Chp 11: determination of guilt and plea bargaining

What are three of the six functions that juries serve for the criminal justice system?

(1) Safeguard citizens against arbitrary law enforcement, (2) determine the guilt of the accused, (3) represent diverse community interests and values, (4) serve as a buffer between accused and accuser, (5) become educated about the justice system, and (6) symbolize the law.

A classic five-state study by Joy Chapper and Roger Hanson (1989) shows that

(1)although a majority of appeals occur after trial convictions, about a quarter result from nontrial proceedings, such as guilty pleas and probation revocations; (2)homicides and other serious crimes against people account for more than 50 percent of appeals; (3)most appeals arise from cases in which the sentence is five years or less; and (4)the issues raised at appeal tend to concern the introduction of evidence, the sufficiency of evidence, and jury instructions.

(United States v. Hyde, 1997)

1 ) in federal courts a plea may be withdrawn if the defendant shows "a just and fair reason" to do so

Appeals

1')The imposition of a sentence does not mean that the defendant must serve it immediately. He or she typically has the right to appeal. 2) Indigent offenders' right to counsel continues through the first appeal

Trial: The Exceptional Case

1) Cases not dismissed or terminated through plea bargaining move forward for trial. 2)seriousness of the charge is probably the most important factor influencing the decision to go to trial. 3) Defendants charged with property crimes rarely demand a trial. However, murder, felonious assault, or rape—all charges that bring long prison terms—are more likely to require judge and jury

Ricketts v. Adamson (1987)

1) Defendants must uphold the plea agreement or risk going to trial and receiving a harsher sentence. 2) that defendants must also keep their side of the bargain, such as an agreement to testify against co-defendants.

plea agreement has been fulfilled

1) If the prosecutor has promised to recommend a lenient sentence, he or she must keep that promise. 2) The Supreme Court ruled that "when a [guilty] plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or consideration, such promise must be fulfilled"

What has the Supreme Court decided concerning the size and unanimity requirements of juries?

1) Juries can have as few as 6 jurors, except in death penalty cases, in which 12 are required, and convictions can occur through less-than-unanimous verdicts.

Real evidence

1) Physical evidence such as a weapon, records, fingerprints, stolen property—objects actually involved in the crime. 2)might include such objects as a weapon, business records, fingerprints, or stolen property. These are real objects involved in the crime 3)is one form of demonstrative evidence.

Juries perform six vital functions in the U.S. criminal justice system:

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

The 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 The details of each step may vary according to each state's rules.

Criticisms of Plea Bargaining

1) The first stresses due process and argues that plea bargaining is unfair because defendants give up some of their constitutional rights, especially the right to trial by jury 2)The second stresses sentencing policy and points out that plea bargaining reduces society's interest in appropriate punishments for crimes. 3)n urban areas with high caseloads, harried prosecutors and judges are said to make concessions based on administrative needs, resulting in lighter sentences than those required by the penal code.

there are concerns that racial biases may affect

1) decision making during jury deliberations. The U.S. 2) Supreme Court addressed both of these issues in 2016 and 2017.

Puckett v. United States, 2009

1) defendants may forfeit their opportunity to challenge a prosecutor's failure to fulfill the agreement if the defense attorney does not raise an objection to the prosecutor's failure immediately when it occurs in the sentencing hearing

behavior of defendants

1) greatly affects how they are treated. 2)expected to act remorseful, repentant, silent, and submissive. 3)When the defendant admits guilt in public and states that he or she is entering a guilty plea voluntarily, acceptance of the plea can be followed by a brief lecture from the judge about the seriousness of the crime or the harm the defendant has caused the victim as well as his or her own family.

prosecutors

1) hold the upper hand through their ability to file and pursue multiple charges. 2) Their position was further strengthened by the increasingly severe sentences that legislatures enacted in the 1990s

Japan introduced criminal jury trials

1) into their system in 2009

Jury Selection

1) is a crucial first step in the trial process. 2) Because people always incorporate their experiences, values, and biases in their decision making, prosecutors and defense attorneys actively seek to identify and select potential jurors who may be sympathetic to their side and to exclude potentially hostile jurors 3)selection of jurors involves the decisions and interactions of prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges, each of whom has different objectives in the selection process. 4)Potential jurors are drawn at random from a source list. 5)selected from among the citizens whose names have been placed in the jury pool.

