Taking a case through theCJ system

(no body gets arrested for doing nothing)

Actual police arrest

• This guy was creating a disturbance.

Articulable suspicion

• 1. an officer can’t stop you for doing nothing.• 2. they need some kind of reason, ever so

slight.• 3. the reason can relate time, place, manner,

day or on a look-out• What is a look-out or BOLO?• It’s a notice from the department warning

officers of criminal activity

What kind of suspicious actions are going on here?

• What would this look like to the average person? ( a real case from Mr. T’s files)

Probable Cause

• What is probable cause?• It’s the amount of information that would

make a reasonable person think something has happened or might happen.

• PC is enough information to make an arrest!

When are you under arrest?

• 1. When you are not free to leave, you are under arrest.

• Can an officer arrest you, then un-arrest you?• YES! Happens all the time. The officer can do

what is called, “a limited detention stop,” for the purpose of determining facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.

Officer making an arrest

• This guy is certainly under arrest. What would likely happen if he tried to leave right now?

What happens after the arrest?

• Depends; you can be taken to jail or juvenile detention or given a “copy of charges” which is like a traffic ticket to appear in court to answer to the charges.

• What happens if you don’t come to court on the copy of charges?

• An arrest warrant is issued for failure to appear.

What happens at the jail?

• You are booked into jail. They officers at the jail take you photo and fingerprints. They record the officer’s name and what you are being charged with. If the crime is a misdemeanor, you may be able to post a bond right then or maybe be released on your own recognizance, (ROR bond)

Person getting booked

What is exactly is a bond?

• A bond is an agreement to appear in court at the appointed time. Many people cannot afford to pay all the money to the court at once, so they hire a bondsman. The bondsman take a fee, usually 10%-15% and then makes sure you appear in court at the appointed time. If the arrested person does not show for court, the bondsman must pay the court the remaining bond amount. Then they send a bounty hunter after you.

Bonding companies

What is bond hearing?

• If you are in jail for a felony, you might have to have a bond hearing before a judge. The judge hears the case, determines if the person is a danger to the community and is a flight risk.

• Most of the time, the bond hearing and the preliminary hearing is at the same time. At the preliminary hearing, the judges determines if the officer acted properly to make the arrest. The judge determines if the officer had PROBABLE CAUSE.

Bond hearing

What happens if you can’t make bond?

• If you can’t make bond on a misdemeanor, your court date is usually move up sooner. For a misdemeanor, the longest you can be held is a year and the most you can be fined is $1000.

• Felonies are different. You can be held over a year and fined more than $1000. At some point you can ask for another bond hearing. There the judge can reduce you bond, or not, depending on what is best for all concerned.

What happens next?

• Misdemeanors go to trial fairly quickly. Usually within a few months if the person cannot make bond. If they do make bond the case may take a year or more, but they still have to go to court.

• For felonies, the next stop is the GRAND JURY

What happens at the grand jury?

• The grand jury meets to determine two things:1. Was there a crime committed?

2. Did the police arrest the right person?They meet in secret and the government tells their side to a group of citizens who decide whether or not to indict the accused.

Grand Jury

• If the grand jury decides there is enough information to continue the case, they find a true bill and the accused is indicted.

• If the grand jury decides there is not enough information or the action was justified, there was a good reason, excuse or accident, then a no bill is issued.

What happens if the JG finds a true bill?

What happens at arraignment?

• At the arraignment, the person is formally charged and they must enter a plea.

• The plea options are:1. Guilty. In this case a plea bargain has been

made. About 90% of all cases are plea bargained.

2. No contest or nolo. Same as pleading guilty as far as the penalty goes.

Arraignment

3. Not guilty: the person intends to fight or dispute the charges at a trial.4. Standing mute: same as a not guilty, but the person usually does not offer any defense to the charges.

arraignment

Pre-trial procedures

• Discovery hearing: both sides exchange information to determine what is the best course of action for the state and person. Here the defense tries to get evidence thrown out, the state tries to keep it in. If allowed in, the defense can still challenge it in court

• Deposition: lawyers for the state and defense ask questions to potential witnesses.

• Bond hearing again: if the person has been in jail a while they can request another hearing.

Rules of evidence

• Court rules that govern the admissibility of evidence present in court.

Must be:1. Relevant: evidence that determines the truth.2. Material: important because its connection

to the issue.3. Competent: goes to the quality of the

evidence.

What is a motion?

• Asking the court for something.• It can be to:• exclude evidence• change the location of the trial• Ask for a case to be dismissed • Ask for a mistrial• Ask to determine sanity

Types of Evidence

1. Direct: useful to decide facts in a case2. Circumstantial: requires conclusions to be

drawn.3. Real: physical material or traces of physical

activity

What is testimony?

• Oral presentation that is true to the best of the witness’s knowledge.

• Perjury is making a false statement in court under oath.

• It is a crime to lie under oath. Citizens can go to jail, officers will lose their jobs and then go to jail.

What happens at the trial?

• 1. Jury selection, called voir dire. Both state and defense ask questions that must be answered truthfully. When both sides agree on 12 people, the jury set. Sometimes alternates are picked in case someone gets sick or has to leave for some reason.

Opening statements

• The state goes first and gives an over view of the case and why they believe the person is guilty.

• The defense goes next and gives an over view of their side of the case and why they believe they are not guilty.

Opening statement

Order of presentation

• The state always goes first. They put out all the evidence they have about why the person is guilty. When they are done with a witness or piece of evidence, the defense get to challenge the witness or evidence.

• When the state is done, they “rest.”

DA presents to jury

Order continued

• When the state rests, the defense almost always makes a motion to dismiss the case because the state did not meet the requirements for guilt. (it almost never works)

• The defense presents its evidence to why the person is not guilty. The state gets to challenge to evidence. When done, the defense “rests.”

Closing arguments

• Both sides give a summary of the trial, each trying to persuade the jury.

• After each side is done, the judge charges the jury.

• The jury decides the facts of the case and which side has the best argument. When they decide, they reach a verdict.

• Once the verdict is read in court, the decision of that jury is done.

Is this jury fair?