Justice Chapter 10

Pretrial Activities and the Criminal

Trial

Thursday, January 10th

Pretrial Activities

First Appearance

Defendants first time at coming in contact with an officer (magistrate or lower court judge) of the court– Given formal notice of charges – Advised of their rights– Opportunity to retain a lawyer or to have one

appointed to them– Opportunity for bail

Based off 1943 U.S. Supreme

Court Case - McNabb v. U.S. max

time from arrest to first

appearance = ???? hours

If defendant is dangerous to self or others, charged with serious crimes, and possible escapees – Held in jail until trial = pretrial detention

Release of an accused person from custody, for all or part of

the time before or during prosecution, on his / her

promise to appear in court when required.

Seriousness of charge Prior criminal record Info. about defendant

– Community / family ties– Employment status– Substance abuse problems

Available supervisory options if released

Bail

Most common release/detention mechanism

Two purposes– Ensure reappearance of the accused – Prevents unconvicted individual from suffering

unnecessary imprisonment

Bail Bond– Document guarantees appearance of

defendant in court

What are your options?

8th Amendment to U.S. Constitution

does not guarantee the opportunity for bail but does

state that “excessive bail shall not be required.”

Alternatives to Bail

Release on Recognizance– Manhattan Bail Project – 1960’s

Property bond Deposit bail (Court plays role of

bail bondsman) Conditional release Third party custody Unsecured bond – no monetary

deposit – failure to appear result in forfeiture of entire amount of bond

Signature bond

Pretrial Release and Public Safety

Defendants released before trial– _____% state level felony criminal defendants – _____% federal felony defendants

____% defendants rearrested prior to trial– _____% arrested more than once

Danger Law – limits right to bail with certain kinds of offenders

Duane “Dog” Chapman – Bounty Hunter International

Grand Jury

Often 23 private citizens

Hear evidence from prosecution Filters to eliminate further processing cases

with not enough evidence England = 1166

– Initially way of identifying law violators

Held in secret

Preliminary Hearing

Used in place of a grand jury Prosecutor files complaint against accused

(information) Similar to but not as complex as criminal trial Primary purpose = give defendant

opportunity to challenge legal basis for detention

Arraignment and the Plea

First appearance of the defendant before the court that has the authority to conduct a trial

Brief – two purposes– Inform defendant of specific charges– Allow defendant to enter a plea

Plea– Guilty– Not guilty– Nolo contendere (similar to guilty plea) 315– Stand Mute = not guilty

Plea Bargaining

Process of negotiation– Defendant, prosecutor, and defense counsel

Benefit to prosecutor– Additional advantage of a quick conviction without

need to commit time and extra resources for a trial

Benefit to accused– Reduce / combine charges– Lessen defense cost– Shorter than anticipated sentence

Eric Rudolph

Vocabulary…

Group of two Enough papers for vocabulary Create notecards…Visual on each

THE CRIMINAL TRIAL

Rules of Evidence– Court rules that govern admissibility of evidence

at trials

Nature and Purpose of Criminal Trial Purpose

– Determination of defendant’s guilt (factual vs. legal or innocence)

Criminal Trial Process

Friday, January 11th

Adversarial System

Can you convince the judge or jury that your

perspective is the right one?

Who is Joe Lloyd? Pg. 427

Stages of a Criminal Trial

Trial initiation Jury selection Opening statements Presentation of evidence Closing arguments Judge’s charge to the jury Jury deliberations verdict

Speedy Trial Act

6th amendment – “in all criminal prosecutions, the

accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”

Requires that proceedings against a defendant in a criminal

case begin within a specified period of time, such as 70

working days after indictment.

Klopfer v. North Carolina

U.S. Supreme Court case held that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental guarantee of the Constitution.

Duke University Professor Civil disobedience in a protest against

segregated facilities.

Indictment or Information

to be made within 30 days of arrest.

Trial to happen within 70 working days of indictment

May be extended up to 180 days …– Witnesses cannot be

called– Defendant is not

available for trial

Fex v. Michigan

Indiana prisoner 1993 Appealed conviction of

armed robbery & attempted murder charges

Claim – had to wait 196 days

Outcome – “Common sense compels the

conclusion that the 180-day period does not commence until the

prisoner’s disposition request has actually

been delivered to the court and the prosecutor of the

jurisdiction that lodged the detainer against him.

Jury Selection

3 types of challenges recognized in criminal courts– Challenges to the array

Belief that the pool from which potential jurors are to be

selected is not representative of the community or biased

– Challenges for cause Individual juror can’t be fair or impartial

– Peremptory challenges Right to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the

reason for the challenge.

Peremptory Challenges

Numerical limitation = 20 in capital cases and as few as three in minor cases

Powers vs. IdahoEdmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co.Georgia v. McCollumCampbell v. Louisiana

(Race and the jury factor in the above cases)

Opening Statements

Initial statement of the prosecution or the defense, made in a court of law to a judge, or to a judge and jury, describing the facts that he or she intends to present during trial to prove the case.

Presentation of Evidence

Types of Evidence

– Direct evidence– Circumstantial evidence – requires

interpretation as to what the evidence indicates

– Real evidence

Dying Declaration

Allows for hearsay testimony when

someone knows they are dying

Judge decides what evidence can be presented

in a case

Cases to know

Fex v. Michigan Coy v. Iowa Powers v. Ohio Idaho v. Wright