Criminal Procedure for the
Criminal Justice Professional
11th Edition
John N. Ferdico
Henry F. Fradella
Christopher Totten
Criminal Courts, Pretrial Processes,
and The Exclusionary Rule
Chapter 2
Prepared by Tony Wolusky
Structure of the U.S. Court
System
Structure of the U.S. Court Systems
United States Supreme Court
The High Court of Last Resort in the United States
Discretionary Appellate Jurisdiction over decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeals
and the decisions of the highest courts in the state systems
if a question of federal law (including federal constitutional law) is presented.
The Federal Courts
United States Courts of Appeals
Mandatory appellate jurisdiction over the decisions of the U.S. District Courts
12 Regional Circuits and
1 Federal Circuit that hears appeals from specialized trial courts like the U.S. Court of
International Trade, the U.S. Claims Court, and the U.S. Court of Veterans’ Appeals.
The State Courts
State High Courts of Last Resort
Mandatory and discretionary appellate jurisdiction over decisions
rendered by lower state courts.
State Intermediate Appellate Courts
United States District Courts
Trial courts of original jurisdiction over federal cases.
94 federal districts (including territorial ones in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Mandatory appellate jurisdiction over decisions by non-Article III courts.
(40 out of 50 states)
Mandatory appellate jurisdiction over decisions by the
state’s major trial courts.
State Major Trial Courts
Superior Courts/Courts of Common Pleas/District Courts.
Trial courts of general jurisdiction (felonies and major civil cases.
Sometimes there is appellate jurisdiction over state’s minor trial courts.
Non-Article III Courts
U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, U.S. Tax Court, decisions of U.S. Magistrate Judges,
and Administrative Law Judges (ALJ) in various federal agencies like
the FCC, Social Security Administration, EEOC, NLRB, FTC, etc.
State Minor Trial Courts
Municipal Courts/Justice of the Peace Courts/Magisterial District Courts.
Limited original jurisdiction to hear misdemeanor cases, traffic violations,
local ordinance violations, and small claims of a civil nature.
Federalism and the Dual Court System
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The Constitution of the United States
recognizes a unique interrelationship
between the states and the federal
government, known as federalism.
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The federal government has power over national
matters, while states maintain their separate existence
and power over local matters.
Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and the
federal government, has its own separate court system,
each with its own limited jurisdictional authority.
Jurisdiction
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Jurisdiction, the power of court to hear and
decide a case, depends on:
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Geographical location and venue
Structure of court system and court’s placement in the
judicial hierarchy
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Trial courts are original jurisdiction courts, and appellate
courts have appellate jurisdiction.
Trials my be jury trials or bench trials.
Appellate courts review lower court decisions.
Subject matter
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Courts of limited or specialized jurisdiction hear only
specific cases.
Federal Courts

The basic structure of the federal courts
includes:
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Specialized courts
Trial level courts
Intermediate courts of appeal
The United States Supreme Court—the court of last
resort
Federal District Courts
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District Courts are the trial courts for the
federal court system.
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There are of ninety-four district courts in the fifty states,
the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and the territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin
Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Each state has at least one district court; some of the
larger states have as many as four.
Federal Circuit Courts of Appeals

The United States Circuit Courts of Appeals
are the intermediate appellate courts of the
federal system.
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They review the decisions of federal trial courts and
review and enforce orders of many federal
administrative bodies.
The decisions of the courts of appeals are final, except
that they are subject to discretionary review or appeal in
the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. is divided into thirteen circuits.
The U.S. Supreme Court
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The United States Supreme Court is the court
of last resort in the federal court system.
There are eight justices and one chief justice,
all serving life terms.
It is mainly an appellate court, but has
original jurisdiction over some matters.
Appeals are heard through granting of a writ
or certiorari.
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Certiorari is granted at the Court’s discretion.
Non-Article III Federal Courts

Non-Article III Federal Courts are specialized
courts of limited subject matter jurisdiction.
Examples are:
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U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Tax Court
U.S. Court of Military Appeals
There are also quasi-judicial boards or
commissions that have special and limited
jurisdiction under specific federal statutes.
State Courts

The constitution and statutes of each state
dictate the structure of their individual court
systems. A typical state court system has the
same basic structure as the federal system.
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Trial courts (includes courts of limited jurisdiction and
courts of general jurisdiction)
Intermediate appellate courts
Court of last resort
Preliminary Pretrial Criminal
Proceedings
Charging
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Police arrest; prosecutors charge.
A prosecutor has broad discretion in
determining:
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When to bring charges
Whether to investigate
Whether to grant immunity
Whether to plea bargain, and, if so, the type of plea
which will ultimately be acceptable
Discretion can be abused, as in selective
prosecution and vindictive prosecution.
Charging
County prosecutors are generally elected and prosecutors may
aggressively prosecute sex offenders by refusing to plea bargain in
order to appear more electable. Do you think that electing
prosecutors is a compromise of justice? Why or why not?
Prosecutors are considered the most powerful people in the
criminal justice system. This is because prosecutor can decide
whether to pursue criminal charges, went to plea bargain, and what
sentences to recommend. Do you think prosecutors have too much
influence on the process? Why or why not?
Charging
The Prosecutor
http://www.wadsworthmedia.com/cj/cjnow/lm/Pr
osecution/
The Complaint

A criminal process against a felony defendant
formally begins with a complaint, a written
statements of the facts supporting the
offense. The complaint
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Must be made on oath or affirmation
Must state the essential facts of the offense being
charged
Must be in writing
Must be made before a judicial officer authorized to
issue process in criminal cases
May be supported by an affidavit
Warrant or Summons Issued on the
Complaint

