Chapter 10: Prosecution and Defense
"beleaguered dealers"
A more sympathetic view of defense attorneys labels them "beleaguered dealers" who cut deals for defendants in a tough environment
Describe the roles of the prosecuting attorney
American prosecutors, both state and federal, have significant discretion to determine how to handle criminal cases. The prosecutor can play various roles, including trial counsel for the police, house counsel for the police, representative of the court, and elected official.
What are the three main methods of providing attorneys for indigent defendants?
Assigned counsel, contract counsel system, public defender.
What are the powers of the prosecuting attorney?
Decides which charges to file, what bail amounts to recommend, whether to pursue a plea bargain, and what sentence to recommend to the judge.
What are the prosecutor's key exchange relationships?
Police, victims and witnesses, defense attorneys, judges.
Identify the other actors in the system with whom the prosecutor interacts during the decision-making process
Prosecutors' decisions and actions are affected by their exchange relationships with many other important actors and groups, including police, judges, victims and witnesses, and the public.
What special pressures do defense attorneys face?
Securing cases, collecting fees, persuading clients to accept pleas, having to lose most cases, maintaining working relationships with court officers, serving clients in unpleasant surroundings for little money, being viewed negatively by the public.
How has the U.S. Supreme Court addressed the issue of attorney competence?
The Supreme Court has addressed the issue of "ineffective assistance of counsel" by requiring defendants to prove that the defense attorney made specific errors that affected the outcome of the case.
Analyze the process by which criminal charges are filed, and what role the prosecutor's discretion plays in that process
There is no higher authority over most prosecutors that can overrule a decision to decline to prosecute (nolle prosequi) or to pursue multiple counts against a defendant. The three primary models of prosecutors' decision-making policies are legal sufficiency, system efficiency, and trial sufficiency.
Analyze the defense attorney's role in the system and the nature of the attorney-client relationship
The quality of representation provided to criminal defendants is a matter of significant concern, but U.S. Supreme Court rulings have made it difficult for convicted offenders to prove that their attorneys did not provide a competent defense. F
As a prosecuting attorney, Ms. Barker has discretionary power.
broad
The main method of deciding criminal cases is .
plea bargaining
During his , Michael can expect his defense attorney to challenge the prosecutor's claim that probable cause exists.
preliminary hearing
By virtue of having committed the robbery, the accused can be charged with at least four crimes
1) breaking and entering, assault, armed robbery, and carrying a dangerous weapon
Bill Cervone
"I have the discretion to prosecute or not prosecute anything that comes in.... If I have to concentrate on the violent crime as opposed to something petty, that's where my resources will go"
Ways of Providing Indigents with Counsel
)the assigned counsel system, in which a court appoints a private attorney to represent the accused; (2)the contract counsel system, in which an attorney, a nonprofit organization, or a private law firm contracts with a local government to provide legal services to indigent defendants for a specified dollar amount; and (3)public defender programs, which are public or private nonprofit organizations with full-time or part-time salaried staff. 82 percent of indigent cases were handled by public defenders, 15 percent by assigned counsel, and 3 percent by contract attorneys Assigned counsel are likely to have a greater share of cases in less populous counties throughout the country.
community prosecution model
1) Community prosecution represents an initiative to reduce crime and increase the effectiveness of the criminal justice system by bringing prosecutors into closer contact with citizens 2)gave individual assistant prosecutors responsibility for specific neighborhoods within the city. 3)By having responsibility for specific neighborhoods, the prosecutors could become well acquainted with the environment, social problems, crimes, and repeat offenders that burdened the residents of those neighborhoods. 4)individual prosecutors would become familiar to residents by working to resolve neighborhood problems and coordinate communications with police and other public service agencies.
