CCJ2020 Study Guide Borkowski Structure of the Court System The State Court System Jurisdiction the Territory subject matter or people over which a court or other justice agency may exercise lawful authority as determined by statute or constitution Decides where a case or matter should be resolved Two types of Jurisdiction Original Jurisdiction The lawful authority of a court to hear or act on a case from its beginning and to pass judgement on the laws and the facts Authority may be over a geographic area or over particular types of cases Appellate Jurisdiction The lawful authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court Dispute Resolution Centers and Specialized Courts Dispute Resolution Centers An informal hearing place designed to mediate interpersonal disputes without resorting to the more formal arrangements of a criminal trial A low level court that focuses on quality of life crimes A low level court that focuses on relatively minor offenses and handles special populations or addresses special issues like reentry Community Court Specialized Court The Courtroom Workgroup Judges Bailiff Clerks Prosecution Defense Council Stenographers Witnesses Professional Members of the Courtroom Workgroup Prosecutorial Discretion The decision making power of the prosecutors based on a wide range of choices available to them the handling of criminal defendants the scheduling of cases for trial the acceptance of negotiated pleas etc The most important form of discretion lies in the power to charge or not charge a person with an offense Pretrial and Criminal Trial Pretrial Activities First Appearance Occurs when defendants are brought before a judge 1 To be given formal notice of the charges against them 2 To be advised of their rights 3 To be given the opportunity to retain a lawyer or to have one appointed to them 4 Perhaps to be afforded the opportunity for bail Depending on the state from the first appearance the suspect may proceed through either of the following before the arraignment Pretrial Release the release of an accused person from custody for all or part of the time before or during prosecution on his or her promise to appear in court when required Preliminary Hearing held to determine whether there is probable cause to hold the defendant for trial The main purpose is to allow the accused to challenge the legal basis for his arrest A determination of competency is also completed at this hearing The Grand Jury Private Citizens who hear evidence presented by the prosecution and votes on the indictment formal listing of proposed charges Bail Bail is the most common release detention decision making mechanism in American courts Serves two purposes Helps ensure reappearance of the accused Prevents unconvicted individuals from suffering imprisonment unnecessarily Bail involves the posting of a bond as a pledge that the accused will return for further hearings Criminal Trial The main purpose of the criminal trial is the dermination of the defendant s innocence or guilt Parts of Trial 3 types of Evidence Direct Circumstantial Real 1 Pretrial Activities 2 Trial initiation 3 Jury Selection 4 Opening Statements 5 Presentation of Evidence Prosecution first then Defense 6 Closing Arguments 7 8 9 Verdicts 10 Sentencing or Release Judge s Charge to the Jury Jury Deliberation 6 th Amendment 6th amendment guarantees the right to a speedy and public trial Speedy Trial Act 1974 required that proceedings begin within a specific period of time Jury Selection the process in which both the prosecution and defense can use challenges to remove prospective jurors from the jury pool Three types of challenges 1 Challenge to the array the belief that the pool of jurors is not reflective of the community or is biased in some way 2 Challenge for cause a motion to remove a potential juror because they cannot be fair or 3 Peremptory Challenge the right to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the impartial reason for the challenge Plea Bargaining Plea Bargaining the Process of negotiating an agreement among the defendant the prosecutor and the court as to an appropriate pleas and associated sentence in a given case Circumvents the trial process and dramatically reduces the time required for the resolution of a criminal case Founded on the mutual interest of all involved Defense Defense attorneys and their clients will agree to a plea of guilty when they are unsure of their ability to win acquittal at trial Benefits include The possibility of reduced or combined charges Lower defense costs Short sentence than might be anticipated Prosecution Prosecutors may be willing to bargain because the evidence they have against the defendant is weaker than they would like it to be Offers prosecutors the additional advantage of a quick conviction without the need to commit time and resources necessary for trial Consequences of Plea Bargaining Law and Order Advocates claim that plea bargaining results in unjustifiably light sentences Can be used by prosecutors and defense attorneys who are more interested in speedy resolution than justice In extreme consequences it may result in innocent defendants being convicted of crimes they did not commit Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure To protect defendants against hastily arranged pleas the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires judges to Inform the defendant of the various rights they are surrendering by pleading guilty 1 2 Determine that the plea is voluntary 3 Require disclosure of any plea arrangements 4 Make sufficient inquiry to ensure there is a factual basis for the plea Sentencing Sentencing The imposition of a criminal sanction by a judicial authority Goals of Criminal Sentencing Retribution The act of taking revenge on a criminal perpetrator Earliest known rationale for punishment eye for an eye Incapaciation Deterrence Rehabilitation Restoration Use of imprisonment or other means to reduce the likelihood than offender will commit future offenses Separates offenders from the community Seeks to inhibit criminal behavior through the fear of punishment Specific Deterrence seeks to prevent offender from engaging in repeat criminality General Deterrence seeks to prevent others from committing crimes similar to the one for which a particular offender is being sentence by making an example of the particular offender being sentenced Attempts to reform a criminal offender Goal to reduce the number of criminal offenses In 1970 s Rehabilitation was
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