Unit 3
The Criminal Case
The federal Courts
The federal Courts
• System consists of 3
basic levels
• District Courts
• U.S. Court of
Appeals
• U.S Supreme Court
District courts
• Handles trials in the federal system
• A single judge presides over a criminal trial
Trial by Jury
Trial without Jury
Jury listens to testimonies by witnesses
and view evidence
Defendants can waive their right to a jury
and let a judge hear a case alone
Judge rules what evidence can be admitted
and instructs the jury on the law in the
case
• If a defendant is convicted in a federal trial court they can
appeal to the next level- U.S. Court of Appeals
U.S. Court of appeals
• Also known as appellate courts
• 12 courts with jurisdiction over a particular area of the U.S.
• Each court has 6-30 judges and hears appeals in panels of three
judges
• Do no try cases- simply review what trial court has done and
rule on matters of law
• Review evidence and written briefs from attorneys of both sides
• Judges leave and discuss the case among themselves
• They vote and one judge is assigned to write the opinion of the
court (final decision)
U.S. Supreme Court
• Highest level
• 9 members
• It hears appeals from the:
• Prosecution or defense on federal appeals court decisions
• Appeals of state supreme courts’ decisions on issues of U.S.
constitutional law
• Parties must petition to have their appeals heard by the courtthey do not have to hear every case
• Interpret what the Constitution and federal laws mean
• Can add or overturn laws
The State Sysem
• Each state has its own criminal court system
• Two types of courts: limited v unlimited jurisdiction
Limited Jurisdiction
Unlimited Jurisdiction
Only try misdemeanors
May also try pretrial felony hearings
Ex: municipal/police courts
Hear felony cases
Ex: superior
• If convicted, defendants may appeal their cases to appeals
court
• In NJ that is the Supreme Court- the last word on interpretations
of state law and the state constitution
Judges
• All judges are supposed to be fair and impartial
• When they interpret the law they must base their decision on:
• Statutes
• Constitutional law
• Prior court cases
• Not to be swayed by politics or popular opinion
• Democracy depends on an independent judiciary
Federal Judges
• Appointed by the President, confirmed by Senate and serve for
life
• Can only be removed by House of Reps by impeachment for
“treason, bribery or other high crimes or misdemeanors”
• Only 14 federal judges in US history have been impeached- 8
actually convicted
State Judges
• Judges either run for their position in direct elections or
appointed
• In states that appoint judges, still have to face the voters on the
ballot in the next general election
• Many states allow voters to recall judges they see unfit by
getting a certain number of signatures on a recall petition
Lawyers
• Highly educated- law school
• Must pass:
• Bar exam in the state they want to practice in: 2-3 day exam on all
aspects of law
• Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE)
• Background checks
• Usually specialize in one area of law
Prosecutors
• Government employees
• Represent the public and present the government’s case against the
defendant in criminal cases
• At federal level- work out of 90 U.S. attorney offices across the
country
• Each office headed by a U.S. attorney- appointed by the president
• At city, county and state level- thousands of prosecutors offices
headed by elected state, district or city attorney
• Large offices have specialized units for prosecuting cases involving
drugs, juveniles, child abuse, homicide, domestic violence, gangs,
arson and white-collar crime
• Prosecutors must also decide whether to bring charges, what the
charges are and whether to change or drop charges
Defense Attorney
• Prepare and present defendants cases at pretrial hearings, at
trial, and on appeal
• Try to find supportive witnesses and call them to testify at trial
• Can be private attorneys or public employees
• Powell v. Alabama (1932): Supreme Court ruled that states
must supply attorneys for poor defendants in death-penalty
cases
• Johnson v. Zerbst (1938): court ruled that federal gov’t must
provide lawyers for poor defendants in all federal cases
• Gideon v. Wainright (1963): extended rule to all felony cases in
state courts
Defense Attorney
Assigned Counsel
System
Judge appoints private
counsel (lawyer) from a
list and lawyers are then
reimbursed by gov’t
Contract Counsel
Private firms under
contract with the gov’t
provide legal services
Public Defender
Most widely used
Work full-time for the
gov’t defending poor
defendants – often have
heavy caseload
Defending people accused of a crime is difficult but everyone- guilty or
innocent- is entitled to a fair trial
Attorneys take an oath to represent all defendants fully and forcefully
Steps in the
Criminal
Justice Case
Arrest
• Taking of a criminal suspect into custody to charge the suspect
with a crime
• Arrest must be based on probable cause and must be made…
• with a valid warrant
• OR without a warrant but under one of the court-recognized
exceptions
• Arrests may be carried out by:
• law-enforcement officials
• citizens (depending on jurisdiction)
First Appearance
Before a Judge
• Ensures that criminals know their rights and are not mistreated
by authorities
• Some states require this happens with a certain time frame
• The judge:
• Informs the person arrested of the charges
• Informs the person arrested of the right to counsel
• Determines bail
• In misdemeanor cases- from a predetermined list
• In felony cases- at the judges discretion or not at all
The question of bail
• There are two ways criminal defendants can be released from
jail pending trial…
Judge will set bail
Release on one’s own recognizance
Requires defendants to deposit a certain
amount of money with the court as
security that they will come back for trial
Judge releases a criminal suspect after
the suspect promises to return for trial
No bail required
Some post bail on their own while others
need the help of a bail bondsman
If defendants show up they (or the bail
bonds company) get the money back.
