Trial ProcessMerely an attempt at the truthAdversarial or accusatorial trialIdea of a fair fightDefendant has the right to be present at their own trialAlso has the right to call witnesses and confront their accusers (cross examine their accusersPresent their case to an impartial group of peopleMust be proven beyond a reasonable doubtTrial rights come up from the 6th amendmentDefendant has the right to be present at their own trialLimitations if the defendant is disruptiveDefendant can be bound and gagged during trialCan be cited for contemptCan be put out of the trial until they behaveCan be tried in absence if they abscond (run)Right to compulsory process- subpoena people to testifyConfrontation clauseDefendant can be there and see their accusersSecret trials are not allowed because they wont be fairDefendant can waive their right to be at the trialBut that won’t mean the case will go awayThey can keep you in contemptThey can hold the trial when the defendant isn’t thereJust because they aren’t present it doesn’t mean they wont prosecuteDefendant can subpoena witnesses in their trialThey might have witnesses too that are reluctantDefendant is presumed innocentGreatest due process right there isYou go in and everyone presumes you’re innocent“Until PROVEN” guiltyState has to prove you guiltyIf there is one element missing, then it doesn’t countPresumption of innocence is not in the constitutionIt’s a due process issuesJury Selection6th amendment gives you the right to a juryPrevent oppression by the gov’tDon’t want the gov’t to make decisions about how long or if the defendant is going to prisonJury makes it fair- fellow citizens can decidePetty offenses don’t give you the right to a jury trialAny offense where you can get 6 months or less are not allowed jury trialsIf you pick up more charges and all of them together are more than 6 months, you still can’t have a juryMaster jury listEvery community has one- list of all potential jurors in the areaThey select a jury pool from this list3 places to form this list of jurors:List of registered votersIf your name is on there, there is a chance they can take your name on the jury listDept. Motor vehicles listIf you have a driver’s licenseID listsFor the people that don’t drive and are over 18Once you get a letter you need to show upYou can be held in contempt if you skip outThere have been laws that discriminate against certain people serving on jury dutyViolated equal protection laws/rightsThey can send out letters and they’re in a pool called venireRepresentative cross section of the communityWhen there is a case in front of the judge and they ask the defendant if they want a jury, they will send in a jury panelThey will be seated as the juryAnd the lawyers will pick who they wantVoi DireQuestioning potential jurors to determine their biasSometimes the judge conducts this not the lawyersTo see how the jurors think to then determine how they can ruleFrom the 42 on the panel they will pick the petit jury-the trial juryUsually its going to be 12 plus alternatesIf something happens during the trial and they can’t be present, the alternates can take their placeIn SC there is a rule that if a blind man needs to come to the court room and he will pick a number from a hat to pick a juror to be presentedThere is always one available in SC courthousesOr a child that cant read whichever oneSo once they call that jurorThey will state their name and where they workThe lawyers will need to decide if they want you or notThey can strike youSometimes people will have a certain number of strikes“Please excuse the juror” or “please seat the juror”The prosecution chooses first then the defense has to vote tooCan not strike for an improper reasonOnce you use all the strikesThere are strikes for causeFor these you must give a reason as to why you striked the jurorBatson v. Kentucky (against prosecution)Supreme Court said that the defendant has an equal protection right against improper strike because it violates the defendants’ right to the aforementionedThe prosecution can not strike based on raceThe juror has the right to be a part of the processIf the defense believes that the prosecution striked based on race:Argue and prove to the judge a prima facie governance of the facts towards an improper striking by the prosecutionMust show the cognizable (recognizable) group that the prosecution has decidedly excluded from the juryThe prosecution must then combat the motion with its own reasoning as to the strikes even id they were preemptoryOnce the jury has been seated the judge will ask is there a motion of lawThen the defense will say yes and will need to send out the juryThe defense will show that the prosecution striked someone based on raceThe prosecution needs legit statements as to why they struck those jurorsThey can possibly lie tooReversed Batson (against defense)Size of the JurySome states can allow 6 jurors in a jury trialIf they jury has 12 members, it doesn’t need to be unanimousThe defendant can waive the right for a juryThey can have a bench trialDefense lawyers prefer juriesThere’s not right to a bench trialOnce the jury is selectedOnce the Jury is Selected and the Trial BeginsThere’s opening statements from each side’s lawyersOnly talk about the facts they’re about to hearAfter opening statements the prosecution will put up the case-in-chiefThe evidence of why and how the defendant did itThe defense is going to cross examines on the witnessesThen the prosecution can re-directThe defense can re-cross but only about the re-direction that was just madeThe defense needs to point out inconsistencies and anything that is not solid information or testimonyThey’re going to try to show the witness’s confusionOr lack of solidarity on their testimonyConfrontation clauseHear-say is not allowedNo way there can be confrontationExceptionsChild sex abuse caseKids don’t want to see the suspectThe defendant might be pulled out of the court when the kid is on the standCRJU 203 1st Edition Lecture 20Outline of Current Lecture I. Trial Process II. Jury Selection a. Master Jury List III. Voi Dire IV. Batson v. Kentucky a. Reversed Batson V. Size of Jury VI. Once the Jury is Selected Current Lecture Trial Process - Merely an attempt at the truth - Adversarial or accusatorial trial o Idea of a fair fight - Defendant has the right to be present at their own trial o Also has the right to call witnesses