Implementing Prosecution Policy
1) Joan Jacoby analyzed policies that prosecutors use during the pretrial process and how they staff their offices to achieve their goals. 2) On the basis of data from more than 3,000 prosecutors, she describes three policy models: legal sufficiency, system efficiency, and trial sufficiency. 3)The choice of a policy model is shaped by personal aspects of the prosecutor (such as role conception), external factors such as crime levels, and the relationship of prosecution to the other parts of the criminal justice system
counts
1) Other charges or counts can be added, depending on the nature of the incident. 2) By filing as many charges as possible, the prosecutor strengthens his or her position in plea negotiations 3)the prosecutor can use discretion in deciding the number of charges and thus increase the prosecution's supply of "bargaining chips"
Private versus Public Defense
1) Publicly funded defense attorneys now handle up to 85 percent of the cases in many places, and private defense attorneys have become more and more unusual in many courts. 2) private attorneys represent drug dealers and organized-crime figures who can pay the fees. This trend has made the issue of the quality of representation increasingly important. 3)convicted offenders say, "you get what you pay for," meaning that they would have received better counsel if they had been able to pay for their own attorneys
Realities of the Defense Attorney's Job
1) The television image of defense attorneys is usually based on the due process model, in which attorneys are strong advocates for their clients 2)ethically obligated to make zealous arguments on behalf of criminal defendants.
What are the roles of the prosecutor?
1) Trial counsel for the police, house counsel for the police, representative of the court, elected official. 2)pressures are often called "the prosecutor's dilemma." 3) must do everything they can to win a conviction; yet as members of the legal profession, they must see that justice is done even if it means that the accused is not convicted.
The policy model
1) affects the screening and disposing of cases. 2)the policy models dictate that prosecutors select certain points in the process to dispose of most of the cases brought to them by the police. 3)A particular model may be chosen to advance specific goals, such as saving the prosecutor's time and energy for the most clear-cut or serious cases. 4) Each model also affects how and when prosecutors interact with defense attorneys in exchanging information or discussing options for a plea bargain. 5) According to the ideal of due process, each method is designed to spare an innocent person the psychological, monetary, and other costs of prosecution.
public opinion
1) can influence their decisions (prosecutor) 2)First, because most prosecutors are elected, they must keep their decisions consistent with community values to increase their chances of gaining reelection. 3)Second, because jurors are drawn from the local community, prosecutors do not want to waste their time and resources pursuing charges about which local jurors are unsympathetic or unconcerned
Justice Antonin Scalia
1) fingerprint matches can confirm arrestees' identities much more quickly than DNA tests, which can take several months to be returned from a laboratory in routine cases. 2)saw the mandatory sampling as a violation of the fundamental ideas underlying the Fourth Amendment. 3) argued that the real purpose of the law was to see if arrestees are responsible for unsolved crimes.
Alabama Senator Jefferson Sessions
1) in 2016, President Trump appointed to be att gen 2)controversy because he had a reputation for opposing civil rights laws during his political career. 3)accused of making deceptive statements during his Senate confirmation hearings when it turned out that he had held meetings with the Russian ambassador during the prior year when his testimony indicated otherwise. 4)said he would withdraw himself from participation in any Department of Justice investigations of Russian meddling in American elections as well as inquiries into communications and connections between Trump administration officials and the Russian government
Role definition
1) is further complicated by the prosecutor's need to maintain relationships with many other actors—police officers, judges, defense attorneys, political party leaders, and so forth—who may have conflicting ideas about what the prosecutor should do.
defense attorney
1) is the lawyer who represents accused and convicted people in their dealings with the criminal justice system. 2) Most Americans have seen defense attorneys in action on television dramas 3)vigorously battle the prosecution, and the jury often finds their clients to be not guilty of the crime. 4)gained public recognition by taking high-profile, sensational cases that resulted in jury trials 5)often heroic figures in American literature. 6)must evaluate and challenge the prosecution's evidence. 7)often negotiates the most appropriate punishment in light of the resources of the court, the strength of the evidence, and the defendant's prior criminal record. 8) best interest may require plea agreements negotiated in a friendly, cooperative way. 9)Most defense lawyers constantly interact with lower-class clients whose lives and problems are depressing 10) many criminal attorneys "burn out" after a few years and seek other career options. 11) believe they must maintain close personal ties with the police, prosecutor, judges, and other court officials. 12)defense attorneys depend on decisions made by other actors in the system 13)can sometimes use stubbornness as a tactic.
