Chapter 8
Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense
Overview
 Abstract Goals of the Court System
 Provide for an open and impartial forum for seeking the truth
 Provide for a fair and equitable hearing using regulated rules
 Insure that the process takes place in an atmosphere of legal
competence and objectivity
 Provide a clear legal outcome
Overview (cont.)
 The courts are often a scene where an atmosphere exists 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.
 Discretion sometimes results in disparity
 Funding problems
The Criminal Court Process
Criticisms of the Courts
 Overcrowded dockets
 Assembly-line justice
 Too many inducements to plead guilty
 Too few jury trials
 Speedy trials are unattainable
The Criminal Court Process
 State Courts
 Every state has its own court system
 No two are alike
 Variety of cases ranging from homicide to property maintenance
The Criminal Court Process
(cont.)
 Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
 About 13,500 exist
 Organized at municipal or county level
 Restricted in types of cases they hear
 May be restricted to civil or criminal cases
 Dispose of minor cases; may do preliminary activities for some
felonies
 Sentencing options restricted
The Criminal Court Process
(cont.)
 Specialty Courts
 Juvenile, family & probate courts
 Courts to combat specific problems

Drug courts

Mental health courts
The Criminal Court Process
(cont.)
 Courts of General Jurisdiction
 Around 2,000 in the U.S.
 Hear serious felony cases
 Civil cases with damages over a specified amount
 Appeals from lower courts

Review of transcript

Trial 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 tired 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 trial
 Can order a new trial, allow defendant to go free, or uphold original
verdict
Federal Courts
 Federal Courts
 Legal basis for these courts found in Article 3, sec. 1, of U.S.
Constitution
 Jurisdiction over laws of U.S. and treaties
 Maritime jurisdiction
 Over controversies between 2 or more states
 3-tiered hierarch of court jurisdiction

U.S. District Courts

U.S. courts of appeals

U.S. Supreme Court
Federal Courts (cont.)
 U.S. District Courts
 Trial courts of the federal system
 Organized by Congress in the Judicial Act of 1789
 Jurisdiction 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 circuits
 Hear 40,000 appeals from district courts each year
 Empowered 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 created by Constitution
 Nine justices appointed for life by the President with approval of
Congress
 Court has discretion to choose which cases it will hear
Federal Courts (cont.)
 Supreme Court Process
 Most cases (90%) are brought to the court by using a writ of
certiorari

Four of the nine 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 Caseloads
 State courts handle about one hundred million new cases each year
including:
 20 million civil and domestic cases
 15 million criminal cases
 2 million juvenile cases
 57 million traffic and ordinance violations
Federal and State Court Caseloads (cont.)
 Federal courts even though smaller, are equally burdened
 Over 320,000 cases filed each year in District Courts

Criminal cases increased 55% since 1994
 Circuit Courts hear more than 60,000 appeals per year

In 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
 Aggressive attempts to lower crime rate result in more
prosecutions
 Complexity of the law and advances in technology
 Legal reform efforts may require more trials
 Frivolous lawsuits
The Judiciary
 Primary duty is to oversee the trial process
 Ensures appropriate conduct
 Settles questions of evidence and procedure
 Guides questioning of witnesses
 Responsible for guiding the jury
 Decides case when a jury is not used (bench trial)
 Determines the sentence
The Judiciary (cont.)
 Judicial Functions
 Extensive control over probation officers and court clerk
 Exerts influence over police and prosecutors
 Decisions may shape social policy
The Judiciary (cont.)
 Judicial Qualifications
 Qualification vary by state
 Typical qualifications are:

Resident of the state

Between 25 and 70 years of age

Member of state bar licensed to practice law

Lower courts may not require law degree
The Judiciary (cont.)
 Judicial Selection Systems
 Appointment
 Popular election
 Nonpartisan election
 Missouri Plan

Judicial nominating commission

Appointed by governor from commission’s list

Retention election
The Prosecutor
 The 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
The Prosecutor (cont.)
 General 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 Prosecutor (cont.)
 Types of Prosecutors
 U.S. Attorneys – appointed by the President
 Federal prosecutors are professional civil service employees
 State & county levels, attorney general and district attorney are
chief prosecutorial officers
 Political appointees
Prosecutorial Discretion
 Prosecutorial Discretion
 Exercises great deal of discretion
 Decides whether to file charges – attempt to screen out weak
cases
 May drop charges during the process nolle prosequi
 May leave decision to charge someone with minor crime primarily
to police discretion
Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)
 Legal Issues Influencing Prosecutorial Discretion
 Quality of police work and amount of relevant evidence
 Seriousness of offense
 Defendant’s prior arrest record
 Danger to community
 Victim Issues Influencing Prosecutorial Discretion
 Attitude and behavior of the victim
 Reluctance of victim to press charges
Prosecutorial Discretion (cont.)
 Extra Legal/Resource Issues Influencing Prosecutorial Discretion
 Offenders’ race, gender, and ethnicity
 Cost of the prosecution to the system
 Availability of alternatives
 Interest group’s influence causes to focus on particular types of
offenses
 Fear 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
 Too much discretion can lead to abuse
Judicial Selection Systems (cont.)
 Types of Prosecutorial Misconduct
 making disruptive statements in court
 failure to adhere to sentence recommendations pursuant to a
plea bargain
 represented a criminal defendant currently under prosecution
 making public statements harmful to the office
 withholding evidence
 using power in vindictive manner to punish defendants who insist
on exercising their constitutional rights
The Defense Attorney
 Integral part of adversarial system
 Required to uphold integrity of the legal profession
 Must observe ABA Code to provide zealous defense within
boundaries of law
The Defense Attorney (cont.)
 Courts do not require assistance of counsel for accused in:
 Pre-indictment lineups
 Booking procedures
 Grand jury investigations
 Appeals beyond first review
 Disciplinary proceedings in correctional institutions
 Post-release revocation hearings
The Right to Counsel
 Legal Services for Indigents
 Gideon v. Wainwright
 Argersinger v. Hamlin
 Public defender systems
 Assigned counsel systems
 Contract systems
 Private attorneys

Most do not practice criminal law

Debate over effectiveness of private attorneys versus
attorneys provided by state
The Competence of Defense Attorneys
 Strickland v. Washington
 Inadequate counsel
 Refuse to meet with client
 Fail to cross-examine witnesses
 Fail to investigate case
 Poor advice to client
 Conflict of interest between codefendants’ counsel
Court Administration
 Administrative Office Act, 1939
 States have been slow to apply court management principles
 All states now have some form of court administration
Court Administration (cont.)
 Computers allow courts to fulfill many functions more efficiently
 Maintain case history and statistical reporting
 Monitor and schedule cases
 Prepare documents
 Index cases
 Issues summonses
 Notify witnesses, attorneys, and others of required appearances
 Select and notify jurors
 Prepare and administer budgets
Court Administration (cont.)
 Developing Areas of Court Technology
 Communications
 Videoconferencing
 Evidence presentation
 Case management
 Internet utilization
 Information sharing