Courtroom Standards Analysis July 30th, 2012 CJA/484 Criminal Justice Administration Capstone David Mailloux Courtroom Standards The courtroom is made up of individuals that are aware of the law to a point and that can make decisions on putting an accused offender away for a criminal act he or she has committed. These individuals consist of judges, attorneys, victims, the accused, and other courtroom personnel. This paper will go over each type of individual involved in a courtroom setting and his or her role. Judges and Witnesses Judges have many responsibilities such as interpreting the law, taking in evidence throughout the case; judges also determine how the hearing and trials unfold while in the courtroom. A judge has five basic tasks, first making sure that order is maintained throughout the courtroom and throughout the trial.
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.
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.
It goes by the assumption that punishment should fit the crime. A successful outcome of punishment is deterrence. Public access to records is mandatory and all court proceedings are available to the public. In the criminal justice system defendants are placed on trial which is based on legal facts. All defendants have the right to apply for bail or bond and have a constitutional right to a trial by a jury of their peers.
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.
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. C. Depending on the type of crime being evaluated, temporary release or detainment is determined based on Eighth Amendment Rights. D. Thesis- All citizens, guilty and innocent, are guaranteed the right to fair and speedy trials when they enter the criminal process. II. Beginning The Trial Process A.
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.
| Court History and Purpose | [Type the document subtitle] | | Evelyn Diaz | May 27, 2013 | | The United States Court System has a very important part in American Criminal Justice. People are in and out of court every day for different reasons ranging from something a simple dispute to capital murder. It does not matter what the case everyone has a right to his or her day in court. The court in turn has to make a fair and binding decision in response to the presented facts. Its role is to fulfill what the fore fathers wanted when they added the Bill of Rights to the Constitution.
This could be avoided if more caution was observed during the investigation process. Proper and accurate evidence should be the key to solving all investigations. An important piece of evidence is an eyewitness. Anyone can say he did it or she did it, but an eyewitness has to actually be at the scene of the crime and witness it taking place in order to stand and testify in a court of law as defined in The Oxford Dictionary.(“eyewitness”). Everyone has different features even if we are of the same race.
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.