaintiff’s witnesses, government’s
Beginning The Trial Process A. Before a trial takes place the preliminary hearing occurs where the prosecution must provide enough proof to take the case to trial. 1. The proof needed is probable cause 2. The judge will determine if the prosecution of defense has a stronger argument B.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
| The 5th stage of a criminal trial process known as the closing arguments is often the most important stage, especially in cases that are of tight tolerances that make it hard for the jury to predict an outcome. This stage then becomes the final stage as the attorney’s attempt to persuade the jury to derive a verdict in favor of their client. The following document describes the process of the closing arguments and how strict legal guidelines must be followed in an attempt not to convince the jury in any way that would mislead them in a verdict. In the conclusion of the document an example of how such unethical conduct from attorneys toward the jury and the effect of such conduct have on the court case. As attorneys attempt to proceed with the closing arguments, it is important that the summarization of the case along with all pieces of evidence be presented in a strong persuasive manner that shows validity based on the elements of the case and should be given in a precise organized way.
Once the jurors have received the instructions from the judge, as a group they think through the case, which is he jury known as “deliberation” This is when the jurors make an effort in finding the suspect guilty or not guilty of the acts executed. Every juror must take part in the attaining the verdict. This being the first time the jury has been permitted to talk over the case. This process can last from a few hours to several weeks---when the verdict is reached the foreperson notifies the judge with a signed form, who in turn reveals the verdict in open court (Zalman, 2011).To find a suspect either “guilty” or “not guilty: it has to be a unanimous vote. If the jurors cannot get a unanimous vote in some states it is known as a “hung jury,” with the consequences being a “mistrial” whereas the prosecution might set a new court date and go thru the process again from the beginning (Zalman, 2011).
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