Judges

1) lead the courtroom team. 2) They ensure that everyone follows procedures correctly. 3)must approve prosecutors decisions 4) give other members of the team a great deal of freedom in carrying out their duties and will usually approve group decisions, especially when the members of the group have shared beliefs about the court's goals and the community's values. 5)anticipate problems; provide cues for other actors; and threaten, cajole, and move the group toward efficient achievement of its goals 6)can define the level of their involvement in the processing of criminal cases 7) How they define their role strongly affects interpersonal relations in the courtroom and the way the group performs its task, as measured by the way it disposes of cases 8)Judges' actions can, for example, pressure defense attorneys to encourage their clients to plead guilty instead of insisting on a trial 9)help define the speed, efficiency, and degree of cooperation involved in disposing cases.

The going rates for sentences for particular crimes and offenders depend on

1) local values and sentencing patterns 2)both the prosecutor and the defense attorney belong to a particular local legal culture and thus share an understanding about how cases should be handled 3) they become keenly aware of local practices in the treatment of cases and offenders 4) they may both know right away what the sentence will be for a first-time burglar or second-time robber. 5) sentence may differ in another courthouse because the local legal culture and going rates can vary

bench trials

1) presided over by a judge without a jury. 2)Trial conducted by a judge who acts as fact finder and determines issues of law. No jury participates. 3) Defendants may choose a bench trial if they believe a judge will be more capable of making an objective decision, especially if the charges or evidence are likely to arouse emotional reactions in jurors.

implicit plea bargaining

1) shared understandings create the expectation that a guilty plea will lead to a less-than-maximum sentence, even without any exchange or bargaining. 2) a guilty plea can be entered without any formal bargaining, because both sides agree on what the case is worth in terms of the seriousness of the charge and the usual punishment.

In February 2017, David Watson

1) stood trial for an alleged triple-murder related to the disappearance of his wife more than a decade earlier during a child custody dispute

Foster v. Chatman (2016),

1) the Court examined the death-penalty murder conviction and sentence of an African American man 2)State law granted the prosecution the authority to remove ten potential jurors through discretionary decision making, so long as the removal decision was not based on the jurors' race or gender. 3) During the appeal process, the defendants' lawyer obtained prosecutors' notes and records that presented many notations and comments indicating prosecutors' commitment to exclude African American potential jurors. 4) The prosecution ultimately removed all four African American jurors who were left among the available choices as the selection process proceeded. 5)brought renewed attention to the debate about whether and how attorneys' discretionary use of peremptory challenges creates biased juries or discriminates against certain people and denies them the opportunity to serve as jurors due to their race or other improper consideration. 6)prohibiting racial discrimination 7)was one example of a case in which the Supreme Court rejected prosecutors' use of peremptory challenges to exclude African Americans from a jury.

Boykin v. Alabama (1969)

1) the Supreme Court ruled that defendants must state that they made their pleas voluntarily, before judges may accept those pleas. 2)Judges have created standard forms that have questions for the defendant to affirm in open court before the plea is accepted. 3)Trial judges also must learn whether the defendant understands the consequences of pleading guilty and confirm that the plea is not obtained through pressure or coercion. 4) The judge's role ensuring that defendants know their rights is especially important because there is no constitutional right to withdraw a guilty plea after it has been entered.

The disposition of felony cases results from

1) the interaction of members of the courtroom workgroup 2)decisions made by each member are influenced by the policies of their sponsoring organizations 3) interactions and policies may vary from courthouse to courthouse. 4)stability of workgroup interactions can be upset by changes such as a new docket system or adjustments in the policies and practices of sponsoring organizations.

going rate

1) the local view of the proper sentence based on the defendant's prior record and other factors. 2)Local court officials' shared view of the appropriate sentence for the offense, based on the defendant's prior record and other case characteristics. 3)shows us that sentences also result from shared understandings among the prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge 4)shared understandings may mean a court imposes probation on a first-time thief; in other courts, different shared values may send first offenders to jail or prison for the same offense.

shared understandings

1) they help make plea bargaining more effective, because both sides understand which sentences apply to which cases. 2)they help create a cooperative climate for plea bargaining, even if bad feelings exist between the prosecutor and the defense attorney. 3)local legal culture dictates how attorneys should treat each other and thereby reach agreements. 4)the shared understandings help maintain the relationship between the attorneys.

