general goals of the court system provide for an open and impartial forum for seeking the truth ...
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General goals of the court system Provide for an open and impartial forum
for seeking the truth Provide for a fair and equitable hearing
using established due process rules Insure that the process takes place in an
atmosphere of legal competence and objectivity
Provide a clear legal outcome
Without courts (lawyers, judges), law has no legs: the law is not self-executing
The rights guaranteed under the Constitution against government overreach depend on courts being willing to protect them E.g., habeas corpus petitions (“produce the
body”) E.g., can “terrorists” be imprisoned without
access to courts?
All court systems are hierarchies of jurisdiction State, federal, tribal court hierarchies Different powers, functions, and
occupational priorities for different courts
Original (limited, general) and appellate (intermediate, last resort) jurisdictions
Each court is a system Judge, prosecutor, defense, clerks, probation, police
form a “working group” which participates in decision-making
The court working group often seeks to “work things out” among the participants.
The use of plea negotiations and other nonjudicial alternatives to “work things out” is more common than a formal trial process.
The working group exists because participants need to work together over long periods of time
The “worth of a case” is the basic working norm for informal decision-making
Courts have a heavy work load Differences between ideal and real
(remember the wedding cake model)Discretion sometimes results in
disparityFunding problemsTechnology as a way of dealing with
heavy work loads (e.g., calendaring, jury pools)
Overcrowded docketsAssembly-line justice –at the lowest
level of the wedding cakeToo many incentives to plead guilty
and to plea bargainToo few jury trialsSpeedy trials are unattainable
State courts Every state has its own court system No two are alike Some states still have local courts
staffed by amateurs on a part time bases (e.g. village courts in New York)
Deal with variety of cases ranging from homicide to property maintenance
Courts of limited jurisdiction The work horses of the criminal justice
system About 13,500 exist Organized at municipal or county level Restricted in types of cases they hear May be restricted to civil or criminal cases Dispose of minor cases – may do
preliminary activities for some felonies Sentencing options restricted
Specialty courts Juvenile, family, and probate courts Courts to combat specific problems ▪ Drug courts, adults, and juveniles▪ Mental health courts▪ IRS court
Courts of general jurisdiction Around 2,000 in the U.S. Hear serious felony cases Civil cases with damages over a
specified amount Appeals from lower courts▪ Review of transcript▪ Trial de novo
Appellate courts Each state has at least one level of appellate
courts.▪ Highest state court, usually called the “State Supreme
Court”
Court reconsiders a case that has been tried in order to determine whether the measures used complied with accepted rules of criminal procedure and were in line with constitutional doctrines
Appeal is not a new trial Can order a new trial, overturn lower court
decision, or uphold original verdict
Federal courts Legal basis for these courts found in
Article 3, sec. 1, of U.S. Constitution Jurisdiction over laws of U.S. and treaties Maritime jurisdiction Over controversies between 2 or more
states 3-tiered hierarch of court jurisdiction▪ U.S. District Courts▪ U.S. Courts of Appeals ▪ U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. district courts Trial courts of the federal system Organized by Congress in the Judicial Act of
1789 Jurisdiction over violations of federal law, i.e.
civil rights violations, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles and kidnappings
May hear inter-state lawsuits or cases where federal government is a party to the suit
Jurisdiction may overlap that of state courts
U.S. courts of appeals Organized into 13 judicial circuits Hear 40,000 appeals from district courts each
year Empowered to review federal and state
appellate court cases when there is a federal issue present
Do not retry the case or review the facts – only matters of procedure and substance of the law
Current attempts to limit the right of appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court Nation’s highest appellate body – court of last
resort for all cases tried in federal and state courts
Only federal court mentioned in the Constitution
Nine justices appointed for life (good behavior) by the President with approval of Congress
Court has discretion to choose which cases it will hear
Supreme Court process Most appeals to Supreme Court first
evaluated by clerks working for justices Most cases (90 percent) are brought to the
court by using a writ of certiorari▪ 4 of the 9 justices must vote to hear the case
If the Court decides to hear a case, it reviews legal briefs and may hear oral arguments
May decide to affirm or reverse the decision of the lower court
Decisions become precedent
State courts handle about one hundred million new cases each year including: 20 million civil and domestic cases 15 million criminal cases 2 million juvenile cases 57 million traffic and ordinance
violations
Federal courts even though smaller, are equally burdened Over 320,000 cases filed each year in
District Courts▪ Criminal cases increased 55 percent since
1994 Circuit Courts hear more than 60,000
appeals per year▪ In 1969 they heard only 10,000 appeals
Causes of court congestion Rapidly increasing populations outpace growth
in court system People like to sue each other Aggressive attempts to lower crime rate result in
more prosecutions Complexity of the law and advances in
technology Legal reform efforts may require more trials Frivolous lawsuits Lazy judges
Official roles: Political: campaign for election (if
elected); think ahead Administrative: manage and supervise
court personnel, resources, can have extensive control over probation officers and court clerk
