Chapter 8 Pretrial Procedures Plea Bargaining and the Criminal Trial From Arrest to Trial or Plea Pretrial processes ideally force prosecutors and judges to review the available evidence and dismiss unnecessary charges against people who shouldn t face trial or punishment o Filter out cases quickly assembly line After arrest criminal is booked o Fingerprints and photographs taken to form basis of case record Then the initial appearance or arraignment the formal court appearance of an accused person in which the charges are read and the accuse plead guilty or not guilty o Known what they are charges for give a plea and informed of their rights also bail posted Evaluate Evidence at time of arraignment o If a case against a defendant is weak charges may be dropped o Dropped charges if crime is minor if he is a first offender etc Defense attorneys use pretrial proceedings to challenge the prosecutions evidence o Make motions application to court requesting that an order be issued to bring about action Bail Pretrial Release from society Conflict between American liberties and the need to keep dangerous criminals away Note every person charged with a criminal offense needs to be detained Bail a sum of money or property specified by the judge that defendants present to the court as a condition of pretrial release o Forfeited if they do not appear in court o No constitutional right to release on bail but right to no excessive bail o No guarantee all defendants have a chance of being released before trial o Amount of bail should be high enough but no higher to get them in court The Reality of the Bail System o Minor offenses normally have standard rates of bail o More serious offenses a judge will set bail in court Amount of bail for both cases is determined on the judge s view of the seriousness of the crime and of the defendants record o Little time 24 to 48 hrs to set bail lack of information o Critics of system argue that it discriminates against poor people they cant afford it Bail Bondsmen o Private businesspeople who are paid a 5 to 10 percent fee of their bail in order to put up the money to gain the defendants release Choose their own clients and decide which defendants are likely to return for court appearances o Use bounty hunters if a person doesn t pay bail and runs o Build relationships with officers and judges Can steer defendants to particular bondsmen Can lead to improper cooperation such as bondsmen refusing to help a particular defendant if a judge wants to see him in jail o Contribute to smooth processing of cases Main reason most fail to appear in court is due to miscommunication of courts forgetfulness and confusion Bondsmen remind defendants of their court cases and remind family members in order for him or her to get there o Federal fugitives require US marshals Local use bounty hunters Setting Bail o Usually apply a standard amount for a specific charge o When judge sets bail judge prosecutor and defendant interact in order to make sure the terms of bail and conditions are correct Argue over the price Favor affluent defendants over poor people with unstable families Poor have disadvantages in bail process Can reflect ethnicity race and social class Can affect bail Reforming the Bail System jail o Efforts to reform the bail system in order to reduce number of people sitting in o Citation a written order or summons issued by an officer directing an akkeged offender to appear in court at a specific time to answer a criminal charge Avoids taking them to station Now use it on more serious offenses in order to keep more people out of jail o Release on Recognizance pretrial release granted on the defendants promise to appear in court because judge believes that the defendants ties to the community guarantee that he or she will appear Works efficiently o Ten percent Cash Bail percentage Bail programs in which the defendants deposit with the court an amount of cash equal to 10 percent IF they don t show to court they have to pay the full bail o Bail Guidelines Written guidelines for setting bail Set amount for charge from them in situations Judges are expected to follow the guidelines but may deviate o Preventive Detention holding a defendant for trial based on a judge s finding that if the defendant were released on bail he would be dangerous or would flee Idea of whether criminal will flee Based on past crime record Seriousness of the crime life or even capital punishment Proved constitutional through US v Salerno and Cafero Said it was constitutional because it wasn t designed to punish the accused these people are criminals o Conditions in jails are much harsher than in prisons o People in jail are pretrial detainees for whom bail was not set or those who are o People whoare serving short sentences for misdemeanors or convicted felons too poor to pay the bail waiting transfer to prison o people with psychological or substance abuse problems who have been swept Pretrial Detention Jail the ultimate ghetto off the streets Social Sanitation Sources of Stress o Living with difficult and dangerous cell mates o Uncertainty about case indefinite stay in jail o Families and Jobs o Ability to contribute to preparing a defense Plea Bargaining The most important step in the CJS very few cases actually go to trial but have a negotiated guilty plea Santobello v New York 1971 when a guilty plea rests on a promise of a prosecutor the promise must be fulfilled Plea bargaining is essential component of the CJS and the can benefit all concerned Quicker caseloads for public defenders and known punishment for defendants Prosecutors gain easy conviction Saved time and resources for both parties Some are against in serious cases shouldn t have pleas Exchange relationships in Plea Bargaining o Prosecutor Defendant Defender nad Judge participate in order to create a plea o Doesn t occur in a single meeting between lawyers Tactics of Prosecutor and Defense o Each side tries to impress the other with its confidence of their case and points out the others weaknesses o They don t conceal information that could be later used in courtroom o Outcomes of plea ca ndeend of relationship b t prosec and defend o Multiple offense indictment Accused person knows that the charges they were convicted of were much greater so they are tempted to plead guilty to a lesser charge Pleas without Bargaining o Plea bargaing doesn t occur for certain types of cases but they have as many guilty pleas as other courts o
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