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.
The judge will determine if the prosecution of defense has a stronger argument B. Defendants are released if enough evidence is not provided at preliminary hearing III. Arraignment A. Defendants are formally charged with the crime they are being held for B. The defendant enters a plea 1.
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. This can be described as prosecutorial discretion. How does this affect the prosecutor and overall case flow in the criminal court system? Prosecutorial discretion puts an abundance of pressure on the prosecutors and their roles in the courts. The prosecution must without a reasonable doubt prove the defendant is responsible for committing the crime.
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
With the information it is formal, written accusation submitted to a court by a prosecutor, alleging that a specified person has committed a specified offense. The indictment it is a formal, written accusation submitted to the court by a grand jury, alleging that a specified person has committed a specified offense, usually a felony. After you have the indictment sometimes you go in front of the grand jury. Then you go for your arraignment it is the first appearance of the defendant before the court that has the authority to conduct a trial. A trial is a criminal proceeding that examines in the court of the issues of fact and relevant law in a case for the purpose of convicting or acquitting the defendant.
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.
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.
Therefore, by having sufficient evidence this would be enough to convict a criminal in the court of law. Crime control is based on handling crimes that occur with a quick and effective outcome. For example if the prosecutor does not have strong evidence to receive a conviction there is a slight chance the offender’s case will get dismissed. Therefore, emphasizing the capacity to arrest, and convict a high proportion of offenders in other words put the criminal in jail first and question later. However, with the “due process an individual is allowed their day in court if suspected of a crime because of United States constitution.
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.
It is services like this that help provide due process of law. These services ensure that a person accused of a crime is not unfairly deprived of his or her freedom. The due process does not only apply to people who are accused of crimes before being sentenced to prison, it also applies to people who are already incarcerated. If an inmate is in jeopardy of disciplinary action, which could lead to the