Williams v. Florida (1970)

1) upheld the use of small juries. 2)Juries of fewer than 12 members are permitted by the U.S. Constitution. 3)Many states use smaller juries for misdemeanor cases

jury

1) will make a decision based on thorough consideration of the available information about the case. 2)each side will present the best evidence and arguments it can muster, 3)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.

appeal

1)A request to a higher court that it review actions taken in a completed lower-court case. 2) is based on a claim that one or more errors of law or procedure were made during the investigation, arrest, or trial process 3)Such claims usually assert that the trial judge made errors in courtroom rulings or in improperly admitting evidence the police had gathered in violation of some constitutional right 4)Appeals are based on questions of procedure, not on issues of the defendant's guilt or innocence. 5)The appellate court will not normally second-guess a jury. 6)the appeal must usually meet short deadlines and carefully identify appropriate issues.

Habeas Corpus

1)After people use their avenues of appeal, they may pursue a writ of habeas corpus if they claim that their federal constitutional rights were violated during the lower-court processes 2)Known as "the great writ" from its traditional role in English law, 3)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 or granted a new trial. 4) petition asks a judge to examine whether an individual is being properly detained in a jail, prison, or mental hospital 5)If the detention is based on a rights violation or otherwise lacks a legal basis 6)Only about 1 percent of habeas petitions succeed

Opening Statements

1)After the jury has been selected, the trial begins 2)The clerk reads the complaint (indictment or information) detailing the charges, and the prosecutor and the defense attorney may, if they desire, make opening statements to the jury to summarize the position that each side intends to take 3)The statements are not evidence. The jury is not supposed to regard the attorneys' statements as proving or disproving anything about the case.

North Carolina v. Alford (1970)

1)Can a trial court accept a guilty plea if the defendant claims to be innocent? 2)the Court allowed a defendant to enter a guilty plea for the purpose of gaining a lesser sentence, even though he maintained that he was innocent 3) the Supreme Court has stated that trial judges should not accept such a plea unless a factual basis exists for believing that the defendant is in fact guilty

Demonstrative evidence

1)Evidence that is not based on witness testimony but demonstrates information relevant to the crime, such as maps, X-rays, and photographs; includes real evidence involved in the crime. 2)is any evidence presented for jurors to see and understand without testimony. 3)items not involved in the crime but still used to make points to jurors. These include maps, X-rays, photographs, models, and diagrams.

Circumstantial evidence

1)Evidence, provided by a witness, from which a jury must infer a fact. 2)requires that the jury infer a fact from what the witness observed: "I saw John Smith walk behind his house with a gun. A few minutes later I heard a gun go off, and then Mr. Smith walked toward me holding a gun." 3)witness's observation that Smith had a gun and that the witness then heard a gun go off does not provide the direct evidence that Smith fired his gun; yet the jury may link the described facts and infer that Smith fired his gun 4) After a witness has given testimony, he or she can be cross-examined by counsel for the other side

Direct evidence

1)Eyewitness accounts. 2)refers to eyewitness accounts for example, "I saw John Smith fire the gun."

challenge for cause

1)If a juror's responses indicate that he or she will not be able to make fair decisions, an attorney may request a 2)Removal of a prospective juror by showing that he or she has some bias or some other legal disability. The number of these challenges permitted to attorneys is potentially unlimited. 3)The judge must rule on the challenge, but if the judge agrees with the attorney, then the juror is excused from that specific case. 4)usually no limit on the number of jurors that the attorneys may challenge for cause. Nonetheless, identifying all of a juror's biases through brief questioning is not easy.

