criminal justice the courts: structure and participants chapter 9

Criminal Justice

The Courts:Structure and Participants

Chapter 9

© 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, IncUpper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved

Criminal Law

Civil Law

Civil Law:• Must be initiated by private parties.• Punishments include fines, or agreement to pay the defendant for injuries or damages.

• Defendant cannot be sentenced to jail or executed.

• Civil cases are named after the last names of the two parties (Smith v. Jones).

• Standard of proof is a preponderance of evidence.

Criminal Law:• Initiated by the criminal justice system.• Punishments can include fining, sentencing to imprisonment, and even execution.

• Government is the prosecutor, and the defendant is the name of the person being accused of the crime (State v. Smith).

• The standard of proof is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.


America’s Dual Court System

Two levels of U.S. Courts- 1.) federal & 2.)state.

• Dual system reflects the state’s need to retain judicial autonomy separate from the federal government.

• Most criminal cases originate within state courts.• The courts are responsible for both civil and criminal judicial oversight.• Most of the resources and time are taken up by civil cases.

Jurisdiction- refers to those cases in which it may exercise lawful authority

• Determined by statute or constitution

Original Jurisdiction

• authority of a court to hear or to act on a case from its beginning and to pass judgment on the law and the facts.

• …may be over a specific geographic area or over particular types of cases.

Appellate Jurisdiction

• authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court.



9.2Court of Last Resort(State Supreme Court)

Intermediate Appellate Court(s)(in 39 of 50 States)

Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction(Superior Courts, Circuit Courts, Courts of

Common Pleas, and—in New York—“Supreme Court”)

Probate Court(Wills, Guardianship,

Estates, Trusts)

Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction(“Lower Courts,” also called Misdemeanor Courts)

Justice of the Peace and Police

Magistrate’s Courts

District Courts or County Courts

Municipal and Magistrate’s

Courts

Traffic, Family, Juvenile, Gun,

Drug, and other Special Courts

Figure 7-2. A Typical State Court System.

The State Court System:


Federal Court System

FIGURE 9–1 The structure of the federal courts.


Federal Judiciary Act of 1789

3-Tier Model for Court System

• Trial courts of limited jurisdiction

• Trial courts of general jurisdiction

• Appellate courtsMost states today use the three-tiered structure.


State Trial Courts

Where criminal cases “begin.”

• Bail hearings

• Arraignments

• Enters pleas

• Conducts trials

• Sentences

Two types of trial courts:

• Courts of limited, or special, jurisdiction (lower courts)

• Courts of general jurisdiction


State Trial Courts: Courts of Limited & General Jurisdiction

Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Authorized to hear:

• Misdemeanors, family disputes, traffic violations, and small claims

• Rarely hold jury trials

• Do not maintain records of proceedings (just charge, plea, finding, and sentence)

• Less formal than higher courts

Courts of General Jurisdiction (high courts, circuit courts, or superior courts)

Formal courts that make full use of juries, witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys

Authorized to hear:

• Any criminal case

• Lower court appeals

– Trial de novo- “new trial”-cases that are retried on appeal


AppealsAppeal- requests by a defendant to a higher court asking it to review the

actions of a lower court.

Death penalty or life sentences are automatically appealed.

Appellate court reviews transcripts from lower trial courts and may allow both sides to make oral arguments.

Results

Most convictions are confirmed.

Some decisions are reversed and cases remanded.

Recourse may be to a state supreme court.

Generally, state supreme court is the court of last resort.

Cases can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court if they are based on a claimed violation of the defendant’s rights as guaranteed under federal law or the U. S. Constitution.


State Court Administrator’s Duties Prepare, present, oversee court system’s budget

Analyze case flow and determine allocation of personnel and how to streamline cases

Gather and present statistics

Serve as liaison between legislators and court

Develop and coordinate funding requests

Manage court personnel (promotions, benefits)

Coordinate plans to train judges and other personnel

Assign judges to judicial districts

Review payments to counsel for indigent defendants


The Federal Court System

Established by the U.S. Constitution

• Article III, Section 1

– “One Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”

Jurisdiction

• Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising under the Constitution, federal law, and treaties.

• Federal courts settle disputes between states and have jurisdiction in cases where one of the parties is a state.

Structure

Three Levels of Courts

• U.S. Supreme Court

• U.S. Courts of Appeals

• U.S. District Courts


U.S. District CourtsThere are 94 judicial districts

• At least 1 district court per state

• District courts in Puerto Rico, the

• District of Columbia, and other U.S. Territories

The trial courts of the federal system

Original jurisdiction over all cases involving alleged violations of federal statutes

District Court Judges

There are 650 district court judges.

• Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate

• Serve for life

District court judges are assisted by magistrate judges, who:

• Conduct arraignments

• Set bail

• Issue warrants

• Try minor offenders


U.S. Courts of Appeal: Circuit Courts

There are 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals

• The 94 judicial districts are organized into 12 regions (circuits), each with 1 Circuit Court.

• The Federal Circuit has 1 U.S. Court of Appeals.

• 167 appeals court judges

• Review cases on appeal from U. S. district courts and trial-level federal courts


U.S. Courts of Appeal: Circuit Courts

Have mandatory jurisdiction over decisions of appealed district court cases

Right to Appeal

The Constitution guarantees a right to appeal.

A defendant’s right to appeal, however, has been interpreted to mean the right to one appeal.

Therefore, the U.S. Supreme Court does not hear every appeal by defendants dissatisfied with the decision of a federal appeals court.


U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine justices:

• Eight Associate Justices & one Chief Justice

Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life.

U.S. Supreme Court members (2012):

• John G. Roberts, Jr. (Chief Justice)

• Antonin Scalia

• Anthony M. Kennedy

• Clarence Thomas

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• Stephen G. Breyer

• Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.

• Sonia Sotomayor

• Elena Kagan


Jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme CourtOriginal jurisdiction

• Limited

• Reserved for disputes between states and some cases of attorney disbarment

Appellate jurisdiction

• Reviews the decisions from U.S. Courts of Appeals and state supreme courts

Appeals—Of 5,000 annual requests for review, only about 200 are heard.

• “Rule of Four”- Four justices must vote in favor of a hearing for a case to be heard.

Usually the Court only reviews cases that involve a substantial federal question.

The Court issues a writ of certiorari to a lower court.

The Court reviews transcripts and hears brief oral arguments

writ of certiorari- order issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case.


Judicial Review

… the power of a court to review actions and decisions made by other agencies of government.

It is probably the U.S. Supreme Court’s greatest power.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)


Opinions of the Court

Supreme Court decisions are rarely unanimous.

Types of opinions:

• Majority—Justices agree in outcome and reasoning. This is the opinion of the court.

• Concurring—Agree with outcome, but for different reasons.

• Dissenting—Disagree with outcome.


Courtroom Participants

Professional (Courtroom Work Group)

• Judge

• Prosecuting attorney

• Defense attorney

• Bailiff

• Court reporter

• Clerk of the court

• Expert witnesses

Non-Professional (Outsiders)• Lay witnesses• Jurors• Defendant• Victim• Spectators • Press


Adversarial Process

…pits the interests of the state, represented by prosecutors, against the accused, represented by defense counsel, in a process constrained by procedural rules specified in law and by tradition.


The Judge

Primary duty to ensure justice

Responsibilities include:

• Ruling on most matters of the law

• Weighing objections

• Deciding the admissibility of evidence

• Sentencing offenders

• Disciplining disorderly courtroom attendees

• Deciding guilt or innocence (for bench trials)


The Judge

The chief judge handles administrative responsibilities if there is no court administrator.

The chief judge:

• Hires staff

• Ensures adequate training of new judges and staff

• Generally manages court operations


Judicial Selection

Federal Judges• Nominated by President

• Confirmed by senate

State Judges• Popular election• Gubernatorial appointment• Missouri Plan (combines

appointment and election)


Missouri Plan Non-partisan committee creates a list of possible candidates.

Final list sent to governor’s office.

The governor appoints from the list.

After a specified time period, the appointed judge stands for election.

http://indianacourts.us/times/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/selection-map.jpg


Judges: Qualifications

At general and appellate levels:

• Be a member of the state bar

• Be a licensed attorney

• Hold a law degree (in most states)

• Attend professional training

In some states, lower court judges may be elected without educational or other professional requirements.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Qualifications:

Ninguno (Spanish)

Aucun (French)

Nemo (Latin)

Никто (Russian)

NONE!! (English)


Prosecutor

Prosecutors can be elected or appointed.

• All but five states elect prosecutors.

• Prosecutors are elected for four-year terms.

• Five states and the federal government appoint their prosecutors.