Fixed price contracts,
1) known as flat fee contracts, can create perverse incentives if the amount varies depending on the specific tasks undertaken by the attorney. 2) Detroit's system, defense attorneys are paid $200 more for a guilty plea than for a dismissal
Prosecuting attorneys
1) make discretionary decisions about whether to pursue criminal charges, which charges to make, and what sentence to recommend. 2)They represent the government in pursuing criminal charges against the accused. 3) more independent than most other public officials 4)lies mainly in the hands of state and local governments 5)Because most crimes are violations of state laws, county prosecutors bring charges against suspects in court. 6)About three-fourths of American prosecutors serve counties with populations of fewer than 100,000. 7) often is only one prosecutor in the community, and he or she may face strong local pressures, especially with regard to victimless crimes such as marijuana smoking, petty gambling, and prostitution. 8)involved in functions such as setting the court calendar, appointing defense counsel for indigents, and sentencing. 9)they may knowingly or unknowingly permit their personal biases to affect their decisions and thereby treat people differently according to their age, gender, race, or ethnicity
American prosecutors who have doubts about whether the available evidence actually proves the defendant's guilt
1) may just shrug their shoulders and say, "I'll just let the jury decide," rather than face public criticism for dropping charges 2)in most cities up to half of all arrests do not lead to formal charges.
The Role of the Defense Attorney
1) must have knowledge of law and procedure, investigative skills, advocacy experience, and, in many cases, relationships with prosecutors and judges that will help a defendant obtain the best possible outcome. 2) performs the key function of making sure that the prosecution proves its case in court or has substantial evidence of guilt before a guilty plea is entered. 3) advises the defendant and protects his or her constitutional rights at each stage of the criminal justice process. 4)advises the defendant during questioning by the police, represents him or her at each arraignment and hearing, and serves as advocate for the defendant during the appeals process if there is a conviction. 5) Without a defense attorney, prosecutors and judges might not respect the rights of the accused. 6)Without knowing the technical details of law and court procedures, defendants have little ability to represent themselves in court effectively. 7)serve as advocates for the accused 8)They are obliged to challenge points made by the prosecution and to advise defendants. 9) also give psychological support to the defendant and his or her family. 10) is the only legal actor available to answer the question "What will happen next?" 11)relationship with the client is crucial. An effective defense requires respect, openness, and trust between attorney and client. 12) If the defendant refuses to follow the attorney's advice, the lawyer may feel obliged to withdraw from the case in order to protect his or her own professional reputation.
Craig Watkins
1) prosecutor of Dallas County, Texas, in 2007, he received national attention for seeking to reinvestigate cases of offenders convicted by previous prosecutors 2)Dallas County leads the nation in DNA exonerations.
Maryland's DNA Collection Act
1) requires that all people arrested for serious crimes must submit DNA samples through a quick swab of the inside of their cheek. 2)Although all of the justices saw the sampling as a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, a majority thought the search was justified. 3)Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority opinion said that the mandatory DNA sampling of arrestees was justified by the need for law enforcement officials to be certain of the identities of the individuals that they had arrested. 4)Justice Kennedy also argued that the cheek swab was a very minor intrusion on an individual's privacy as it only takes a moment, causes no pain, and leaves no marks
In the nation's 75 largest counties, nearly a quarter of felony arrests
1) result in charges being dismissed 2)The percentage of dismissals is typically much larger in misdemeanor cases 3)may decide to drop charges because of factors related to a particular case or because they have a policy of not bringing charges for certain offenses. 4) decisions to pursue felony charges may also be affected by the staffing levels of individual prosecutor's offices. 5) If offices lack sufficient resources to pursue all possible cases, prosecutors may establish priorities and then reduce or dismiss charges in cases deemed less important.
In two 1984 cases, United States v. Cronic and Strickland v. Washington,
1) the Court set standards for effective assistance of counsel.
Assigned Counsel
1) the court appoints a lawyer in private practice to represent an indigent defendant. 2) is widely used in small cities and in rural areas, but even some city public defender systems assign counsel in some cases, such as in a case with multiple defendants, where a conflict of interest might result if one of them were represented by a public lawyer. 3) organized on either an ad hoc system or a coordinated basis. 4)Use of the ad hoc system may raise questions about the loyalties of the assigned counsel.
