Courts and Courtroom Work
Groups
What are the different levels
of courts?
Roles of Judges, Prosecutors,
and Defense attorneys

National and State Courts are separated into
three tiers:
Lower Courts
– Felony Courts
– Appellate Courts
–
Lower Courts
Have limited jurisdiction
 They deal with misdemeanors and
pretrial proceedings
 They look at traffic offenses, drunk and
disorderly conduct, shoplifting, and
prostitution
 They assign lawyers to indigent (poor)
defendants

Felony Courts
They decide facts and apply the
law on felony cases.
Decide cases from capital
murder down to theft
Appellate Courts (appeals courts)
They review trial courts’ application of the
law and the facts.
What does that mean?
 They don’t decide guilt or innocence
 They review court’s proceedings to make
sure the trial courts are following
procedures and aren’t violating defendants’
constitutional rights.
 Defendants do not have to be present.
 Appeals Courts include Court of Appeals
and the Supreme Court
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Constitution is the “Supreme
Law of the Land”
What does that mean?


Constitution is the highest law
State law cannot violate the Constitution
What to know about the Supreme
Court:



You have no constitutional right to a review of
your case.
The Supreme Court doesn’t decide whether
you’re guilty or not
Almost everything the Court does is secret
except for:
–
–
–
Lawyers’ arguments
Briefs
Published opinions
 Writ of certiorari: The Court decides to hear
a case from a lower appeals court
The Supreme Court decides to
hear a case for two specific
reasons:
A conflict exists among the lower
courts
An important constitutional issue has
not been resolved.
Mission of the Courts
Courts have three important
missions:
 1. Administer Justice according to the
rules of the law



That is called the Due Process Mission –
everything is fair.
That is why everything is done in open
court.
Fairness is more important than convicting
guilty people
 2. Public expects courts to make sure
guilty people are convicted and
punished.
 That is called the Crime Control Model
 Public expects the criminal justice
system to punish “bad” people.
 Prosecutors are supposed to be ruthless
 Defense attorneys should not “get their
clients off on technicalities”
 Judges should be hard on criminals
Vocabulary Word

Adversary Process: getting the
truth by fighting in court according
to the formal rules of criminal
proceedings

Attorneys, judges are all part of the
adversarial process.

3. Public expects the courts to do what is
“best” for victims and offenders.
– That is called the Social Justice Mission
– In this system, it’s important to consider what
type of person the defendant is – look at the
background, nature of offense and then
determine – probation, jail time, throw away the
key, etc.
The Courtroom Work Group
Judges, Prosecutors, Defense
Attorneys
Judges
• Play a huge role in the adversarial system.
• They interpret the law and sentence
people
• Bench Trial: a trial before a judge; no jury
Prosecutors

Serve as an important link between police and
courts and between courts and corrections
 Police bring arrests to prosecutors, not to
judges
 Prosecutors not judges decide which cases go
to court. Prosecutors have an enormous
amount of power. By deciding not to charge a
person for a crime, prosecutors can stop a
police investigation dead in its tracks



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Prosecutors direct what charges and what
type of sentencing they are looking for.
They also play a huge role in plea
bargaining.
Prosecutors are referred to as county
attorneys or the DA (district attorney)
They work for the state
Plea Bargaining
Defense Attorneys



1. They defend their clients
2. Bargain with prosecutors to get the best
deal for their client
3. They have a constitutional duty and
professional responsibility to make sure the
government plays by the rules.
 You have private defense attorneys
(commercials on TV)
 You have Public Defenders who work
for the state and are appointed to those
who cannot afford an attorney
 Public defenders often get a bad rap, but the
question always arises: Can lawyers
rigorously defend clients they have never
seen before and probably won’t see again?
How much does it cost
to go to law school?
• Hamline – 28,392
• William Mitchell – Approximately
32,000
• University St. Thomas – 34,472
• University of Minnesota 25,324
(+3000 in fees)
• We’re looking at 84,000-104,000 for
three years!
How much do attorneys make?
$74,980 and $163,320. (U.S. Department
of Labor). Average
– Depends on where you work also
– 2007 County Attorney – 100-144,000
– Public Defenders 40-85,000
How much do Judges make?


70-180,000 (depending on what
type of judge)
of 2009, the Chief Justice of the
United States receives an annual
salary of $217,400, and the
Associate Justices receive annual
salaries of $208,100.