Responsibilities

Present the state’s case against the defendant

• State has the burden of proof

o Supervise staff of assistant district attorneys

o Serve as quasi-legal advisor to police

o Files appeals on behalf of the state

o Makes presentations to parole boards


Prosecutorial Discretion

Prosecutor decides:

• Whether or not to charge someone with a crime

• Which charges are to be filed against the defendant

• Whether multiple charges should be filed together or separately

• When to schedule cases for trial

• Whether or not to accept a negotiated plea

• What evidence to present, including witnesses

• What sentencing recommendations to make

Brady v. Maryland (1963)- prosecutors must disclose any evidence directly related to guilt/innocence to the defense

Exculpatory evidence- evidence that tends to clear defendant of guilt/blame

U.S. v. Bagley (1985)- prosecutors must disclose any evidence the defense requests


The Prosecutor’s Professional Responsibility

Prosecutors are expected to abide by various standards of professional responsibility, such as those found in the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Standards.

Prosecutors are barred from advocating any fact or position they know is untrue.

Abuse of Discretion

Prosecutors may abuse their discretion by…

• Not prosecuting friends

• Accepting guilty pleas or reduced charges for personal consideration

• Overzealous prosecution to gain visibility for possible reelection

• Scheduling activities to make life difficult for defendants, in an attempt to put pressure on them to plead guilty Discrimination against minorities


Defense Counsel Represents the accused

Participates in plea negotiations

Prepares a defense

Calls witnesses

Refutes case presented by prosecutor

Presents arguments at time of sentencing

Files appeals


Three Major Categories of Defense Counsel1. Private attorney

(retainedcounsel)

• Have their own legal practices or work for law firms• Fees can be high

2. Court-assignedcounsel(assignedcounsel)

• Lawyers drawn from a roster of all practicing attorney• Fees are paid at a rate set by the government • Most widely used

3. Public defender • Relies on full-time salaried government staff


Criminal Defense of the Poor

The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the effective assistance of counsel.

Defendants who are unable to pay for private defense attorneys will receive adequate representation at all stages of criminal justice processing.

Waiving the Right to an Attorney

1% of federally charged defendants and 3% of state level defendants represent themselves.

Faretta v. California (1975)- Indigents are not required to accept counsel. They may waive their right and represent themselves

Change of venue- movement of trial to a new location


Courtroom Participants

Bailiff

Charged with ensuring order in the courtroom

Announces judge’s entry

Calls witnesses

Maintains control over the defendant if person has not been released on bail

Maintains physical custody of and supervises jury during deliberations and sequestering

Local Court Administrators

Many states employ court administrators:

• Facilitate the smooth running of courts in particular judicial districts

• Provide uniform court management


Courtroom Participants (cont’d)

Court Reporter, (stenographer) or court recorder, creates a written record of all court proceedings.

• Transcripts are necessary for appeals

Clerk of Court

• Maintaining all records of criminal cases and verdicts

• Preparing the jury pool and issuing jury summonses

• Subpoenaing witnesses

Subpoena- order requiring something/someone appear in court

• Marking physical evidence for identification at trial

• Swearing in witnesses

Expert Witness

• Have special knowledge and skills in an established profession or technical area. Usually, this person is paid to testify.

• Unlike lay witnesses, they may express opinions and draw conclusions in their testimony.


Courtroom Participants (cont’d)

Lay Witnesses- Non-expert witnesses.

• Eye witness

• Character witness

• Victim

• Are subpoenaed to testify to that which they have direct knowledge of.

Jurors

Article III of the U.S. Constitution

• “trial of all crimes…shall be by jury”

• States determine the number of jurors. Most use 12, plus 2 alternates.

• Jury duty…a civic responsibility

• Defendants have the right to have their cases heard before a jury of their peers.

• Peer juries are those composed of a representative cross section of the community.


Courtroom Participants (cont’d)Defendant- generally, they must be present at trial.

Defendants exercise choice in:

• Selecting and retaining counsel

• Planning a defense strategy with counsel

• Deciding what information to provide counsel

• Deciding what to plea

• Deciding whether or not to testify

• Determining whether or not to file an appeal

Spectators and the Press

• May be present at trial; with more at higher-profile cases

• The right of reporters to be there is supported by the Sixth Amendment’s requirement of a public trial.

• Most courts allow cameras in the courtroomfor television coverage


Spectators and the Press May be present at trial; with more at higher-profile cases

The right of reporters to be there is supported by the Sixth Amendment’s requirement of a public trial.

Most courts allow cameras in the courtroom…for television coverage.

criminal justice the courts: structure and participants chapter 9

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