Criminal Justice Chapter 8

six vital functions juries perform

1. prevent government oppression by safeguarding citizens against arbitrary law enforcement 2. determine whether the accused is guilty on the basis of the evidence presented 3. represent diverse community interests so that no one set of values or biases dominates decision making' 4. serve as a buffer between the accused and the accuser 5. promote knowledge about the criminal justice system by learning about it through the jury-duty process 6. symbolize the rule of law and the community foundation that supports the criminal justice system

trial process

1. selection of the jury 2. opening statements by prosecution and defense 3. presentation of the prosecution's evidence and witnesses 4. presentation of the defense's evidence and witnesses 5. presentation of rebuttal witnesses 6. closing arguments by each side 7. instruction of the jury by the judge 8. decision by the jury

Boykin v. Alabama

1969 When a guilty plea rests on a promise of a prosecutor, the promise must be fulfilled.

North Carolina v. Alford

1970 A plea of guilty by a defendant who maintains his or her innocence may be accepted for the purpose of a lesser sentence.

Williams v. Florida

1970 Juries of fewer than 12 members are constitutional.

Santobello v. New York

1971 When a guilty plea rests on a promise of a prosecutor, the promise must be fulfilled.

Bordenkircher v. Hayes

1978 A defendant's rights were not violated by a prosecutor who warned that refusing to enter a guilty plea would result in a harsher sentence.

Ricketts v. Adamson

1987 Defendants must uphold the plea agreement or suffer the consequences.

United States v. Salerno and Cafero

1987 Preventive detention provisions of the Bail Reform Act of 1984 are upheld as a legitimate use of government power designed to prevent people from committing crimes while on bail.

Missouri v. Frye

2012 Criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment right to counsel includes protection against ineffective assistance of counsel in the plea bargaining process, such as defense attorneys' failures to inform their clients about plea bargain offers.

jury

A panel of citizens selected according to law and sworn to determine matters of fact in a criminal case and to deliver a verdict of guilty or not guilty.

voir dire

A questioning of prospective jurors to screen out people the attorneys think might be biased or otherwise incapable of delivering a fair verdict.

appeal

A request to a higher court that it review actions taken in a trial court.

habeas corpus

A writ or judicial order requesting the release of a person being detained in a jail, prison, or mental hospital. If a judge finds the person is being held improperly, the writ may be granted and the person released.

citation

A written order or summons, issued by a law enforcement officer, directing an alleged offender to appear in court at a specific time to answer a criminal charge.

give the reasons why cases go to trial, and describe the benefits of jurors' participation in trials.

Americans tend to presume that, through the dramatic courtroom battle of prosecutors and defense attorneys, trials are the best way to discover the truth about a criminal case. Less than 9 percent of cases go to trial, and half of those are typically bench trials in front of a judge, not jury trials. Typically, cases go to trial because they involve defendants who are wealthy enough to pay attorneys to fight to the very end or because they involve charges that are too serious to create incentives for plea bargaining. Juries serve vital functions for society by preventing arbitrary action by prosecutors and judges, educating citizens about the justice system, symbolizing the rule of law, and involving citizens from diverse segments of the community in judicial decision making. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that juries need not be made up of 12 members, and 12-member juries can, if permitted by state law, convict defendants by a less than unanimous super-majority vote.

bail

An amount of money, specified by a judge, to be paid as a condition of pretrial release to ensure that the accused will appear in court as required.

motions

An application to a court requesting that an order be issued to bring about a specific action.

3. What factors affect whether bail is set and how much money or property a defendant must provide to gain pretrial release?

Bail decisions are based primarily on the judge's evaluation of the seriousness of the offense and the defendant's prior record. The decisions are influenced by the prosecutor's recommendations and the defense attorney's counterarguments about the defendant's personal qualities and ties to the community.

explain the basis for an appeal of a conviction

Convicted offenders have the opportunity to appeal, although defendants who plead guilty, unlike those convicted through a trial, often have few grounds for an appeal. Appeals focus on claimed errors of law or procedure in the investigation by police and prosecutors or in the decisions by trial judges. Relatively few offenders win their appeals, and most who do simply gain an opportunity for a new trial, not release from jail or prison. After convicted offenders have used all of their appeals, they may file a habeas corpus petition to seek federal judicial review of claimed constitutional rights violations in their cases. Very few of such petitions succeed.

percentage bail

Defendants may deposit a percentage (usually 10 percent) of the full bail with the court. The full amount of the bail is required if the defendant fails to appear. The percentage of bail is returned after disposition of the case, although the court often retains 1 percent for administrative costs.

8. What are the criticisms of plea bargaining?

Defendants might be pressured to surrender their rights; society's mandated criminal punishments are improperly reduced

describe the experience of pretrial detention

Despite the presumption of innocence, pretrial detainees endure difficult conditions in jails that often contain mixed populations of convicted offenders, detainees, and troubled people. The shock of being jailed creates risks of suicide and depression.

circumstantial evidence

Evidence provided by a witness from which a jury must infer a fact.

demonstrative evidence

Evidence that is not based on witness testimony but that demonstrates information relevant to the crime, such as maps, X-rays, and photographs; includes real evidence involved in the crime.

direct evidence

Eyewitness accounts.

preventive detention

Holding a defendant for trial, based on a judge's finding that if the defendant were released on bail, he or she would endanger the safety of any other person and the community or would flee.

7. Why does plea bargaining occur?

It serves the self-interest of all relevant actors: defendants gain certain, less than maximum sentences; prosecutors gain swift, sure convictions; defense attorneys get prompt resolution of cases; judges preside over fewer time-consuming trials.