Blackledge v. Allison

1)In 1976, Justice Potter Stewart revealed the heart and soul of plea bargaining when he wrote in Blackledge v. Allison that plea bargaining "can benefit all concerned" in a criminal case. 2)It offers advantages for defendants, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges. 3)Defendants can have their cases completed more quickly and know what the punishment will be, instead of facing the uncertainty of a judge's sentencing decision.

Approximately what percentage of felony cases reach conclusion through a trial?

1)In most jurisdictions, only 3 to 4 percent of felony cases typically reach their conclusion through trials, although there may be slightly higher percentages in a specific year or at a specific courthouse.

What factors can make a jury's decision different from that of a judge?

1)Jurors may discount cases in which they dislike the victims. Jurors may also be more sympathetic to self-defense claims. Judges are more likely to convict defendants on evidence that is only moderately strong.

What are the stages in the trial process?

1)Jury selection, attorneys' opening statements, 2)presentation of prosecution's evidence, 3) presentation of defense's evidence, 4)presentation of rebuttal witnesses, 5)closing arguments by each side, judge's instructions to the jury, and jury's decision.

Bordenkircher v. Hayes (1978)

1)May prosecutors threaten to penalize defendants who insist on their right to a jury trial? -Yes. 2)Prosecutors may, for example, threaten repeat offenders with life sentences under habitual offender statutes if they do not agree to plead guilty and accept specified terms of imprisonment. 3)A defendant's rights were not violated by a prosecutor who warned that failure to agree to a guilty plea would result in a harsher sentence. 4) A threat of more-serious charges, as long as such charges are legitimate and supported by evidence, is not considered improper pressure that makes a guilty plea involuntary and hence invalid.

testimony

1)Most evidence in a criminal trial, however, consists of the testimony of witnesses. 2)Oral evidence provided by a legally competent witness. 3)Witnesses at a trial must be legally competent. Thus the judge may be required to determine whether the witness whose testimony is challenged has the intelligence to tell the truth and the ability to recall what was seen 4)Witnesses with inadequate intelligence or mental problems can be excluded as unqualified to present testimony

multiple-offense indictment

1)Multiple-offense charges are especially important to prosecuting attorneys in difficult cases in which, for instance, the victim is reluctant to provide information, the value of the stolen item is in question, and the evidence may not be reliable.

Tactics of Prosecutor and Defense

1)Plea bargaining between defense counsel and prosecutor is a serious game in which friendliness and joking may mask efforts to advance each side's cause. 2)Each side tries to impress the other with its confidence in its own case while pointing out weaknesses in the other's evidence. 3) An unspoken rule of openness and candor helps keep the relationship on good terms. 4)A tactic that many prosecutors bring to plea bargaining sessions is the multiple-offense indictment 5) Another tactic is to seek to reschedule pretrial activities in the hope that, with delay, witnesses will become unavailable, media attention will die down, and memories of the crime will diminish by the time of the trial.

Exchange Relationships in Plea Bargaining

1)Plea bargaining is a set of exchange relationships in which the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the defendant, and sometimes the judge participate. 2)All have specific goals, all try to use the situation to their own advantage, and all tend to see the exchange as a success.

peremptory challenges

1)Removal of a prospective juror without giving any reason. Attorneys are allowed a limited number of such challenges. 2)the prosecution and defense can exert their own control over the jury's composition through the use of peremptory challenges 3) Attorneys use peremptory challenges to exclude jurors whom they think will be unsympathetic to their arguments 4)the defense is allowed eight to ten peremptory challenges, and the prosecution six to eight. 5)has raised concerns that attorneys can use them to exclude, for example, African American jurors when an African American is on tria 6)In a series of decisions in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Supreme Court prohibited using peremptory challenges to systematically exclude potential jurors because of their race or gender

Why are similar cases treated differently in different cities?

1)Several factors can vary in different cities, including the structure of the courtroom workgroup and the influence of sponsoring organizations, which can affect such things as prosecution policies and public defender assignments.

How does a courtroom workgroup form and operate?

1)The courtroom workgroup is made up of judge, prosecutor, defense counsel, and support staff assigned to a specific courtroom. Through the interaction of these members, goals and norms are shared, and a set of roles becomes stabilized.

How does the local legal culture affect criminal cases?

