General goals of the court system Provide for an open and impartial forum

for seeking the truth Provide for a fair and equitable hearing

using established due process rules Insure that the process takes place in an

atmosphere of legal competence and objectivity

Provide a clear legal outcome

Without courts (lawyers, judges), law has no legs: the law is not self-executing

The rights guaranteed under the Constitution against government overreach depend on courts being willing to protect them E.g., habeas corpus petitions (“produce the

body”) E.g., can “terrorists” be imprisoned without

access to courts?

All court systems are hierarchies of jurisdiction State, federal, tribal court hierarchies Different powers, functions, and

occupational priorities for different courts

Original (limited, general) and appellate (intermediate, last resort) jurisdictions

Each court is a system Judge, prosecutor, defense, clerks, probation, police

form a “working group” which participates in decision-making

The court working group often seeks to “work things out” among the participants.

The use of plea negotiations and other nonjudicial alternatives to “work things out” is more common than a formal trial process.

The working group exists because participants need to work together over long periods of time

The “worth of a case” is the basic working norm for informal decision-making

Courts have a heavy work load Differences between ideal and real

(remember the wedding cake model)Discretion sometimes results in

disparityFunding problemsTechnology as a way of dealing with

heavy work loads (e.g., calendaring, jury pools)

Overcrowded docketsAssembly-line justice –at the lowest

level of the wedding cakeToo many incentives to plead guilty

and to plea bargainToo few jury trialsSpeedy trials are unattainable

State courts Every state has its own court system No two are alike Some states still have local courts

staffed by amateurs on a part time bases (e.g. village courts in New York)

Deal with variety of cases ranging from homicide to property maintenance

Courts of limited jurisdiction The work horses of the criminal justice

system About 13,500 exist Organized at municipal or county level Restricted in types of cases they hear May be restricted to civil or criminal cases Dispose of minor cases – may do

preliminary activities for some felonies Sentencing options restricted

Specialty courts Juvenile, family, and probate courts Courts to combat specific problems ▪ Drug courts, adults, and juveniles▪ Mental health courts▪ IRS court

Courts of general jurisdiction Around 2,000 in the U.S. Hear serious felony cases Civil cases with damages over a

specified amount Appeals from lower courts▪ Review of transcript▪ Trial de novo

Appellate courts Each state has at least one level of appellate

courts.▪ Highest state court, usually called the “State Supreme

Court”

Court reconsiders a case that has been tried in order to determine whether the measures used complied with accepted rules of criminal procedure and were in line with constitutional doctrines

Appeal is not a new trial Can order a new trial, overturn lower court

decision, or uphold original verdict

Federal courts Legal basis for these courts found in

Article 3, sec. 1, of U.S. Constitution Jurisdiction over laws of U.S. and treaties Maritime jurisdiction Over controversies between 2 or more

states 3-tiered hierarch of court jurisdiction▪ U.S. District Courts▪ U.S. Courts of Appeals ▪ U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. district courts Trial courts of the federal system Organized by Congress in the Judicial Act of

1789 Jurisdiction over violations of federal law, i.e.

civil rights violations, interstate transportation of stolen vehicles and kidnappings

May hear inter-state lawsuits or cases where federal government is a party to the suit

Jurisdiction may overlap that of state courts

U.S. courts of appeals Organized into 13 judicial circuits Hear 40,000 appeals from district courts each

year Empowered to review federal and state

appellate court cases when there is a federal issue present

Do not retry the case or review the facts – only matters of procedure and substance of the law

Current attempts to limit the right of appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court Nation’s highest appellate body – court of last

resort for all cases tried in federal and state courts

Only federal court mentioned in the Constitution

Nine justices appointed for life (good behavior) by the President with approval of Congress

Court has discretion to choose which cases it will hear

Supreme Court process Most appeals to Supreme Court first

evaluated by clerks working for justices Most cases (90 percent) are brought to the

court by using a writ of certiorari▪ 4 of the 9 justices must vote to hear the case

If the Court decides to hear a case, it reviews legal briefs and may hear oral arguments

May decide to affirm or reverse the decision of the lower court

Decisions become precedent

State courts handle about one hundred million new cases each year including: 20 million civil and domestic cases 15 million criminal cases 2 million juvenile cases 57 million traffic and ordinance

violations

Federal courts even though smaller, are equally burdened Over 320,000 cases filed each year in

District Courts▪ Criminal cases increased 55 percent since

1994 Circuit Courts hear more than 60,000

appeals per year▪ In 1969 they heard only 10,000 appeals

Causes of court congestion Rapidly increasing populations outpace growth

in court system People like to sue each other Aggressive attempts to lower crime rate result in

more prosecutions Complexity of the law and advances in

technology Legal reform efforts may require more trials Frivolous lawsuits Lazy judges

Official roles: Political: campaign for election (if

elected); think ahead Administrative: manage and supervise

court personnel, resources, can have extensive control over probation officers and court clerk

Legal: ▪ Issue warrants▪ Decisions in preliminary hearings – bind over or

not▪ Make bail decisions▪ agree to plea-bargains▪ request PSIs (pre-sentence reports)