Robert Spangenberg and Marea Beeman
1), "There are serious potential dangers with the contract model, such as expecting contract defenders to handle an unlimited caseload or awarding contracts on a low-bid basis only, with no regard to qualifications of contracting attorneys."
state attorney general
1)A state's chief legal officer, usually responsible for both civil and criminal matters. 2)usually has the power to bring prosecutions in certain cases 3)may, for example, handle a statewide consumer fraud case if a chain of auto repair shops is suspected of overcharging customers.
nolle prosequi
1)After the charge has been made, the prosecutor may reduce it in exchange for a guilty plea or enter a notation of nolle prosequi 2)The latter is a freely made decision to drop the charge, either as a whole or as to one or more counts 3)When a prosecutor decides to drop charges, no higher authorities can force him or her to reinstate them. 4)prosecutor uses discretion in recommending a sentence.
discovery
1)Defense attorneys strengthen their position in the discovery process, in which the prosecutor discloses information from the case file to the defense 2)A prosecutor's pretrial disclosure, to the defense, of facts and evidence to be introduced at trial. 3)the defense has the right to see any statements made by the accused during interrogation by the police, as well as the results of any physical or psychological tests. 4)information tells the defense attorney about the strengths and weaknesses of the prosecution's case 5)may use it to decide whether a case is hopeless or whether it is worthwhile to engage in tough negotiations. 6)discretion does not end with the decision to file a certain charge
United States attorneys
1)For cases involving violation of federal criminal laws, prosecutions are handled in federal courts 2) responsible for a large number of drug-related and white-collar crime cases. 3)Appointed by the president
"Sentencing of Bridge-Gate," 2017
1)Governor Chris Christie with a crime for a planned traffic jam intended to punish the mayor of a town for failing to support Christie politically 2)Christie claimed he was not involved, but two of his political associates were charged and convicted of crimes related to shutting lanes on a bridge in order to create a massive traffic tie up 3) Federal prosecutors believed Christie was involved but apparently could not find sufficient evidence to prove a criminal charge against him 4)public opinion is likely to have an impact on his political future.
diversion program
1)In some cases, prosecutors may decide that the accused and society would benefit from a certain course of action. 2) a young first-time offender or a minor offender with drug abuse problems may be placed in a diversion program rather than prosecuted in the criminal justice system.
zone system
1)One attorney may handle all arraignments, another all preliminary hearings, and still another any trial work. No one attorney manages the entire case of any client. 2)No one attorney manages the entire case of any client. 3) the zone system may increase efficiency, there is a risk that cases will be processed in a routine way, with no one taking into account special factors. 4) With limited responsibility for a given case, the attorney is less able to advise the defendant about the case as a whole and is unlikely to develop the level of trust needed to gain the defendant's cooperation.
Victims and Witnesses
1)Prosecutors depend on the cooperation of victims and witnesses 2)will not pursue cases in which the key testimony and other necessary evidence must be provided by a victim who is unwilling to cooperate. 3)The decision to prosecute is often based on an assessment of the victim's role in his or her own victimization and the victim's credibility as a witness. 4)victims' characteristics, such as moral character, behavior at time of incident, and age, influence decisions to prosecute sexual assault cases more than does the actual strength of the evidence against the suspect
Police
1)Prosecutors depend on the police to provide both the suspects and the evidence needed to convict lawbreakers. 2)Most crimes occur before the police arrive at the scene; therefore, officers must reconstruct the crime on the basis of physical evidence and witnesses' reports. 3)problems for prosecutors if, for example, the police make many arrests without gathering enough evidence to ensure conviction. 4)prosecutors can influence the actions of the police 5)prosecutors can return cases for further investigation and refuse to approve arrest warrants. 6)may return cases to make sure that police provide high-quality investigations and evidence. 7) concern about coordination between police and prosecutors-lack of coordination causes cases to be dismissed or lost.
Political factors
1)can also cause prosecutors to apply their powers unevenly within a community. 2)discretionary power can create the impression that some groups or individuals receive harsher treatment, whereas others receive protection 3) existence of discretionary decision making creates the risk that such decisions will produce discrimination 4)"a number of studies have found that African American and Hispanic suspects are more likely than white suspects to be charged with a crime and prosecuted fully
Decision-Making Policies
1)Prosecutors develop their own policies on how cases will be handled. 2)policies shape the decisions made by the assistant prosecutors and thus have a major impact on the administration of justice 3) In different counties, prosecutors may pursue different goals in forming policies on which cases to pursue, which ones to drop, and which ones to plea bargain 4)prosecutors who wish to maintain a high conviction rate will drop cases with weak evidence. 5)Some prosecutors' offices make extensive use of screening and are not inclined to press charges. 6) Guilty pleas are the main method of processing cases in some offices, whereas pleas of not guilty strain the courts' trial resources in others. 7)disposition occurs as late as the first day of trial. 8)The period from the receipt of the police report to the start of the trial is thus a time of review in which the prosecutor uses discretion to decide what actions should be taken.
