CHAPTER 13 Criminal Justice Process Proceedings Before Trial

CHAPTER 13 Criminal Justice Process: Proceedings Before Trial

Stop… and Think! (Magna Carta… Holy Grail Level) Recall the Criminal Justice Process: Investigation… what has an accused person already been through after that point? (Vol. 2… Hard Knock Life Level) Predict what next steps will be happening as we move through the Criminal Justice Process… (The Black Album Level) Hypothesize what authority figures continue the Criminal Justice Process in this chapter… (Reasonable Doubt Level) Analyze your current knowledge of the Criminal Justice System and predict where the accused can be let go at this

BEFORE WE GET THERE… Before a criminal case goes to trial, several pretrial actions must take place Depending on the circumstances and the result of preliminary proceedings, the case will be set for trial unless the charges are dropped or the accused pleads guilty

Booking and Initial Appearance After an arrest, the accused is normally taken to a police station for booking. Booking is the formal process of making police record of the arrest At this time, the accused is asked to provide information, including name, address, date of birth, place of employment, and details about any previous arrests.

Booking and Initial Appearance After this information is given, the suspect is fingerprinted and photographed. Some of those are very funny… Such as: In certain cases the police can take fingernail clippings, handwriting samples, or blood samples for DNA analysis Urine tests to ascertain drug use is common now

Booking and Initial Appearance After these arrests, bookings, and tests, the suspect MUST appear before a judge for an initial hearing The defendant is informed of the charges and advised of his or her rights, as in a misdemeanor case, but does not enter a plea until a later stage in the criminal process, known as the felony arraignment.

Arraignment Arraignment is a court session at which a defendant is charged and enters a plea. For a misdemeanor this is also the defendant’s initial appearance For a felony, this comes later as the defendant does not enter a plea until a trial

Bail and Pretrial Release An arrested person can usually be released after putting up an amount of money known as bail Bail is money or property put up by the accused or his or her agent to allow release from jail before trial The purpose of bail is to assure the court that the defendant will return for trial

Bail Details… If the defendant is present for the trial, the money or property is released Bail may be paid directly to the court. The entire amount may be required, or in some places, the defendant may be released after just paying a portion of the total amount, usually 10%

Bail Details… If the defendant is NOT present for the trial, the court keeps the money If the defendant does not have the money, a bond company may put up a bail bond in exchange for a fee The 8 th Amendment of the US Constitution states that, “excessive bail shall not be required”

Bail Details… However, the constitution does NOT specify what excessive means If the defendant does not have the money, and cannot get a bail bonds company to put up a bail bond, they wait in jail for their trial Some people consider this cruel, so some places such as in Hawaii, allow furloughs, where the suspect can leave and come back… if they don’t…

HE SHOWS UP!!!

To be released on bail… To be eligible for personal recognizance, or personal bond, the defendant must promise to return and must be considered a “low risk” of failing to show up for trial In determining “Flight Risk” and how much bail should be set for, a judge considers these factors…

To be Bailed or NOT to be Bailed… Nature and circumstances of the offense The accused’s family and connections to the community Previous offenses Ability to travel internationally Financial resources Employment Background Prior Criminal Record

Information In most states, a defendant will proceed to trial for a misdemeanor based on a prosecutor’s information The Prosecutor’s Information includes the details of the nature and circumstances of a charge It is also the formal criminal charge filed with the court by the prosecutor without the aid of a preliminary hearing or a grand jury

Preliminary Hearing A preliminary hearing is a screening process used in about half of the states It is used in felony cases to determine whethere is enough evidence to require the defendant to stand trial At a preliminary hearing, the prosecutor is required to establish before a judge that a crime probably has been committed and the defendant did it.

Grand Jury A grand jury is a group of 16 -23 people charged with determining whethere is sufficient cause to believe that a person has committed a crime and should stand trial http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=BPF 26 z. Ou. Aq. A The 5 th Amendment requires that before anyone can be tried for a serious crime in federal court, there must be a grand jury indictment An indictment is a formal charge of criminal action.

