CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

LAW I: CHAPTER 4

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DEFENSE CLASSIFICATIONS

• In criminal law, a defense is a legal position taken by an accused to defeat the charges.

• Defenses are classified as either substantive or procedural.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SUBSTANTIVE DEFENSES

• SUBSTANTIVE DEFENSES: Disprove, justify, or excuse the alleged crime.

• Most substantive defenses discredit the facts that the prosecution sought to establish.

• Examples of substantive defenses include inability to meet standard of proof, insanity, duress, entrapment, self-defense, alibi, and immunity.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PROCEDURAL DEFENSES

• PROCEDURAL DEFENSES: Based on problems with the way evidence is obtained or the way an accused person is arrested, questioned, tried, or punished.

• Examples of procedural defenses include statute of limitations, double jeopardy, Miranda rights, and unlawful search and seizure.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INABILITY TO MEET STANDARD OF PROOF

• For a conviction to occur in a criminal case, the prosecutor must establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the act in question with the required intent.

• In fact, the defendant is not even required to present a defense but can instead simply force the government to prove its case.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INABILITY TO MEET STANDARD OF PROOF

• Therefore, the defense most frequently used in criminal trials is the inability of the prosecution to meet the standard of proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

• STANDARD OF PROOF: The amount of evidence the prosecutor must present in order to win a case.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INABILITY TO MEET STANDARD OF PROOF

• GUILT BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT: The standard of proof in a criminal case where the jury (or the judge in a bench trial) must vote to acquit if there is any reasonable doubt about the defendant’s guilt.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INABILITY TO MEET STANDARD OF PROOF

• Because of the constitutional principles that a defendant is presumed innocent and that the prosecution must prove otherwise, this is often the strongest argument the defendant can make.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• American law generally recognizes that persons cannot be held responsible for their actions if they don't have the mental capacity to differentiate between right and wrong.

• However, four states, including Kansas, Montana, Idaho, and Utah, do not allow the insanity defense.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• In other states, the standards for proving this defense vary widely.

• Michigan recognizes the verdicts of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) and Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI).

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY (NGRI): A defense where a person charged with a crime admits the criminal act, but claims they were so mentally disturbed at the time of the crime that they lacked the capacity to have intended to commit a crime.

• Such a plea requires that the court set a trial on the issue of insanity alone either by a judge without a jury or by a jury.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• Insanity defense claims must be made 30 days prior to trial so the court can order a forensic psychiatric examination.

• In Michigan, prosecutors actually have the burden of proof to disprove insanity beyond a reasonable doubt.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• A finding of insanity will result in a verdict of not guilty, which generally requires defendants to undergo psychiatric treatment, except in the case of temporary insanity.

• Unlike defendants who are found guilty of a crime, they are not institutionalized for a fixed period, but rather they are held within the institution until authorities determine that they are no longer a threat.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• Authorities making this decision tend to be cautious.

• As a result, defendants can often spend more time there than they would have in prison had they been convicted.

• The insanity defense does not apply to people who voluntarily become intoxicated or drugged.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• Although the insanity defense is probably the most controversial of all criminal defense strategies, it is also, somewhat ironically, one of the least used.

• Virtually all studies conclude that it is used in about one percent of criminal cases; when it is used, it is seldom successful.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• GUILTY BUT MENTALLY ILL (GBMI): A verdict where the defendant was deemed to have a mental illness at the time the offense was committed but is not considered legally insane, therefore they understood what they were doing and that it was illegal.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• GBMI verdicts allow defendants to be found criminally liable and require them to receive psychiatric treatment while incarcerated, or, instead, to be placed in a mental hospital and then when they are well enough to be moved to a prison to serve their sentences.

• U.S. laws allowing pleas and verdicts of guilty but mentally ill were first adopted in Michigan in 1975.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

INSANITY

• The intent of the Michigan Legislature in approving the new verdict was to decrease the number of insanity acquittals and to simplify jury deliberations by introducing a compromise verdict.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DURESS

• DURESS: A defense used when a person does something as a result of coercion or a threat of immediate danger to life or personal safety.