Key Relationships of the Prosecutor
1)Relationships with other actors in the justice system influence them as well. Despite their independent authority, prosecutors must consider how police, judges, and others will react. 2)these officials build exchange relationships in which they cooperate with one another.
Counsel for Indigents
1)Since the 1960s, the Supreme Court has interpreted the "right to counsel" in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution as requiring that the government provide attorneys for indigent defendants who face the possibility of going to prison or jail. 2)Indigent defendants are those who are too poor to afford their own lawyers. The Court has also required that attorneys be provided early in the criminal justice process to protect suspects' rights during questioning and pretrial proceedings 3) Powell v. Alabama 1932 Indigents facing the death penalty who are not capable of representing themselves must be given attorneys. Johnson v. Zerbst 1938 Indigent defendants must be provided with attorneys when facing serious charges in federal court. Gideon v. Wainwright 1963 Indigent defendants must be provided with attorneys when facing serious charges in state court. Douglas v. California 1963 Indigent defendants must be provided with attorneys for their first appeal. Miranda v. Arizona 1966 Criminal suspects must be informed about their right to counsel before being questioned in custody. United States v. Wade 1967 Defendants are entitled to counsel at "critical stages" in the process, including postindictment lineups. Argersinger v. Hamlin 1972 Indigent defendants must be provided with attorneys when facing misdemeanor and petty charges that may result in incarceration. Ross v. Moffitt 1974 Indigent defendants are not entitled to attorneys for discretionary appeals after their first appeal is unsuccessful. Strickland v. Washington 1984 To show that ineffective assistance of counsel violated the right to counsel, defendants must prove that the attorney committed specific errors that affected the outcome of the case. Rothgery v. Gillespie County, Texas 2008 The right to counsel attaches at the initial hearing before a magistrate when the defendant is informed of the charges and restrictions on liberty are imposed. Missouri v. Frye 2012 Defense attorneys are obligated to inform their clients about plea agreement offers made by the prosecutor. Enlarge Table The portion of defendants who are provided with counsel because they are indigent has increased greatly in the past three decades. Excessive caseloads present a significant problem for defense attorneys for indigents
How does a prosecutor use discretion to decide how to treat each defendant?
1)The prosecutor can determine the type and number of charges, reduce the charges in exchange for a guilty plea, or enter a nolle prosequi (thereby dropping some or all of the charges).
How does the image of the defense attorney differ from the attorney's actual role?
1)The public often views defense attorneys as protectors of criminals. Defendants believe that defense attorneys will fight vigorous battles at every stage of the process. The defense attorney's actual role is to protect the defendant's rights and to make the prosecution prove its case.
Judges and Courts
1)The sentencing history of each judge gives prosecutors an idea of how a case might be treated in the courtroom 2)Prosecutors may decide to drop a case if they believe that the judge assigned to it will not impose a serious punishment 3)limited resources, they cannot afford to waste time pursuing charges in front of a judge who shows a pattern of dismissing those particular cases. 4)prosecutors depend on plea bargaining to keep cases moving through the courts. 5) If judges' sentencing patterns are not predictable, prosecutors find it hard to persuade defendants and their attorneys to accept plea agreements.
prosecutors as generally following one of four distinct roles:
1)Trial counsel for the police, house counsel for the police, representative of the court, elected official. 2)-Trial counsel for the police Prosecutors who see their main function in this light believe they should reflect the views of law enforcement in the courtroom and take a crime-fighting stance in public. -House counsel for the police These prosecutors believe their main function is to give legal advice so that arrests will stand up in court. -Representative of the court Such prosecutors believe their main function is to enforce the rules of due process to ensure that the police act according to the law and uphold the rights of defendants. -Elected official These prosecutors may be most responsive to public opinion. The political impact of their decisions is one of their main concerns. 3) In the first two roles, prosecutors see the police as their primary clients.
trial sufficiency
1)a case is accepted and charges are made only when there is enough evidence to ensure conviction. 2)For each case the prosecutor asks, "Will this case result in a conviction?" The prosecutor might not correctly predict the likelihood of conviction in every case 3) requires good police work, a prosecution staff with trial experience, and—because there is less plea bargaining—courts that are not too crowded to handle many trials.
a prosecutor and a defense attorney may strike a bargain whereby the prosecutor reduces
1)a charge in exchange for a guilty plea or drops a charge if the defendant agrees to seek psychiatric help. In such instances, decisions are reached in a way that is nearly invisible to the public 2)defense att have limited resources for gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses on behalf of their clients.
