justice chapter 10 pretrial activities and the criminal trial
TRANSCRIPT
Justice Chapter 10
Pretrial Activities and the Criminal
Trial
Thursday, January 10th
Pretrial Activities
First Appearance
Defendants first time at coming in contact with an officer (magistrate or lower court judge) of the court– Given formal notice of charges – Advised of their rights– Opportunity to retain a lawyer or to have one
appointed to them– Opportunity for bail
Based off 1943 U.S. Supreme
Court Case - McNabb v. U.S. max
time from arrest to first
appearance = ???? hours
If defendant is dangerous to self or others, charged with serious crimes, and possible escapees – Held in jail until trial = pretrial detention
Release of an accused person from custody, for all or part of
the time before or during prosecution, on his / her
promise to appear in court when required.
Seriousness of charge Prior criminal record Info. about defendant
– Community / family ties– Employment status– Substance abuse problems
Available supervisory options if released
Bail
Most common release/detention mechanism
Two purposes– Ensure reappearance of the accused – Prevents unconvicted individual from suffering
unnecessary imprisonment
Bail Bond– Document guarantees appearance of
defendant in court
What are your options?
8th Amendment to U.S. Constitution
does not guarantee the opportunity for bail but does
state that “excessive bail shall not be required.”
Alternatives to Bail
Release on Recognizance– Manhattan Bail Project – 1960’s
Property bond Deposit bail (Court plays role of
bail bondsman) Conditional release Third party custody Unsecured bond – no monetary
deposit – failure to appear result in forfeiture of entire amount of bond
Signature bond
Pretrial Release and Public Safety
Defendants released before trial– _____% state level felony criminal defendants – _____% federal felony defendants
____% defendants rearrested prior to trial– _____% arrested more than once
Danger Law – limits right to bail with certain kinds of offenders
Duane “Dog” Chapman – Bounty Hunter International
Grand Jury
Often 23 private citizens
Hear evidence from prosecution Filters to eliminate further processing cases
with not enough evidence England = 1166
– Initially way of identifying law violators
Held in secret
Preliminary Hearing
Used in place of a grand jury Prosecutor files complaint against accused
(information) Similar to but not as complex as criminal trial Primary purpose = give defendant
opportunity to challenge legal basis for detention
Arraignment and the Plea
First appearance of the defendant before the court that has the authority to conduct a trial
Brief – two purposes– Inform defendant of specific charges– Allow defendant to enter a plea
Plea– Guilty– Not guilty– Nolo contendere (similar to guilty plea) 315– Stand Mute = not guilty
Plea Bargaining
Process of negotiation– Defendant, prosecutor, and defense counsel
Benefit to prosecutor– Additional advantage of a quick conviction without
need to commit time and extra resources for a trial
Benefit to accused– Reduce / combine charges– Lessen defense cost– Shorter than anticipated sentence
Eric Rudolph
Vocabulary…
Group of two Enough papers for vocabulary Create notecards…Visual on each
THE CRIMINAL TRIAL
Rules of Evidence– Court rules that govern admissibility of evidence
at trials
Nature and Purpose of Criminal Trial Purpose
– Determination of defendant’s guilt (factual vs. legal or innocence)
Criminal Trial Process
Friday, January 11th
Adversarial System
Can you convince the judge or jury that your
perspective is the right one?
Who is Joe Lloyd? Pg. 427
Stages of a Criminal Trial
Trial initiation Jury selection Opening statements Presentation of evidence Closing arguments Judge’s charge to the jury Jury deliberations verdict
Speedy Trial Act
6th amendment – “in all criminal prosecutions, the
accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”
Requires that proceedings against a defendant in a criminal
case begin within a specified period of time, such as 70
working days after indictment.
Klopfer v. North Carolina
U.S. Supreme Court case held that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental guarantee of the Constitution.
Duke University Professor Civil disobedience in a protest against
segregated facilities.
Indictment or Information
to be made within 30 days of arrest.
Trial to happen within 70 working days of indictment
May be extended up to 180 days …– Witnesses cannot be
called– Defendant is not
available for trial
Fex v. Michigan
Indiana prisoner 1993 Appealed conviction of
armed robbery & attempted murder charges
Claim – had to wait 196 days
Outcome – “Common sense compels the
conclusion that the 180-day period does not commence until the
prisoner’s disposition request has actually
been delivered to the court and the prosecutor of the
jurisdiction that lodged the detainer against him.
Jury Selection
3 types of challenges recognized in criminal courts– Challenges to the array
Belief that the pool from which potential jurors are to be
selected is not representative of the community or biased
– Challenges for cause Individual juror can’t be fair or impartial
– Peremptory challenges Right to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the
reason for the challenge.
Peremptory Challenges
Numerical limitation = 20 in capital cases and as few as three in minor cases
Powers vs. IdahoEdmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co.Georgia v. McCollumCampbell v. Louisiana
(Race and the jury factor in the above cases)
Opening Statements
Initial statement of the prosecution or the defense, made in a court of law to a judge, or to a judge and jury, describing the facts that he or she intends to present during trial to prove the case.
Presentation of Evidence
Types of Evidence
– Direct evidence– Circumstantial evidence – requires
interpretation as to what the evidence indicates
– Real evidence
Dying Declaration
Allows for hearsay testimony when
someone knows they are dying
Judge decides what evidence can be presented
in a case
Cases to know
Fex v. Michigan Coy v. Iowa Powers v. Ohio Idaho v. Wright