• Under duress, an individual lacks the ability to exercise free will.

• Duress is not a defense to homicide.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ENTRAPMENT

• ENTRAPMENT: When a law-abiding citizen admits committing a criminal act but was induced, or persuaded, by a law enforcement officer.

• The defendant must show that the crime would not have been committed had it not been for the inducement of the police officer.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ENTRAPMENT

• In other words, the police put the thought into the defendant’s mind.

• Entrapment is difficult to prove and cannot be claimed as a defense to crimes involving serious physical injury, such as rape or murder.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SELF-DEFENSE

• SELF-DEFENSE: The use of force to protect oneself when in danger.

• The law recognizes the right of a person who is unlawfully attacked to use reasonable force in self-defense when there appears to be forthcoming danger of bodily harm.

• However, a person cannot use more force than necessary.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SELF-DEFENSE

• If, after stopping an attacker, the defender continues to use force, the roles reverse and the defender can no longer claim self-defense.

• Excessive force therefore results in a crime, anything from simple assault to murder, depending on how disproportionate the force is.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SELF-DEFENSE

• Deadly force can usually be used only by a person who reasonably believes that there is imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm.

• A person is also allowed to use deadly or nondeadly force to defend another person from an attack that is about to occur.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SELF-DEFENSE

• Reasonable nondeadly force may be used to protect property.

• However, some states have enacted controversial Make My Day laws, which allow the occupant of a dwelling to use any degree of force, including deadly force, if they reasonably believe that an intruder might use any force at all against any occupant of the dwelling.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SELF-DEFENSE

• These state laws protect the occupant using the force against both criminal prosecutions as well as civil lawsuits for damages filed by an injured intruder.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ALIBI

• ALIBI: A defense which alleges proof that the defendant was not at the scene of the crime.

• Often testimony from other individuals can be used to establish where the person was, or wasn't.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ALIBI

• Other records such as videos that are date- and time- stamped, or work records can help establish the location of an individual at the time the crime was committed.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

IMMUNITY

• IMMUNITY: The freedom from prosecution even when one has committed a crime.

• Immunity may be granted in exchange for an agreement to testify about the criminal conduct of other criminals.

• A person with immunity must answer all questions—even those that are incriminating.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

IMMUNITY

• A witness who refuses to testify altogether or answer specific questions after the grant of immunity is in contempt of court.

• CONTEMPT OF COURT: An action that hinders the administration of justice.

• It is a crime punishable by imprisonment.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

• STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS: The maximum period of time that the prosecution has for filing criminal charges.

• Most crimes have a time limitation on how long after the crime charges can be filed.

• One major exception is murder, however; there is no limit on when murder charges can be filed.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

• Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for most serious felonies is ten years in contrast to six years for misdemeanors and other lesser felonies.

• In Michigan, other exceptions are when the suspect flees the state after the crime or when the victim is under 18.

• Both of these circumstances extend the time to file charges.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• Double jeopardy is a procedural defense because it addresses the merits of whether a case should be tried as opposed to whether a crime was actually committed.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• DOUBLE JEOPARDY: A legal right which prohibits the government from prosecuting individuals more than one time for a single offense and from imposing more than one punishment for a single offense.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• Double jeopardy is defined in the Fifth Amendment of the U. S. Constitution, which states that no person shall "be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life and limb.“

• The only way in which a defendant can experience two trials for the same offense is if the first prosecution attempt ended in a mistrial.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• This is because a mistrial ends a trial prematurely without a judgment of guilty or not guilty, therefore jeopardy has not yet been technically attached to the accused.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• While double jeopardy protects a defendant against being tried twice for the same crime, it does allow for some criminal offenses to be prosecuted separately by federal and state governments because federal and state judiciaries are considered separate entities.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• The largest implication that double jeopardy carries is in the event of undiscovered evidence.

• Often, after a defendant has been acquitted, law enforcement will find additional evidence that proves the guilt of the accused.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

• However, if the trial is already over and the defendant has been acquitted, the prosecution does not have the right to re-try the case.