Primary duty is to oversee the trial process Ensures appropriate conduct Guides selection of juries and instructs on their roles

during trial Settles questions of evidence and procedure – deals

with motions Guides questioning of witnesses Responsible for jury instructions after case is

presented Decides case in bench trials Determines the sentence (except in capital

cases)

Informal roles Maintain good relations with court working

group Use discretion guided by legal requirements Personal sense of justice in sentencing Worry about appeals and being overturned Exert influence over police and prosecutors Decisions may shape social policy

Judicial qualifications Qualification vary by state Typical qualifications are:▪ Resident of the state▪ Between 25 and 70 years of age▪ Member of state bar licensed to practice law▪ Lower courts may not require law degree

Judicial selection systems Appointment Popular election Nonpartisan election Missouri Plan ▪ Judicial nominating commission▪ Appointed by governor from commission’s list▪ Retention election

The prosecutor May be called district attorney, county

attorney, state’s attorney, or U.S. attorney depending on the level of government and jurisdiction

Responsible for representing the public in criminal trials

Around 2,400 state court prosecutors offices Employ 65,000 attorneys, investigators, and

support staff

Types of prosecutors U.S. Attorneys – appointed by the

President Federal prosecutors are professional civil

service employees State and county levels, attorney

general, and district attorney are chief prosecutorial officers

Political appointees or elected

General duties Provide advice to law enforcement officers

during investigations Represents the state during pretrial plea

negotiations, motions, evidence, and bail hearings

Represents the state at other hearings, criminal trials, and appeals

Legal advisor to county commissioners and other elected officials

Implementation of special programs

Administrator: manage the office Informal: interact with working group Legal Evaluate the case file Decide to take the case forward or not Conduct the case if go forward

Strategy and tactics Sentencing recommendations

Prosecutors have a great deal of discretion

Evaluate case files Strong or weak case: factual, legal,

political? Decision Options: ▪ Go forward and charge the defendant to court:

indictment or information▪ – dismiss case, about 50 percent of the time▪ Plea bargain the case

May leave decision to charge someone with minor crime primarily to police discretion

Charge construction: ▪ converting facts into a legal case▪ same facts can be used to construct different

charges or cases▪ charge construction will determine the level of

punishment if guilty

Legal issues influencing prosecutorial discretion on cases Quality of police work and amount of relevant

evidence Legal weaknesses in the case Seriousness of offense Defendant’s prior arrest record Danger to community

Victim issues influencing prosecutorial discretion Attitude and behavior of the victim Reluctance of victim to press charges

Extra legal/resource issues influencing prosecutorial discretion Offenders’ race, gender, and ethnicity Cost of the prosecution to the system Availability of alternatives Interest group’s influence causes to

focus on particular types of offenses Fear of losing case – political

ramifications

The role of prosecutorial discretion Can prevent unnecessarily rigid

implementation of criminal law Humanize operation of criminal justice

system Imposes professional judgments and the

sense of the court working group on the processing of cases

Too much discretion can lead to abuse Prosecutors have their own perspectives

Types of prosecutorial misconduct overcharging a case to be able to plea-bargain later making disruptive statements in court failure to adhere to sentence recommendations

pursuant to a plea bargain represented a criminal defendant currently under

prosecution making public statements harmful to the office withholding evidence, non-discovery Knowingly using false or manufactured evidence to

gain conviction using power in vindictive manner to punish

defendants who insist on exercising their constitutional rights

Integral part of adversarial systemRequired to uphold integrity of the

legal professionMust observe and provide zealous

defense within boundaries of law

Courts do not require assistance of counsel for accused in: Pre-indictment lineups Booking procedures Grand jury investigations Appeals beyond first review Disciplinary proceedings in correctional

institutions Post-release revocation hearings

Roles of the defense Protect rights of client Argue for client’s side in plea bargaining

and trials Conduct effective trial strategy, lay

grounds for appeal Duties of defense

How far to go to protect client? Ethical concerns: balancing rights of client

with public safety and justice

Legal services for poor people Gideon v. Wainwright Argersinger v. Hamlin Public defender systems Assigned counsel systems Contract systems Private attorneys, pro bono or hired▪ Most do not practice criminal law▪ Debate over effectiveness of private

attorneys versus attorneys provided by state

Strickland v. Washington Inadequate and incompetent counsel

Refuse to meet with client Fail to cross-examine witnesses Fail to investigate case Poor advice to client Conflict of interest between

codefendants’ counsel Sleeping during trial

Administrative Office Act, 1939States have been slow to apply court

management principles All states now have some form of court

administration

Computers allow courts to fulfill many functions more efficiently Maintain case history and statistical reporting Monitor and schedule cases Prepare documents Index cases Issues summonses Notify witnesses, attorneys, and others of

required appearances Select and notify jurors Prepare and administer budgets

Developing areas of court technology Communications Videoconferencing Evidence presentation Case management Internet utilization Information sharing Cameras in court