In Japan, by contrast, prosecutors throughout the country work for a single nationwide
1)agency and are not elected. 2) they must gain approval from superiors for many of their decisions rather than making independent decisions like those of local prosecutors in the United States
system efficiency
1)aims at speedy and early disposition of a case 2)To close cases quickly, the prosecutor might charge the defendant with a felony but agree to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor in exchange for a guilty plea. 3)usually followed when the trial court is backlogged and the prosecutor has limited resources. 4) if the court is overcrowded and the prosecutor does not have enough lawyers, the prosecutor may be forced to use the system efficiency model even if he or she would prefer to use another approach.
Discretion of the Prosecutor
1)can shape their decisions to fit different interests 2)decisions might stem from their personal values and policy priorities, such as an emphasis on leniency and rehabilitation for young offenders or a desire to work with domestic violence victims to seek a desired result 3)might also shape their decisions to please local judges by, for example, accepting plea agreements that will keep the judges from being burdened by too many time-consuming trials 4)motives can shape prosecutors' decisions because there is usually no higher authority to tell prosecutors how they must do their jobs 5)From the time the police turn a case over to the prosecutor, he or she has almost complete control over decisions about charges and plea agreements 6)prosecutor's decision-making power is not limited to decisions about charges.
The Community
1)community remains a potential source of pressure that leaders may activate against the prosecutor. 2)The prosecutor's office generally keeps the public in mind when it makes its decisions 3)Public opinion and the media can play a crucial role in creating an environment that either supports or undermines the prosecutor. 4)county prosecutors will likely not be retained if they are out of step with community values.
Contract System
1)contract system is used in a few counties, mainly in western states. 2)Most states using this method do not have large populations 3)The government contracts with an attorney, a nonprofit association, or a private law firm to handle all indigent cases 4)contract for services in multiple-defendant cases that might present conflicts of interest, in extraordinarily complex cases, or in cases that require more time than the government's salaried lawyers can provide. 5)The most common contract provides for a fixed yearly sum to be paid to the law firm that handles all cases. 6) laws in twenty states permit individual counties to enter into such contracts to handle indigent defense 7)fear that this method encourages attorneys to cut corners in order to preserve their profits, especially if there are more cases than expected for the year
Former U.S. Secretary of Commerce John Bryson
1)crashed his car into another vehicle and then drove away, only to smash into a second vehicle. 2)Despite the fact that tests indicated he was driving while having the sleep medication Ambien in his system, prosecutors decided not to file charges against him 3)The discretionary power to set charges does not give the prosecutor complete control over plea bargaining.
"agent-mediators"
1)defense att- because they often work to prepare the defendant for the likely outcome of the case—usually conviction
Public Defender
1)developed as a response to the legal needs of indigent defendants. 2)started in Los Angeles County in 1914, when the government first hired attorneys to work full-time in criminal defense 3)public defender systems handled 82 percent of the 6 million indigent criminal cases 4) is used in 43 of the 50 most populous counties and in most large cities. 5)Only two states, North Dakota and Maine, do not have public defenders. 6) viewed as better than the assigned counsel system because public defenders are specialists in criminal law 7) full-time government employees, public defenders do not sacrifice their clients' cases to protect their own financial interests 8)may have trouble gaining the trust and cooperation of their clients.
prosecutor with no assistants and few resources for conducting full-blown jury trials may be forced to stress
1)effective plea bargaining 2) whereas a prosecutor with a well-staffed office may have more options when deciding whether to take cases to trial.
A study of murder cases in Philadelphia,
1)found that representation by a public defender instead of appointed counsel significantly reduced the likelihood of a murder conviction, a life sentence, or a longer term of imprisonment for indigent defendants 2)Are public defenders more effective than private defense attorneys?-Research shows little difference in outcomes.
