Jury Trial Analysis Outline Taylor Drake CJA 364 April 21, 2014 Roderick Shelton Jury Trial Analysis Outline I. Introduction A. When a crime has occurred and a person or persons are arrested, the criminal process begins. B. After booking, the accused will have an initial appearance where right to counsel is applied and the defendant will be notified of why they are being detained.
A judge has five basic tasks, first making sure that order is maintained throughout the courtroom and throughout the trial. Second is determining if evidence provided by either party is admissible. Third before a trial begins the judge gives the jury instructions about the law and how the laws apply to the case. Fourth during a bench trial the judge must determine the facts and decide the case. The fifth task is to sentence convicted criminals.
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.
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.
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 key difference between these two models is that the crime control model is much more harsh and unrelenting; it emphasizes controlling crime via punishing suspects while the due process model emphasizes careful examination to ensure less innocent people are unjustly convicted. The crime control model places an emphasis on "placing as few restrictions as possible on the ability of law enforcement officers to make discretionary decisions in apprehending criminals"(Gaines). Under this model, courts would be more willing to convict offenders, even with an absence of compelling evidence. For example, a court would be more willing to accept a police officer's account of a homicide without careful cross-examination under the crime control model in order to repress crime. In contrast, the due process model emphasizes "protecting the rights of the accused through formal, legal restraints on the police, courts, and corrections" (Gaines).
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.
Addressing: Week 4 Individual Work Assignment Samantha Bailey Everest College CJE-1600-32 Criminal Investigations Professor Stevie Hayes November 22, 2012 1. Discuss the differences between the terms interview and interrogation. The definitions interviewing and interrogation are as follows: Interview- “is questioning people who are not suspects in a crime but who know something about it or the people involved.” (Hess Orthmann & Hess, 2013). Interrogation- “is questioning those suspected of direct or indirect involvement in a crime.” (Hess Orthmann & Hess, 2013). As you can see by the definition, there are big differences between interview and interrogation.
Criminal Justice System in America Joseph Dye CJA/204 12 March 2012 Mr. James Smith Criminal Justice System in America Crime – Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse. (Criminal Justice Today, 2009 pg. 7) The criminal justice system in America is comprised of three main categories; Police, courts, and corrections. Each has a role to play in the safety of the public and how people interact with each other on daily basis. There is also a process by which each of these departments must conduct and govern themselves with in their own and as a group together.