If they do not show, they get nothing
Usually only available to non-violent and
minor crimes
Prosecutorial
Review
• Prosecutor reviews the case to decide what crimes should be
charged and how the case should be handled
• Prosecutorial discretion: choosing how to approach the case
• Must decide if they have enough evidence to file a charge and
prove it
• A prosecutor will usually prosecute if they find that:
• A crime has been committed
• They can ID the person(s) who committed it
• They have evidence that supports a guilty verdict
• Also consider a number of other factors
Plea Bargaining
• Can happen at any stage in a criminal case
• Between prosecution and defense
• Some states, the judge plays an active role, in other no role at all
Critics
Supporters
•Does not examine a defendant’s rights
•Courts could not handle if every case
went to trial
•A trial does not occur
•An innocent person may go to prison
•Saves money and time
•Punishes defendants that opt to go to trial with
harsher sentences
•Gives prosecutors and police more time to
focus on important issues
•Lets defendants off the hook too easy
•Saves victims of crimes from emotional
trauma
Types of Hearings
Preliminary Hearing
•Some states-Examines
whether person should be
brought to trial
•Other states- Whether
person should be sent to
grand jury
•Prosecution presents
evidence to judge to prove
there is probable cause
•Defense may crossexamine prosecutor’s
witnesses
Grand Jury
•Some states and all federal felony
cases
•23 citizens from the county where
the crime occurred
•Meet in closed session
•Prosecutors call witnesses- defense
does not get to participate
•After prosecution presents case,
jury votes on whether probable
cause exists
•If so, indictment issued: document
accusing defendant of committing a
crime
Complaint
(misdemeanors only )
•No separate hearing to est
probable cause after
accused is arrested
•Written complain against
the person serves as the
formal accusation to begin
the prosecution of the case
Arraignment
• After indictment or complaint filed, defendant called into court
to plead to the charges
• Known as arraignment
• Aside from insanity pleas, defendant has 3 choices of pleas:
• Not guilty
• Guilty
• No contest: Same effect as guilty plea but not serving as admission
of guilt if defendant sued in a civil case
• Some cases defendant may plead deferred entry of judgment:
• If defendant successfully completes agreed upon actions (drug
treatment, anger management, ect) then record of the defendant’s
arrest and guilty plea will be erased
Trial Procedures
• 1. Jury Selection
• 2. Opening Statements: Both prosecution and defense- outlines the evidence
each side intends to present during the trial
• 3. Presenting Evidence
• Direct examination: Attorney’s question their own witnesses
• Cross-examination: Opposing attorneys cross-examine the witnesses to find
weaknesses in the testimony
• 4. Closing Arguments: Attorneys summarize what has/has not been
established and last chance to persuade jury
• 5. Instructions to Jurors: Judge states the law that applies to this case and
tells them to base their verdict solely on evidence presented during trial
• 6. Jury Deliberations: Meet in jury room to decide on a verdict- need
unanimous verdict otherwise known as “hung jury”
Opening Statements
• Outline the facts the attorneys expect to prove during the trial
• Should present the jury with an orderly and easy-to-understand
version of the case from an attorney’s perspective
• A good opening case should:
• Explain what the attorney plans to prove and how they will do it
• Present the events of the case in a clear, orderly sequence
• Suggest a motive/emphasize lack of motive for the crime
Evidence
Direct Evidence
Circumstantial Evidence
•Evidence of one or more of the elements
of a given crime
•Evidence that indirectly supports one or
more elements of a crime
•Example: Will sees Maria point a gun at
Marsha and pull the trigger. In a trial for
murder or manslaughter, Will’s testimony
about what he saw Maria do would be
direct evidence against her
•Requires that an inference is made that
something happened
•Example: Will sees Maria with a
smoking gun in her hand standing over
Marsha’s dead body. In a trial for murder
or manslaughter, this would be
circumstantial evidence that she shot Marsha
It is possible for the same evidence to be categorized as both.
Example: Brad’s fingerprints are found on a murder weapon. This is direct evidence
that he had the possession of the weapon. It is circumstantial evidence that Brad
had used it in a murder.
Closing Statements
• Give attorneys a chance to summarize their case, review the
testimony, of witnesses, and make a last appeal to the judge or
jury
• Effective closing arguments:
• Be emotionally charged and strongly appealing
• Only refer to evidence admitted during the trial
• Emphasize facts that support your side and point out
inconsistencies in the opposing side
• Be prepared so notes are barely necessary
• Conclude with an appeal to convict or acquit
Instructing the Jury
• After closing arguments in a criminal trial, the judge gives the
jury instructions it must consider when arriving at a verdict
• Some of the instructions are:
• Jurors must base their decision entirely on the evidence presented
during trial
• Every person who testifies under oath is a witness and the jurors
are the judges of their credibility
• Defendant in a criminal action is presumed to be innocent until
proven guilty
• Jurors must agree unanimously on a decision
Degrees of belief in a
defendant’s guilt
• To reach a guilty verdict, jurors must believe that the defendant
is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”
If the jury believes the defendant’s guilt is:
Beyond all possible doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt
Highly probable
More likely than not
Highly possible
Possible
The verdict must be:
GUILTY
NOT GUILTY