The occurrence of plea bargaining and pleading guilty even though the defendant professes his or her innocence is a rising and questionable phenomenon in the US court system. Pleas are sought to minimize sentence and the number of trials. (Mousseau, 2008) Pleading guilty typically comes with a “built-in incentive,” lessened sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. The defendant
There has been a negative impact on public safety, county jails and state prisons, judge & juror as well as the cost that will be seen by tax payers now and in the future. The Three Strikes Law The habitual offender legislation or better known as, The Three Strikes Law has brought about many different theories. Theories have ranged from a person’s physical attributes to the person’s social interactions as the causation of crime. Policies have ranged from harsh punishments, long incarcerations, incapacitation, rehabilitation, and probation in attempts to stifle the increase of criminal behavior. Recently, conservative theorists have rallied toward “get tough” laws because the consensus is that “criminals are beyond reform and must be incapacitated behind thick walls” (Lilly, et.
In this case, the judges decide whether the detention of the brought person is lawful or not lawful (Farell, 2010). The judges decide after hearing the case by listening to justifications from both the parties involved in the case. After hearing the case, the judges decide that whether the imprisonment of the inmate is lawful or not and whether he should be kept in custody for long or should be released. It is necessary to file a petition for Habeas Corpus, and this petition is filed either by the person who is being punished or by his relatives, family and friends who believe that the person is being punished wrongly for something that he has not done (Chemerinsky, 1987). Habeas Corpus is considered as an instrument or tool which helps on protecting and safeguarding individual freedom.
If juries continue to use jury nullification, it will result in a weakened democratic system. Racially based jury nullification is and has been a continuous debate for a long time now. Racially based jury nullification may be a benefit in addressing an unfair justice issue while sentencing someone. When it comes to proving that discrimination exists in terms of someone’s race and affects the severity and length of the sentence issued, this is when jury nullification benefits justice issues. If a jury fails or refuses to convict a defendant in a criminal trial even though there if proof of guilt, jury nullification takes place.
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.
2d 54 (1975) the United States Supreme Court mandated that persons arrested without a warrant and held by law enforcement must be given a preliminary hearing to determine if there is ‘probable cause.’ Probable cause means that there is reasonable ground exists by the arresting officer who believes in the facts, and a preliminary hearing or preliminary examination would decide whether a prudent person would believe that the suspect committed the offense in light of the facts. The Role of the Grand Jury There are some states that use a grand jury to determine if their case is strong enough to issue an indictment. However some people will request a preliminary hearing because it will allow them to hear the evidence that is against them, or the basis of the prosecutor’s case. Others will request a preliminary hearing to request a dismissal of the case, but in some cases there is typically a second appearance called a preliminary hearing. A preliminary hearing is also considered a preliminary examination; rule five (c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure and state rules of criminal procedure follow the same process.
If a person has two or more previous convictions for serious crimes, the three strikes provision applies for them. The defendants here are referred to as third strikers, and they fall in the category of ‘25 years to life’ in prison. The previous crime must be serious to qualify as a strike in both of the provisions (Domanick, 279). Most criminals in these provisions are not entitled to probation, and they should serve a prison term. To sentence a defendant under the two and three strikes provision, he or she must be convicted of a felony offense.
The court outlined the basic standards for determining competency due to this case. Milton Dusky, a 33 year old man, was charged with assisting in the rape of an underage female and kidnapping. He was clearly suffering from schizophrenia but was found Competent to Stand Trial and received a sentence of 45 years. On petition of writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court, the petitioner requested that his conviction be reversed on the grounds that he was not competent to stand trial at the time of the proceeding. Upon reviewing the evidence, the court decided to
Pretrial Defense Motions By: Rebecca Taylor Pretrial hearings take place after a defendant has had a preliminary hearing or a grand jury indictment. A defense attorney uses pretrial hearings to set boundaries on the prosecution during the trial stage. What evidence can be used, the types of arguments that can be made, and what witnesses may appear to testify ends up being based on what pretrial motions are made and whether they are permitted or rejected. There are a multitude of motions that a defense attorney may file, and a couple possible motions that a defense might propose during pretrial hearings are motions to suppress, motions in limine, and discovery of evidence. Motions to Suppress The most commonly used defense motion
This paper will compare and contrast the traditional and nontraditional litigation procedures. Litigation Litigation occurs when someone sues someone else for damages, money, etc. If a dispute cannot be settled out of court then the plaintiff will file a complaint with the court then a copy of the complaint is sent to the defendant. Both parties can choose to have representation or they can represent themselves. Pretrial litigation can be divided into four phrases: pleadings, discovery, dismissals and pretrial judgments and settlement conference.