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.
Prosecuting those who commit crimes is very important to the overall wellbeing of society and the citizens within society. Prosecuting and convicting criminals not only prevents them from committing another crime, it also serves as a deterrent to others that may be considering breaking the law. Many courts make up the judicial branch and these courts are responsible for applying laws made by the government. The courts are made up of courtroom workgroups that are the basis of the courts proceedings. The courtroom workgroup consists of the participants that work for the court.
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.
Prosecution vs. Defense Counsel Paper CJS 220 Prosecution vs. Defense Counsel Paper There are several differences in the roles of the defense counsel and a prosecutor. One of which is what they do and who they work for. The prosecutor works for the state and tries to convict the defense counsels client at all costs. The prosecutor also has the challenge of trying to get the state everything they want in the trial. The prosecutor also has the task of protecting the state in consumer related matters.
The Bill of Rights Introduction to Criminal Justice March 3, 2013 There are many legal rights that we have during a trial. This Bill of Rights provides certain rights to criminal defendants during trial. There are two aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system and they are the defendant is innocent until the prosecution can prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (NOLO: Law for All, 2013). Defendants have many other rights and here they will be discussed. The right to confront witnesses is stated that in the sixth amendment “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to be confronted with the witness against him.” They are allowed to participate in the accused’s trial process.
After that, if need be, the case is brought to prosecution. If the prosecution takes that case, then the case is put on trial. This is important because it shows just what the judicial part of government and the court part of the criminal justice system does, and why it is important. So the court systems job is to interpret the law and bring justice. The dual court system is a system in that there are state courts and federal courts.
The second is to determine whether any of the evidence that the parties want to use is illegal or improper. Third, before the jury begins its deliberations about the facts in the case, the judge gives the jury instructions about the law that applies to the case and the standards it must use in deciding the case. Fourth, in bench trials, the judge must also determine the facts and decide the case. The fifth is to sentence convicted criminal defendants. The Lawyers-The lawyers for each party will either be sitting at the counsel tables facing the bench or be speaking to the judge, a witness, or the jury.
In my example, this would include tracking down the suspect identified by the surveillance footage and apprehending the suspect. After being arrested, a preliminary hearing would take place. The
Ethical Considerations for the Investigator and Prosecutor in Homicide and Rape The investigator and prosecutor play very critical roles, roles that are only fairly fulfilled if all parties are as ethical as possible. Failing to act ethically can lose a case, set a criminal free or could even mean someone innocent going to prison. While ethics in every single type of case are important we are going to examine homicide and rape. Both homicide and rape leave the public hungry for answers. We must be sure that finding those answers are done ethically from the crime scene to trial.
Catching up with the text, investigation is the first step. Evidence is gathered and suspects are identified and the sequences of events are reconstructed. Next, an arrest warrant is issued by a judge. An arrest is made, during which defendant is advised of their “Miranda” rights. After arrest, comes booking.