• For this reason, the prosecution makes every effort to collect all available evidence before arraigning a defendant on charges.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• People can participate in crimes in different ways and to different degrees.

• An accessory to a crime is any individual who knowingly and voluntarily participates in the commission of a crime.

• PRINCIPAL: The person who commits a crime.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• ACCOMPLICE: An individual who willingly assists a principal but does not actually carry out the crime.

• Accomplices are typically present at the scene of the crime.

• In contrast, accessories are not typically present at the scene of the crime, but contribute to the success of the crime before or after the fact.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• ACCESSORY BEFORE THE FACT: An individual who incites, aids, or abets a principal to commit a crime.

• This person can usually be charged with the same crime and can receive the same punishment as the principal.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• ACCESSORY AFTER THE FACT: An individual, who knowing a crime has been committed, aids the principal or an accomplice to avoid capture or helps them escape.

• This person is not typically charged with the original crime but may be charged with harboring a fugitive, aiding the escape, or obstructing justice.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• Federal law states that a person who is convicted of an accessory crime shall be subject to a penalty that does not exceed half of the maximum incarceration or fine for the principle act of the crime.

• If the principle crime is punishable by death, the accessory to the crime will not be imprisoned for more than fifteen years.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PARTIES TO CRIMES

• Michigan law however does not distinguish between an accessory and the principal.

• Whether someone directly commits a crime or is indirectly, but willingly involved, the sentence will be the same.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

• The rights of the accused are the essence of due process of law (fair procedures).

• They were established in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution and have been continuously refined in courtrooms ever since.

• The basis for these rights is the assumption that all individuals are innocent until proven guilty.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

• The following rights stem from this belief and are guaranteed to all those accused of a crime:

1.For a defendant to be found guilty, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused did in fact commit the crimes that they have been charged with.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

2.The accused have a right to remain silent until they have had the opportunity to speak with legal counsel.

3.The accused has the right to adequate legal representation.

• In the event that they cannot afford to hire an attorney, the court must provide legal counsel at no charge.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

4.The accused are protected from self-incrimination.

• This means they cannot be forced to testify or disclose information that could be used against them in a criminal trial.

5.The accused has the right to know what the charges are and to confront witnesses testifying against them.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

• The defendant also has the right to gather favorable evidence and subpoena witnesses.

6.The defendant has the right to a public and speedy trial if desired.

• Without this element of due process, an innocent person could await trial—in jail—for years.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

7.Defendants are guaranteed the right to trial by jury in criminal cases in all federal and state courts—with the exception to certain minor offenses that do not carry a sentence of more than six months.

8.The accused has the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure.

• To ensure that this right is upheld, a judge must not allow any evidence gathered unlawfully to be admitted in court.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED

9. In all federal and most state criminal trials, juries must arrive at a unanimous decision to convict or acquit or the defendant will go free unless the case is retried.

• In Oregon and Louisiana only, 12-member juries may convict or acquit on a vote of ten to two.

10.An individual cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PLEA BARGAINING

• Plea bargaining usually occurs prior to trial but, in some jurisdictions, may occur any time before a verdict is rendered.

• PLEA BARGAIN: A negotiation between the defense and prosecution (and sometimes the judge) that settles a criminal case.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PLEA BARGAINING

• The defendant typically pleads guilty to a lesser crime (or fewer charges) than originally charged, in exchange for a guaranteed sentence that is shorter than what the defendant could face if convicted at trial.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PLEA BARGAINING

• The prosecution gets the certainty of a conviction and a known sentence; the defendant avoids the risk of a higher sentence; and the judge gets to move on to other cases.

• Plea bargains must be approved by the judge of the court with the criminal jurisdiction over the case.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PLEA BARGAINING

• More than 90% of criminal convictions come from negotiated pleas, which means less than 10% of cases actually end up in trials.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Once a person has been convicted of a crime, they must be sentenced by the court.

• SENTENCE: A formal punishment for the conviction of a crime.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Most criminal statutes set out a basic sentencing structure, but judges generally have considerable freedom in determining the actual type, length, and conditions of the sentence.