1)The local legal culture consists of norms that distinguish between one court and those in other jurisdictions. These norms dictate expectations about how members should treat one another and describe how cases should be processed.

Presentation of the Prosecution's Evidence

1)The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt, within the demands of the court procedures and rules of evidence, that the individual named in the indictment committed the crime 2)By presenting evidence to the jury, the prosecution must establish a case showing that the defendant is guilty. Evidence is classified as real evidence, demonstrative evidence, testimony, direct evidence, and circumstantial evidence.

Evaluating the Appellate Process

1)The public seems to believe that many guilty offenders are being let off through the appellate process 2)claim that too many offenders delay imposition of their sentences and that others seek to evade punishment by filing appeals endlessly. 3)increases the workload of the courts but also jeopardizes the concept of the finality of the justice process. 4) because 90 percent of accused people plead guilty, the percentage of cases that might be appealed successfully is relatively small.

reasonable doubt

1)The standard used by a juror to decide if the prosecution has provided enough evidence for conviction. 2)lies at the heart of the jury system. The prosecution is not required to prove the guilt of the defendant beyond all doubt. Instead, if you as a juror are

Santobello v. New York (1971)

1)When a guilty plea rests on a promise of a prosecutor, the promise must be fulfilled. 2)Chief Justice Warren Burger ruled that prosecutors were obliged to fulfill promises made during plea negotiations. 3)"'Plea bargaining' is an essential component of the administration of justice. Properly administered, it is to be encouraged."

In civil-law countries, this function is usually performed by

1)a judge or judges, often assisted by two or three nonlawyers serving as assessors. 2)However, a few civil-law countries, including Russia and Spain, have incorporated juries into their legal processes

Brandon Vandenburg case

1)a key issue for the defense is whether the accused will take the stand 2) The Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination means that the defendant is not required to testify. 3)The Supreme Court has ruled that the prosecutor may not comment on, nor can the jury draw inferences from, the defendant's decision not to speak in his or her own defense

Defense attorneys are supposed to provide

1)advice to defendants based on knowledgeable predictions about the possible results of going to trial.

Plea Bargaining

1)also known as negotiating a settlement, copping a plea, or copping out—is the most important step in the criminal justice process. 2)Few cases go to trial; instead, a negotiated guilty plea arrived at through the interactions of prosecutors, defense lawyers, and judges determines what will happen to most defendants. 3) trials are relatively rare events 4)screening processes vary by jurisdiction 5)nature of the exchanges varies with each plea agreement, depending on the specific charges and whether the prosecutor expects a defendant to testify against other defendants. 6) criminal justice system's "little secret."

rules of evidence

1)can prevent one side from presenting the most useful evidence.

James Eisenstein and Herbert Jacob (1977)

1)classic research on the felony disposition process in Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit offers important insights into the workgroup's impact on decisions in felony cases. 2) found that although the same type of felony case was handled differently in each city, the outcomes of the dispositions were remarkably similar. 3)differences emerged from the structure of the courtroom workgroups, the influence of the sponsoring organizations, and sociopolitical factors 4)found that the stable courtroom workgroups in Chicago had informal procedures for screening cases. 5) Because of the groups' close links to the trial courtrooms, they felt pressure to screen out many cases and thus spare the resources of the judges and the courts..

In some cases, defense attorneys may threaten to ask for a jury trial if

1)concessions are not made

Lawrence Taylor

1)entered guilty pleas to two misdemeanor charges—sexual misconduct with an underage girl and patronizing a prostitute. 2)he was charged with third-degree rape and soliciting rape when a teenage girl had been brought to his room by a man who was subsequently charged with unlawful imprisonment, assault, and endangering the welfare of a child 3) faced the possibility of four years in prison. 4) After the plea agreement, however, Taylor was sentenced to six years of probation, a $2,000 fine, and registration as a sex offender 5) For Taylor, the benefits of plea bargaining were clear: His charges were reduced, he avoided any time in jail or prison, and he gained certainty about what his sentence would be. 6) prosecutor gained a conviction without the time and expense of trial.

