Criminal Procedure and Law Enforcement Criminal Law As

Criminal Procedure and Law Enforcement

Criminal Law As A System • Criminal offenses are defined as such: local, state and federal statutes • Categories, Classes and Elements of Crimes • Punishments for Crimes • Have to be identified in advance, in an existing criminal code • What are the Rights of an Accused Person? • Or, for that matter, to a suspect, or someone in a traffic stop? • Before becoming a ‘Defendant’ and after • Apply to us as citizens

Rights Of An Accused Person in The U. S. • Applied to the States pursuant to the Bill of Rights • Ban on unreasonable searches and seizures • Prohibition against double jeopardy • Are people put on trial twice for the same thing? • Privilege against self-incrimination • Speedy trial • Public trial / Jury trial • Right to counsel • Bar against cruel and unusual punishment

Criminal Procedure and Protections • Sequence of criminal prosecution: • • Arrest and investigation – probable cause; 4 th Amendment Charging Initial hearing / Arraignment Discovery Plea Bargaining/Negotiations, Preliminary Hearing and Pre-Trial Motions Trial – jury or bench - “beyond a reasonable doubt” Post-Trial and Sentencing Appeal(s) • Sentencing: Mandatory Guidelines vs. Judicial Discretion • Parole/Pardon

Juries • How do you get on a jury? • Eligibility / Exemptions • How and why are people left off juries? • How would YOU choose jurors? • How do juries work? What do they do, and what are they supposed to consider? • What if the jury appears to have ignored the law?

The Endpoint of Criminal Procedure • “The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons. ” - Fyodor Dostoevsky (maybe)