Courts, Prosecution, and

the Defense

OverviewGeneral 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

The Importance of CourtsWithout courts (lawyers, judges), law

has no legs: the law is not self-executingThe rights guaranteed under the

Constitution against government overreach depend on courts being willing to protect themE.g., habeas corpus petitions (“produce the

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

access to courts?

The Structure of CourtsAll court systems are hierarchies of

jurisdictionState, federal, tribal court hierarchiesDifferent powers, functions, and occupational

priorities for different courtsOriginal (limited, general) and appellate

(intermediate, last resort) jurisdictions

The Informal Structure of CourtsEach 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

Overview (cont.)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)

The Criminal Court ProcessCriticisms of the CourtsOvercrowded 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

A Model State Court System

The Criminal Court ProcessState courts

Every state has its own court systemNo two are alikeSome 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

The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Courts of limited jurisdiction

The work horses of the criminal justice system

About 13,500 existOrganized at municipal or county levelRestricted in types of cases they hearMay be restricted to civil or criminal casesDispose of minor cases – may do preliminary

activities for some feloniesSentencing options restricted

The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Specialty courts

Juvenile, family, and probate courtsCourts to combat specific problems

Drug courts, adults, and juvenilesMental health courtsIRS court

The Criminal Court Process (cont.)Courts of general jurisdiction

Around 2,000 in the U.S.Hear serious felony casesCivil cases with damages over a specified

amountAppeals from lower courts

Review of transcriptTrial de novo

The Criminal Court Process (cont.)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 trialCan order a new trial, overturn lower court

decision, or uphold original verdict

Federal CourtsFederal courts

Legal basis for these courts found in Article 3, sec. 1, of U.S. Constitution

Jurisdiction over laws of U.S. and treatiesMaritime jurisdictionOver controversies between 2 or more states3-tiered hierarch of court jurisdiction

U.S. District CourtsU.S. Courts of Appeals U.S. Supreme Court

The Federal Court System

Federal Courts (cont.)U.S. district courts

Trial courts of the federal systemOrganized by Congress in the Judicial Act of

1789Jurisdiction 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

Federal Courts (cont.)U.S. courts of appeals

Organized into 13 judicial circuitsHear 40,000 appeals from district courts

each yearEmpowered 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

Federal Courts (cont.)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

Federal Courts (cont.)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 certiorari4 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

Federal and State Court CaseloadsState courts handle about one hundred

million new cases each year including:20 million civil and domestic cases15 million criminal cases2 million juvenile cases57 million traffic and ordinance violations

Federal and State Court Caseloads (cont.)Federal courts even though smaller, are

equally burdenedOver 320,000 cases filed each year in District

CourtsCriminal cases increased 55 percent since 1994

Circuit Courts hear more than 60,000 appeals per yearIn 1969 they heard only 10,000 appeals

Federal and State Court Caseloads (cont.)Causes of court congestion

Rapidly increasing populations outpace growth in court system

People like to sue each otherAggressive attempts to lower crime rate

result in more prosecutionsComplexity of the law and advances in

technologyLegal reform efforts may require more trialsFrivolous lawsuitsLazy judges

The Jobs of JudgesOfficial 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

The Jobs of Judges, contLegal:

Issue warrantsDecisions in preliminary hearings – bind over

or notMake bail decisionsagree to plea-bargainsrequest PSIs (pre-sentence reports)

The Jobs of Judges (cont.)Primary duty is to oversee the trial process

Ensures appropriate conductGuides selection of juries and instructs on their roles

during trialSettles questions of evidence and procedure – deals

with motionsGuides questioning of witnessesResponsible for jury instructions after case is

presented

Decides case in bench trialsDetermines the sentence (except in capital

cases)

The Jobs of Judges (cont.)Informal roles

Maintain good relations with court working group

Use discretion guided by legal requirementsPersonal sense of justice in sentencingWorry about appeals and being overturnedExert influence over police and prosecutorsDecisions may shape social policy

How to Become a JudgeJudicial qualifications

Qualification vary by stateTypical qualifications are:

Resident of the stateBetween 25 and 70 years of ageMember of state bar licensed to practice law

Lower courts may not require law degree

How to Become a Judge (cont.)Judicial selection systems

AppointmentPopular electionNonpartisan electionMissouri Plan

Judicial nominating commissionAppointed by governor from commission’s listRetention election

The ProsecutorThe 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

ProsecutorsTypes of prosecutors

U.S. Attorneys – appointed by the President Federal prosecutors are professional civil

service employeesState and county levels, attorney general,

and district attorney are chief prosecutorial officers

Political appointees or elected

The Jobs of ProsecutorsGeneral 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

The Jobs of Prosecutors (cont.)Administrator: manage the officeInformal: interact with working groupLegalEvaluate the case fileDecide to take the case forward or

notConduct the case if go forward

Strategy and tacticsSentencing recommendations

Prosecutorial DiscretionProsecutors have a great deal of

discretionEvaluate 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 timePlea bargain the case

Jobs of Prosecutors (cont.)May leave decision to charge someone

with minor crime primarily to police discretion

Charge construction: converting facts into a legal casesame facts can be used to construct different

charges or casescharge construction will determine the level

of punishment if guilty

Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)Legal issues influencing prosecutorial

discretion on casesQuality of police work and amount of relevant

evidenceLegal weaknesses in the caseSeriousness of offenseDefendant’s prior arrest recordDanger to community

Victim issues influencing prosecutorial discretionAttitude and behavior of the victimReluctance of victim to press charges

Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)Extra legal/resource issues influencing

prosecutorial discretionOffenders’ race, gender, and ethnicityCost of the prosecution to the systemAvailability of alternativesInterest group’s influence causes to focus on

particular types of offensesFear of losing case – political ramifications

Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)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 abuseProsecutors have their own perspectives

Judicial Selection Systems (cont.)Types of prosecutorial misconduct

overcharging a case to be able to plea-bargain latermaking disruptive statements in courtfailure to adhere to sentence recommendations

pursuant to a plea bargainrepresented a criminal defendant currently under

prosecutionmaking public statements harmful to the officewithholding evidence, non-discoveryKnowingly using false or manufactured evidence to

gain convictionusing power in vindictive manner to punish defendants

who insist on exercising their constitutional rights

The Defense AttorneyIntegral part of adversarial systemRequired to uphold integrity of the legal

professionMust observe and provide zealous defense

within boundaries of law

The Defense Attorney (cont.)Courts do not require assistance of counsel

for accused in:Pre-indictment lineupsBooking proceduresGrand jury investigationsAppeals beyond first reviewDisciplinary proceedings in correctional

institutionsPost-release revocation hearings

The Jobs of Defense AttorneysRoles of the defense

Protect rights of clientArgue for client’s side in plea bargaining

and trialsConduct effective trial strategy, lay

grounds for appealDuties of defense

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

client with public safety and justice

The Right to CounselLegal services for poor people

Gideon v. WainwrightArgersinger v. HamlinPublic defender systemsAssigned counsel systemsContract systemsPrivate attorneys, pro bono or hired

Most do not practice criminal lawDebate over effectiveness of private attorneys

versus attorneys provided by state

The Competence of Defense AttorneysStrickland v. WashingtonInadequate and incompetent counsel

Refuse to meet with clientFail to cross-examine witnessesFail to investigate casePoor advice to clientConflict of interest between codefendants’

counselSleeping during trial

Court AdministrationAdministrative Office Act, 1939States have been slow to apply court

management principlesAll states now have some form of court

administration

Court Administration (cont.)Computers allow courts to fulfill many

functions more efficientlyMaintain case history and statistical reportingMonitor and schedule casesPrepare documentsIndex casesIssues summonsesNotify witnesses, attorneys, and others of

required appearancesSelect and notify jurorsPrepare and administer budgets

Court Administration (cont.)Developing areas of court technology

CommunicationsVideoconferencingEvidence presentationCase managementInternet utilizationInformation sharingCameras in court

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