Pleas without Bargaining

1)give-and-take plea bargaining does not occur for certain types of cases, yet these cases have as many guilty pleas as they do in other courts 2)bargaining may be misleading in that it implies haggling. 3) Through their discussions, the prosecutor and defense attorney seek to reach a shared view of the provable facts in the case 4) Once they agree on the facts, they will both know the appropriate charge, and they can agree on the sentence according to the locally defined going rate.

workgroups

1)groups of people who interact with each other, share certain goals and values, and form relationships that facilitate cooperation 2)best understand how criminal justice officials and staff function when we view them as workgroups, 3)A collection of individuals who interact in the workplace on a continuing basis, share goals, develop norms regarding how activities should be carried out, and eventually establish a network of roles that differentiates the group from others and that facilitates cooperation. 4)the more smoothly they can dispose of cases. 5)especially important in analyzing urban courts, which have many courtrooms; large numbers of lawyers, judges, and other court personnel; and heavy caseloads.

Decisions in criminal cases rely on

1)how the participants interact with each other

continuances

1)lawyers' requests for delays in court proceedings 2)An adjournment of a scheduled case until a later date.

To determine an appropriate plea agreement and sentence

1)members of the workgroup rely on the probation officer to provide accurate information in the presentence report about the defendant's prior convictions and family history.

rotation system

1)moves judges between courtrooms in a large courthouse may limit the development of workgroup norms and roles. 2)the arrival of a new judge every week or month will require them to learn and adapt to new ideas about how cases should be negotiated or tried. 3) When shared norms cannot develop, cases tend to proceed in a relatively formal manner.

Cross-examination

1)or questioning by the opposing attorney, creates risks for the defendant. 2)The prosecutor may question the defendant not only about the crime but also about his or her past, including past criminal convictions.

culture

1)shared beliefs about proper behavior. 2) the culture of a community greatly influences how its members behave. 3)can span entire nations or pertain to smaller communities, including corporations, churches, or neighborhoods 4) can exert a strong effect on people's decisions and behavior.

As a symbol of law, juries demonstrate to the public—and to defendants—

1)that decisions about depriving individuals of their liberty will be made carefully by a group of citizens who represent the community's values. 2) juries provide the primary element of direct democracy in the judicial branch of government. 3)participation on juries, citizens use their votes to determine the outcomes of cases 4)In the United States, a criminal jury traditionally is composed of 12 citizens, but some states now allow as few as 6 citizens to make up a jury in noncapital cases. 5)This reform was recommended to modernize court procedures and reduce expenses.

In Burch v. Louisiana (1979),

1)the Court ruled that six-member juries must vote unanimously to convict a defendant, but unanimity is not required for larger juries. 2)Oregon and Louisiana permit juries to convict defendants by votes of 10 to 2, although Oregon requires unanimity for first-degree murder cases

Determinations of guilt may hinge on

1)the effectiveness of the presentation of such evidence rather than the accuracy and verifiability of the scientific conclusions 2)Judges' and jurors' lack of expertise about scientific matters means that there are risks that they cannot effectively question and analyze certain kinds of evidence, although recent research indicates most jurors are capable of comprehending scientific evidence

adversary process

1)the trial process is based on 2)an open battle between opposing lawyers that is assumed to be the best way to discover the truth. 3) The Sixth Amendment says the accused shall enjoy a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in all criminal prosecutions.

The composition of the jury pool tremendously impacts the

1)the ultimate composition of the trial jury. 2) In most states, the jury pool is drawn from lists of registered voters and licensed drivers, but research has shown that nonwhites, the poor, and young people register to vote and maintain valid driver's licenses at lower rates than do the rest of the population.

local legal culture

1)values and norms shared by members of a particular court community (judges, attorneys, clerks, bailiffs, and others)—about how cases should be handled and the way court officials should behave 2)Norms, shared by members of a court community, which center on how cases should be handled and how a participant should behave in the judicial process. 3)Norms describe how cases should be processed

In some sex-crime cases

1)victims favor plea agreements because they do not wish to go through the process of being questioned intensively by the defense attorney about the details of the crime.

voir dire

1)which means "to speak the truth") is used to question prospective jurors to screen out those who might be biased or incapable of making a fair decision 2)A questioning of prospective jurors in order to screen out people the judge or attorneys think might be biased or otherwise incapable of delivering a fair verdict. 3) Attorneys for each side, as well as the judge, may question jurors about their background, knowledge of the case, and their acquaintance with any participants in the case. 4)Jurors will also be asked whether they or their immediate family members have been crime victims or otherwise involved in a criminal case in a manner that may prevent them from making open-minded decisions about the evidence and the defendant. 5)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.