11. What are the stages in the trial process?

Jury selection, attorneys' opening statements, presentation of prosecution's evidence, presentation of defense's evidence, presentation of rebuttal witnesses, closing arguments by each side, judge's instructions to the jury, and jury's decision.

explain how and why plea bargaining occurs

Most convictions are obtained through plea bargaining, a process that exists because it fulfills the self-interest of prosecutors, judges, defense attorneys, and defendants. Plea bargaining is facilitated by exchange relations between prosecutors and defense attorneys. In many courthouses, there is little actual bargaining, as outcomes are determined through the implicit bargaining process of settling the facts and assessing the going rate of punishment according to the standards of the local legal culture. Plea bargaining has been criticized for pressuring defendants to surrender their rights and for reducing the sentences imposed on offenders.

testimony

Oral evidence provided by a legally competent witness.

real evidence

Physical evidence—such as a weapon, records, fingerprints, and stolen property—involved in the crime.

4. What methods are used to facilitate pretrial release for certain defendants?

Police citations, release on own recognizance (ROR), 10 percent cash bail, and bail fund.

5. What categories of people are found in jails?

Pretrial detainees for whom bail was not set or those who are too poor to pay the bail amount required, people serving short sentences for misdemeanors, people convicted of felonies awaiting transfer to prison, and people with psychological or substance abuse problems who have been swept off the streets.

6. What are the sources of stress for people in jail awaiting trial?

Pretrial detainees for whom bail was not set or those who are too poor to pay the bail amount required, people serving short sentences for misdemeanors, people convicted of felonies awaiting transfer to prison, and people with psychological or substance abuse problems who have been swept off the streets.

identify the elements in the pretrial process in criminal cases

Pretrial processes determine the fates of nearly all defendants through case dismissals, decisions defining charges, and plea bargains, all of which affect more than 90 percent of cases. Defense attorneys use motions to their advantage to gain information and delay proceedings to benefit their clients.

release on reorganization (ROR)

Pretrial release granted on the defendant's promise to appear in court because the judge believes that the defendant's ties to the community guarantee that she or he will appear.

challenged for cause

Removal of a prospective juror by showing that he or she has some bias or some other legal disability. The number of such challenges available to attorneys is unlimited.

peremtory challenges

Removal of a prospective juror without giving a reason. Attorneys are allowed a limited number of such challenges.

9. What functions do juries serve in the criminal justice system?

Safeguard citizens against arbitrary law enforcement, determine the guilt of the accused, represent diverse community interests and values, serve as buffer between accused and accuser, become educated about the justice system, and symbolize the law.

explain how the bail system operates

The bail process provides opportunities for many defendants to gain pretrial release, but poor defendants may be disadvantaged by their inability to come up with the money or property needed to secure release. Some preventive detention statutes permit judges to hold defendants considered dangerous or likely to flee. Bail agents, also known as bail bondsmen, are private businesspeople who charge a fee to provide money for defendants' pretrial release. Their activities create risks of corruption and discrimination in the bail process, but bail agents may also help the system by reminding defendants about court dates. Although judges bear the primary responsibility for setting bail, prosecutors are especially influential in recommending amounts and conditions for pretrial release. Initiatives to reform the bail process include police-issued citations, release on own recognizance (ROR), percentage bail, bail guidelines, and preventive detention.

arraignment

The court appearance of an accused person in which the charges are read and the accused, advised by a lawyer, pleads guilty or not guilty.

10. What is voir dire?

The jury selection process in which lawyers and/or judges ask questions of prospective jurors and make decisions about using peremptory challenges and challenges for cause to shape the jury's composition.

reasonable doubt

The standard used by a jury to decide if the prosecution has provided enough evidence for conviction.

describe the stages of a criminal trial

The trial process consists of a series of steps: jury selection, opening statements, presentation of prosecution's evidence, presentation of defense's evidence, presentation of rebuttal witnesses, closing arguments, judge's jury instructions, and jury's decision. The jury selection process, especially in the formation of the jury pool and the exercise of peremptory challenges, often creates juries that do not fully represent all segments of a community. Rules of evidence dictate what kinds of information may be presented in court for consideration by the jury. Types of evidence are real evidence, demonstrative evidence, testimony, direct evidence, and circumstantial evidence.

bench trials

Trials conducted by a judge who acts as fact finder and determines issues of law. No jury participates.

12. How does the appellate court's job differ from that of the trial court?

Unlike trial courts, which have juries, hear evidence, and decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty, appellate courts focus only on claimed errors of law or procedure in trial court proceedings. Victory for a defendant in a trial court means an acquittal and instant freedom. Victory in an appellate court may mean only a chance at a new trial—which often leads to a new conviction.

13. What is a habeas corpus petition?

Unlike trial courts, which have juries, hear evidence, and decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty, appellate courts focus only on claimed errors of law or procedure in trial court proceedings. Victory for a defendant in a trial court means an acquittal and instant freedom. Victory in an appellate court may mean only a chance at a new trial—which often leads to a new conviction.

2. Why and how are cases filtered out of the system?

cases are filtered out through the discretionary decisions of prosecutors and judges when they believe that there is inadequate evidence to proceed or when prosecutors believe that their scare resources are best directed at other cases.

1. What are the purposes of the initial appearance, arraignment, and motions?

the initial appearance determines if there is probable cause to support the arrest. Arraignments involve the formal reading of charges and the entry of a plea. Motions seek information and the vindication of defendants' rights