"slow plea of guilty,"
1)in which the outcome of the case has already been determined, but the attorneys go through the motions of putting up a vigorous fight. 2)attorneys whose clients expect a vigorous defense may engage in a courtroom drama commonly known as
accusatory process
1)is the series of activities that takes place from the moment a suspect is arrested and booked by the police to the moment the formal charge—in the form of an indictment or information—is filed with the court 2)Throughout the accusatory process, the prosecutor must evaluate various factors to decide whether to press charges and what charges to file. 3)must decide whether the reported crime will appear credible and meet legal standards in the eyes of the judge and jury. 4)specifics of the case and the office's resources may make following that model impractical or impossible
Victim advocates
1)may accompany victims and their families to court hearings and help to explain how court procedures operate. 2)may also coordinate any services to which victims are entitled under state and local laws, such as financial assistance or counseling.
Retained counsel
1)may serve only upper-income defendants charged with white-collar crimes or middle-class homeowners charged with various crimes who are able to obtain a second mortgage as means to borrow money that will be used to pay the attorney.
many wrongful convictions are based on
1)mistaken identifications by witnesses or victims, false testimony by criminals seeking favors from police and prosecutors, and mistakes by incompetent defense attorneys 2) DNA evidence is not available to prove innocence in most cases. 3)wrongful convictions can also occur through unethical behavior by prosecutors and police, such as hiding evidence from the defense or making dishonest presentations in court in order to gain a conviction without regard for whether the defendant is actually guilty 4)After a trial and the completion of the appellate process, sometimes a defendant has no realistic avenue to gain reconsideration of the conviction
criminal lawyers
1)most cases are handled by criminal lawyers who must quickly process a large volume of cases for small fees. 2)they process cases through plea bargaining, discretionary dismissals, and other means 3). In these cases the defense attorney may seem less like the prosecutor's adversary and more like a partner in the effort to dispose of cases as quickly and efficiently as possible through negotiation
In most jurisdictions, a person arrested on felony charges
1)must receive a preliminary hearing within ten days 2)For prosecutors, this hearing is a chance to evaluate the testimony of witnesses, assess the strength of the evidence, and try to predict the outcome of the case, should it go to trial. 3)After that, prosecutors have several options: recommend that the case be held for trial, seek to reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, or conclude that they have no case and drop the charges. 4)prosecutor's perception of both the court's caseload and the judge's attitudes greatly influences these decisions
Loretta Lynch
1)nominated by Obama in 2015, a U.S. attorney from New York City, to be the next Attorney General of the United States, the official who heads the U.S. Department of Justice and oversees U.S. attorneys throughout the country. 2)the first African American woman to be nominated and confirmed by the Senate for the top Justice Department position, 3)bipartisan support stemmed from her strong record as a federal prosecutor whose decisions were based on independent judgments and not politics
legal sufficiency
1)prosecutors merely ask whether there is enough evidence to serve as a basis for prosecution 2)Prosecutors who use this policy may decide to prosecute a great many cases. As a result, they must have strategies to avoid overloading the system and draining their own resources. 3)assistant prosecutors, especially those assigned to misdemeanor courts, make extensive use of plea bargains to keep cases flowing through the courts 4)judges often dismiss many cases after determining that there is not enough evidence for prosecution to continue.
U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno
1)recommended that prosecutors drop their adversarial posture and cooperate in permitting DNA testing of evidence saved from old cases that had produced convictions before sophisticated scientific tests were developed
prosecutor's bias,
1)sometimes called a "prosecution complex." 2)strong desire to close each case with a conviction may keep them from recognizing unfair procedures or evidence of innocence 3)A comparison of prosecutors in the United States and Japan, for example, found that American prosecutors often proceed with the assumption that the facts weigh against the defendant, whereas Japanese prosecutors are more concerned with investigating the case to discover all available facts before making any decisions
"stop snitching" movement
1)that is essentially a means through which drug dealers and other criminals seek to intimidate witnesses into remaining silent. 2) due to highly publicized "stop snitching" DVDs and T-shirts, the idea of refusing to cooperate with prosecutors and police seems to have become part of the code of behavior by which some young people apparently seek to live. 3) must rely on witnesses and victims to supply testimony and other evidence against offenders, officials have felt challenged to find ways to counteract the "stop snitching" message that is so widespread and powerful in some neighborhoods
In an information,
1)the prosecutor files the charge 2)Indictment and information are the two methods used in the United States to accuse a person of a crime.