Grand Jury About half of the states regularly use grand juries and instead of a preliminary hearing for serious crimes to determine the probability that a particular defendant committed the alleged crime Some states utilize both

Felony Arraignment and Pleas After an indictment (felony) or information (misdemeanor) is issued, the defendant is required to appear in court to enter a plea If the defendant pleads guilty, the judge will set a date for sentencing

Felony Arraignment and Pleas Nolo Contendere is another plea a defendant can enter Nolo Contendere is a plea in which the defendant does not admit guilt but also does not contest the charges. It is equivalent to pleading guilty. The only advantage to this plea is that the trial cannot be used in a later civil trial for damages based on the same set of facts

Felony Arraignment and Pleas If the defendant pleas “not guilty”, then the judge will set the date for a trial and ask whether the defendant wants a jury trial or a trial before a judge alone, referred to as a “bench” trial

Stop… and Thin (Phonograph Level) Define ‘booking’ and this is not understood as much as an arrest… (Stand up Radio Level) Relate a Grand Jury Trial to what the public believes a trial is… why is a Grand Jury rarely talked about… (MP 3 Player Level) On your i. Pads, investigate what other states have ‘furloughs’… (Daft Punk Pyramid Level) Critique the pretrial process and discuss why misdemeanors go in a separate process from felonies at this point…

Pretrial Motions An important preliminary proceeding is the pretrial motion A pretrial motion is a formal request that a court make a ruling or take some other action Prior to trial, a defendant may file motions seeking to have the case dismissed or to obtain some advantage or assistance in preparing the case.

Pretrial Motion #1 Common Pretrial Motions Include The Following: Motion for discovery of evidence � This is a request by the defendant to examine, before trial, certain evidence in the possession of the prosecutor

Pretrial Motion #2 Common Pretrial Motions Include The Following: Motion for a Continuance � This request seeks more time to prepare a case

Pretrial Motion #3 Common Pretrial Motions Include The Following: Motion for a Change of Venue � This is a request to change the location of the trial to avoid community hostility, for the convenience of witnesses, or for other reasons

Pretrial Motion #4 Common Pretrial Motions Include The Following: Motion to Suppress Evidence � This is perhaps the most important and controversial pretrial motion. This is a request that certain evidence not be allowed to be presented in the trial

The Exclusionary Rule This is where this rule comes into play… Remember the 4 th Amendment protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures” While it says this, the Supreme Court has had to interpret this and created the Exclusionary Rule

The Exclusionary Rule The Exclusionary Rule is a rule that states any evidence seized illegally by law enforcement cannot be used to convict the accused at trial The case which really settled this was http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Mapp_v_Ohio But THIS just happened

The Exclusionary Rule is very controversial Many argue “this rule lets criminals go” “Other countries have no such rule” Others say it helps citizens and protects privacy and prevents police misconduct

The Exclusionary Rule Two arguments FOR the Exclusionary Rule are: � Judicial Integrity is the idea that courts should not be parties to law-breaking by the police � Deterrence means that police will be less likely to violate a citizen’s rights if they know that illegally seized evidence will be thrown out of court

Plea Bargaining Contrary to popular belief, 90% of cases NEVER go to trial. Most defendants that are convicted of a crime plead guilty before trial In minor cases, such as traffic violations, the procedure for pleading guilty is simple

Plea Bargaining For example: In traffic violations, the defendant who gets a ticket can just sign the ticket, refusing their right to appear in court, and send in the fine by mail. In major cases, guilty pleas result from a process of negotiation among the person accused of the crime, the defense attorney, and the prosecutor

Plea Bargaining This process is known as plea bargaining Plea Bargaining involves granting certain concessions to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilty Typically, the prosecution will allow the defendant to plead guilty to a less serious charge or recommend a lighter sentence on the original charge in exchange for a guilty plea.

Why is There Plea Bargaining? Prosecutors have a burden with heavy caseloads Saves time Saves Money Gets a conviction

Why is There Plea Bargaining? Public defenders can serve clients better Takes less time in defending the obviously guilty

Why is Plea Bargaining Bad? Guilty plea is MUCH harder to appeal Critics argue it allows dangerous criminals light sentences Prosecutors with weak cases can tempt the defendant with a light sentence

Why is Plea Bargaining Bad? Some places have repealed or abolished plea bargaining, or some plea bargaining like on traffic violations