In 1996, Congress passed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

1)which placed additional restrictions on habeas corpus petitions. The statute was quickly approved by the U.S. Supreme Court. 2)habeas corpus petitions in the federal courts increased by 50 percent after the passage of the restrictive legislation

What is the difference between a peremptory challenge and a challenge for cause?

A challenge for cause is based on an indication that a prospective juror cannot make a fair decision. Such challenges must be approved by the judge. A peremptory challenge can be made by the attorney without giving a reason, unless an allegation arises that the attorney is using such challenges systematically to exclude people because of their race or gender.

In , the Supreme Court ruled that a defendant's rights were not violated by a prosecutor who warned that failure to agree to a guilty plea would result in a harsher sentence.

Bordenkircher v. Hayes

What are the criticisms of plea bargaining?

Concerns about pressures on defendants to surrender their rights and concerns that society's mandated criminal punishments are improperly reduced.

What is implicit plea bargaining?

Implicit plea bargaining occurs when prosecutors and defense attorneys use shared expectations and interactions to settle the facts of a case and reach a resolution based on the going rate for sentences in the local legal culture.

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 do not have to preside over as many time-consuming trials.

What are the kinds of evidence presented during a trial?

Real evidence, demonstrative evidence, testimony, direct evidence, and circumstantial evidence.

Bill entered into a plea agreement that is quite favorable to him, but requires him to truthfully testify against his codefendants. Under , he must fulfill these terms or risk going to trial and receiving a harsher sentence.

Ricketts v. Adamson

(Santobello v. New York, 1971).

The Supreme Court ruled that "when a [guilty] plea rests in any significant degree on a promise or agreement of the prosecutor, so that it can be said to be part of the inducement or consideration, such promise must be fulfilled"

What issues concerning plea bargaining has the Supreme Court examined?

The U.S. Supreme Court has examined whether the defendant pleads guilty in a knowing and voluntary way, guilty pleas from defendants who still claim to be innocent, and prosecutors' and defendants' obligations to fulfill their plea agreements.

What is a habeas corpus petition?

The habeas corpus process may be started after all appeals have been filed and lost. Convicted offenders ask a federal court to review whether any constitutional rights were violated during the course of a case's investigation and trial. If rights were violated, the person's continued detention in prison or jail may be improper

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 in an appellate court may mean only a chance at a new trial—which often leads to a new conviction.

Common-law countries, such as Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States,

are the places that historically have used a group of citizens drawn from the community to determine the guilt of criminal defendants.

Evidence that is not based on witness testimony but conveys information relevant to the crime, such as maps, X-rays, and photographs, is called evidence.

demonstrative

Local court officials' shared view of the appropriate sentence for an offense based on the defendant's prior record and other case characteristics is called the .

going rate

Most jury trials worldwide take place

in the United States

The local legal culture also includes attitudes

on such issues as whether a judge should take part in plea negotiations, when continuances—lawyers' requests for delays in court proceedings—should be granted, and which defendants qualify for a public defender.

Multiple-offense charges are especially important to prosecuting attorneys in cases in which it might be difficult to obtain a conviction, because they increase pressure on the defendant to accept a plea bargain.

true

Research finds that the first ballot outcomes in jury trials ultimately prevail in nearly all cases.

true

Martin has been charged with homicide and has elected to have a jury trial. The trial is in the phase of jury selection, and his attorney has just issued a against a potential juror because the individual indicates he believes Martin must be guilty or he would not be on trial.

voir dire; challenge for cause

How criminal justice officials and staff function is best understood when they are viewed as , or people who interact with each other, share certain goals and values, and form relationships that facilitate cooperation.

workgroup(s)