prosecuting attorney
1)the vast majority of criminal cases are handled in the 2,341 county-level offices of the prosecuting attorney 2)known in various states as the district attorney, state's attorney, commonwealth attorney, or county attorney—who pursues cases that violate state law 3)In rural areas, the prosecutor's office may consist of merely the prosecuting attorney and a part-time assistant. 4) Many assistant prosecutors seek to use the trial experience gained in the prosecutor's office as a means of moving on to a better-paying position in a private law firm. 5)Prosecutors have the power to make independent decisions about which cases to pursue and what charges to file. 6)They also have the power to drop charges and to negotiate arrangements for guilty pleas. 7)prosecutors dismiss charges in certain cases solely because they do not have enough assistant prosecutors to handle all pending cases 8)typically elected in county or municipal elections, usually for a four-year term; the office thus is heavily involved in local politics 9) power of prosecutors flows directly from their legal duties 10) politics strongly influence the process of prosecution. 11)chooses the cases to be prosecuted, selects the charges to be brought, recommends the bail amount, approves agreements with the defendant, and urges the judge to impose a particular sentence 12)police, defense attorneys, judges—shape the prosecutors' decisions. 13)"tough" recommendations in front of "tough" judges, but tone down their arguments before judges who favor leniency or rehabilitation 14)can gain additional power from the fact that their decisions and actions are hidden from public view
An effective defense attorney does not
1)try to take every case all the way to trial. 2) a negotiated plea with a predictable sentence will serve the defendant better than a trial spent fending off more-serious charges. 3) Good defense attorneys seek to understand the facts of each case and to judge the nature of the evidence in order to reach the best possible outcome for their client. 4)Even in the plea-bargaining process, this level of advocacy requires more time, effort, knowledge, and commitment than some attorneys are willing or able to provide 5)The public often views defense attorneys as protectors of criminals. 6)duty is not to save criminals from punishment but to protect constitutional rights, keep the prosecution honest in preparing and presenting cases, and prevent innocent people from being convicted
The victims' rights movement
1)victims are often forgotten about 2)wants victims to receive a chance to comment on plea bargains, sentences, and parole decisions
In 2004, Congress enacted the Justice for All Act,
1)which included entitlements for victims in federal criminal cases. 2) Victims are entitled to the opportunity to be heard during court proceedings and to confer with the prosecutor. 3)in many places, the prosecutor's office oversees programs to support and provide services for crime victims.
police-prosecution teams
1)work together on cases. 2)s often used for drug or organized-crime investigations and cases in which conviction requires detailed information and evidence 3) Prosecutors can help the police gain cooperation from informants by approving agreements to reduce charges or even to nolle prosequi a case. The accused person may then return to the community to gather information for the police.
What are the three models of prosecution policy, and how do they differ?
Legal sufficiency: Is there sufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution? System efficiency: What will be the impact of this case on the system with respect to caseload pressures and speedy disposition? Trial sufficiency: Does sufficient evidence exist to ensure successful prosecution of this case through a trial?
plea bargaining
Missouri v. Frye
What are the titles of the officials responsible for criminal prosecution at the federal, state, and local levels of government?
United States attorney, state attorney general, prosecuting attorney (the prosecuting attorney is also called district attorney, county prosecutor, state's attorney, county attorney).
In the system, the court appoints a private attorney to represent the accused.
assigned counsel
Except in a few states, prosecutors are typically .
elected in county or municipal elections
In an indictment
evidence is presented to a grand jury made up of citizens who determine whether to issue a formal charge.
The information model of the accusatory process relies on the grand jury.
false
A state's chief legal officer, usually responsible for both criminal and civil matters, is the .
state attorney general
The model of prosecutorial case management emphasizes speedy and early disposition of cases.
system efficiency
In Strickland v. Washington,
the Supreme Court rejected the defendant's claim that his attorney did not adequately prepare for the sentencing hearing in a death penalty case (the attorney sought neither character statements nor a psychiatric examination to present on the defendant's behalf).
By seeking to please voters, many prosecutors have
tried to use their local office as a springboard to higher office—such as state legislator, governor, or member of Congress.
Public opinion may influence prosecutorial decisions.
true