Once the magistrate has determined from the
complaint and accompanying affidavits that
there is probable cause to believe that an
offense has been committed and that the
defendant committed it, the magistrate issues
either a summons or an arrest warrant for the
defendant's appearance in court.
Initial Appearance

An person arrested without a warrant is
required to be brought before a magistrate
"without unnecessary delay," for an initial
appearance.
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Also called a Gerstein hearing, it is a judicial
determination of probable cause.
An initial appearance is unnecessary if a grand jury has
already returned an indictment.
The initial appearance may include a preliminary
hearing.
Preliminary Hearing
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At the preliminary hearing, the magistrate
determines if there is probable cause to
believe that a felony was committed and that
the defendant committed it.
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Formal adversarial procedure in open court.
Not required for petty offenses or misdemeanors.
May be waived by the defendant.
Indigent defendants are entitled to representation.
If probable cause exists, the magistrate binds over the
defendant for trial.
Grand Jury

The federal government and some states
require a grand jury indictment for certain
crimes. The primary duty of the grand jury is:
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To receive complaints in criminal cases,
To hear the evidence put forth by the state, and
To return an indictment if probable cause that the
defendant committed an offense is established.
Grand juries are non-adversarial and:
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Use 16-23 grand jurors.
Require a consensus of grand jurors before reaching
and indictment.
Indictments and Informations

In felony cases in jurisdictions that have a
grand jury system, an indictment replaces the
complaint as the charging document upon
which the defendant is brought to trial.
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In jurisdictions that do not require indictments or when a
grand jury hearing was waived, felony trials may
proceed using an information—a charging document
signed and sworn to only by the prosecuting attorney.
Indictments may be handed down before a person is
taken into custody.
Indictments and Informations
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In felony cases in jurisdictions that have a
grand jury system, an indictment replaces the
complaint as the charging document upon
which the defendant is brought to trial.
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In jurisdictions that do not require indictments or when a
grand jury hearing was waived, felony trials may
proceed using an information—a charging document
signed and sworn to only by the prosecuting attorney.
Indictments may be handed down before a person is
taken into custody.
Arraignment and Pleas
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After the issuance of a true bill on the
indictment or a bind over order in the
preliminary hearing, the next step is the
arraignment. At arraignment, the defendant
enters a plea. Types of pleas include:
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Guilty
Not guilty
Nolo contendere (no contest)
Not guilty by reason of insanity (available in most
jurisdictions)
Impact of Guilty/Nolo Contendere Pleas
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A defendant pleading guilty or nolo contendere,
waives many constitutional rights, including:
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The right to a trial by jury
The right to confront and cross-examine witnesses
The right to compel the attendance and testimony of
witnesses
The right to testify on one's own behalf
The right to be free from being forced to incriminate
oneself
The right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty
The right to appeal one's conviction.
Plea Bargaining
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Plea bargaining is an essential component of
the administration of justice.
Plea bargaining is the disposition of criminal
charges by agreement between the
prosecutor and the accused.
Preparing for Trial
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Preparing for trials may include preparing:
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Motions
Depositions
Participating in discovery
Finding exculpatory evidence
Searching for impeachment material
Determining who/what to subpoena
Determining the defendant’s competency to stand trial
The Exclusionary Rule
The Rule
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The exclusionary rule requires that any
evidence obtained by police using methods
that violate a person’s constitutional rights
must be excluded from use in a criminal
prosecution against that person.
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Rule developed in 1914, Weeks v. U.S.
Mapp v. Ohio (1961) extended it to the states.
Deters Fourth Amendment violations.
Does not apply to evidence obtained illegally by a
private citizen, unless the private citizen acts as an
agent of the police.
Alternatives to the Exclusionary Rule
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There are possible alternatives to the
exclusionary rule
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Conducting an illegal search and seizure could be
designated as a crime.
An officer who makes an illegal search and seizure may
be subject to internal departmental disciplinary
procedures.
Victims of unconstitutional actions by police officers may
also bring civil lawsuits against offending officers.
Victims of unconstitutional actions by federal officers
may also be able to sue the U.S. government.
Criticisms of the Exclusionary Rule
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Criticisms of the exclusionary rule include the
following:
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That individual police officers are not personally
impacted by the exclusion of evidence they obtained
unconstitutionally.
That police officers are not deterred because few
prosecutions against the officers come about as a result
of illegal seizure.
It allows some factually guilty individuals to go free.
Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine

Under the fruit of the poisonous tree
doctrine, evidence is inadmissible in court if
it was directly or indirectly obtained by
exploitation of some prior unconstitutional
police activity (such as an illegal arrest or
search). Evidence directly or indirectly
obtained in this manner is called tainted
evidence.
Exceptions to the Fruit of the
Poisonous Tree Doctrine
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The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine does
not require suppression of the tainted
evidence if
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The evidence was also obtained through a source
wholly independent of the primary constitutional
violation,
The evidence inevitably would have been discovered by
some other lawful means already in process (inevitable
discovery), or
The means of obtaining the tainted evidence were
sufficiently remote from and distinguishable from the
primary illegality.
The Good Faith Exception to the
Exclusionary Rule

Under the good-faith exception to the
exclusionary rule, evidence obtained by
police who acted in good faith in objectively
reasonable reliance on a warrant or statute
is admissible, even though the warrant or
statute is subsequently determined to be
invalid.
Standing to Assert an Exclusionary
Rule Claim

To have standing to invoke the exclusionary
rule challenging the admissibility of
evidence, a defendant’s own constitutional
rights must have been allegedly violated in
obtaining the evidence.