• A judge who can exercise sentencing discretion may consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances surrounding the case and defendant.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCES: Factors that suggest a more severe punishment is appropriate.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Examples: The defendant has prior convictions of the same type of offense; the crime was committed in a gruesome manner; the defendant was particularly cruel to victim; the offense involved children; and/or the defendant used a dangerous or deadly weapon.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• MITIGATING CIRCUMSTANCES: Factors that suggest a less severe punishment is appropriate.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Examples: The defendant has little or no history of criminal conduct; no one was hurt and the crime was committed in a manner that was unlikely to have hurt anyone; there was a history showing the defendant had been previously abused by the victim; the offender was an accessory to the crime as opposed to the principal; and/or the defendant committed the crime when under great personal stress.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Therefore, a less serious crime can be made more serious by the presence of aggravating circumstances, and a more serious crime can be made less serious by mitigating circumstances.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SENTENCING

• Depending on the state, judges may choose from one or a combination of the following sentencing options: probation, suspended sentence, home confinement, fine, restitution, asset forfeiture, work release, imprisonment, and, in capital offenses, the death penalty.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

PROBATION

• The defendant is released to the supervision of a probation officer after agreeing to follow certain conditions such as community service, employment, staying drug-free, and not traveling outside of the area during the probation period.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

SUSPENDED SENTENCE

• The sentence is given but does not have to be served at the time it is imposed.

• However, the defendant may have to serve the time later if they are rearrested on another charge or violate a condition of probation.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

HOME CONFINEMENT

• The defendant is sentenced to serve the term at home.

• Normally, the only time this defendant can leave the home is for essential purposes such as work, school, or a doctor’s appointment.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

HOME CONFINEMENT

• The defendant is sometimes required to wear an electronic monitoring device so that their activities can be monitored by the probation officer.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

FINE

• The defendant must pay the government a specified amount of money set by the court as a penalty for committing a crime.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

RESTITUTION

• The defendant is required to pay back or make up for whatever loss or injury was caused to the victim of the crime.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ASSET FORFEITURE

• Asset forfeiture laws allow law enforcement to take cash or property that they believe was purchased or associated with drug money.

• Authorities do not have to prove that it actually was purchased with money from drug sales.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

ASSET FORFEITURE

• But in order for the defendant to recover the seized property, it must be proved that it had no relationship to drugs.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

WORK RELEASE

• The defendant is allowed to work in the community but must return to prison at night or on weekends.

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IMPRISONMENT

• The defendant is sentenced to a term in jail or prison.

• Prison sentences will either be indefinite, definite, or mandatory.

• INDEFINITE SENTENCE: A range of time that the offender will be in prison (5 to 10 years).

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

IMPRISONMENT

• DEFINITE SENTENCE: An exact number of years that the offender will have to spend in prison (10 years).

• In both of these cases, the time spent in prison might be lessened by the prisoner’s good behavior.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

IMPRISONMENT

• MANDATORY SENTENCE: A required specified length of time that the offender will spend in prison regardless of good behavior.

• The judge would have no power to alter that time period nor suspend, or cancel, that sentence.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

THE DEATH PENALTY

• The defendant is sentenced to die for their crime.

• In 37 states and in the federal court system, judges have the option of handing down the death penalty for the most heinous offenses.

• These states use various methods to carry out the death penalty, and some states use more than one method.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

THE DEATH PENALTY

• A sentence of death may be carried out by one of five lawful means: lethal injection (36), electrocution (10), gas chamber (5), hanging (3), and firing squad (3).

• Capital punishment continues to be used in the United States despite controversy over its merits and over its effectiveness as a deterrent to serious crime.

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

CLASSWORK

• Define Vocab Words (10): Probable Cause, Defense, Procedural Defense, Substantive Defense, Self-Defense, Immunity, Insanity, Contempt Of Court, Punishment, Plea Bargaining.

• 4-2 Assessment Questions, pg. 75: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7a, 8, 9, & 10.