Legal: ▪ Issue warrants▪ Decisions in preliminary hearings – bind over or
not▪ Make bail decisions▪ agree to plea-bargains▪ request PSIs (pre-sentence reports)
Primary duty is to oversee the trial process Ensures appropriate conduct Guides selection of juries and instructs on their roles
during trial Settles questions of evidence and procedure – deals
with motions Guides questioning of witnesses Responsible for jury instructions after case is
presented Decides case in bench trials Determines the sentence (except in capital
cases)
Informal roles Maintain good relations with court working
group Use discretion guided by legal requirements Personal sense of justice in sentencing Worry about appeals and being overturned Exert influence over police and prosecutors Decisions may shape social policy
Judicial qualifications Qualification vary by state Typical qualifications are:▪ Resident of the state▪ Between 25 and 70 years of age▪ Member of state bar licensed to practice law▪ Lower courts may not require law degree
Judicial selection systems Appointment Popular election Nonpartisan election Missouri Plan ▪ Judicial nominating commission▪ Appointed by governor from commission’s list▪ Retention election
The prosecutor May be called district attorney, county
attorney, state’s attorney, or U.S. attorney depending on the level of government and jurisdiction
Responsible for representing the public in criminal trials
Around 2,400 state court prosecutors offices Employ 65,000 attorneys, investigators, and
support staff
Types of prosecutors U.S. Attorneys – appointed by the
President Federal prosecutors are professional civil
service employees State and county levels, attorney
general, and district attorney are chief prosecutorial officers
Political appointees or elected
General duties Provide advice to law enforcement officers
during investigations Represents the state during pretrial plea
negotiations, motions, evidence, and bail hearings
Represents the state at other hearings, criminal trials, and appeals
Legal advisor to county commissioners and other elected officials
Implementation of special programs
Administrator: manage the office Informal: interact with working group Legal Evaluate the case file Decide to take the case forward or not Conduct the case if go forward
Strategy and tactics Sentencing recommendations
Prosecutors have a great deal of discretion
Evaluate case files Strong or weak case: factual, legal,
political? Decision Options: ▪ Go forward and charge the defendant to court:
indictment or information▪ – dismiss case, about 50 percent of the time▪ Plea bargain the case
May leave decision to charge someone with minor crime primarily to police discretion
Charge construction: ▪ converting facts into a legal case▪ same facts can be used to construct different
charges or cases▪ charge construction will determine the level of
punishment if guilty
Legal issues influencing prosecutorial discretion on cases Quality of police work and amount of relevant
evidence Legal weaknesses in the case Seriousness of offense Defendant’s prior arrest record Danger to community
Victim issues influencing prosecutorial discretion Attitude and behavior of the victim Reluctance of victim to press charges
Extra legal/resource issues influencing prosecutorial discretion Offenders’ race, gender, and ethnicity Cost of the prosecution to the system Availability of alternatives Interest group’s influence causes to
focus on particular types of offenses Fear of losing case – political
ramifications
The role of prosecutorial discretion Can prevent unnecessarily rigid
implementation of criminal law Humanize operation of criminal justice
system Imposes professional judgments and the
sense of the court working group on the processing of cases
Too much discretion can lead to abuse Prosecutors have their own perspectives
Types of prosecutorial misconduct overcharging a case to be able to plea-bargain later making disruptive statements in court failure to adhere to sentence recommendations
pursuant to a plea bargain represented a criminal defendant currently under
prosecution making public statements harmful to the office withholding evidence, non-discovery Knowingly using false or manufactured evidence to
gain conviction using power in vindictive manner to punish
defendants who insist on exercising their constitutional rights
Integral part of adversarial systemRequired to uphold integrity of the
legal professionMust observe and provide zealous
defense within boundaries of law
Courts do not require assistance of counsel for accused in: Pre-indictment lineups Booking procedures Grand jury investigations Appeals beyond first review Disciplinary proceedings in correctional
institutions Post-release revocation hearings
Roles of the defense Protect rights of client Argue for client’s side in plea bargaining
and trials Conduct effective trial strategy, lay
grounds for appeal Duties of defense
How far to go to protect client? Ethical concerns: balancing rights of client
with public safety and justice
Legal services for poor people Gideon v. Wainwright Argersinger v. Hamlin Public defender systems Assigned counsel systems Contract systems Private attorneys, pro bono or hired▪ Most do not practice criminal law▪ Debate over effectiveness of private
attorneys versus attorneys provided by state
Strickland v. Washington Inadequate and incompetent counsel
Refuse to meet with client Fail to cross-examine witnesses Fail to investigate case Poor advice to client Conflict of interest between
codefendants’ counsel Sleeping during trial
Administrative Office Act, 1939States have been slow to apply court
management principles All states now have some form of court
administration
Computers allow courts to fulfill many functions more efficiently Maintain case history and statistical reporting Monitor and schedule cases Prepare documents Index cases Issues summonses Notify witnesses, attorneys, and others of
required appearances Select and notify jurors Prepare and administer budgets
Developing areas of court technology Communications Videoconferencing Evidence presentation Case management Internet utilization Information sharing Cameras in court