Chapter 8
Courts and the
Quest for
Justice
Functions of Courts
COURTS – where arguments are settled
COURTS – need unquestioned legitamacy
 Functions of the Courts:
1. The Due Process Function -Individual Rights
2. The Crime Control Function – Society Rights
3. The Rehabilitation Function – medical model
4. The Bureaucratic Function – speed and
efficiency
BASIC PRINCIPLES
 Jurisdiction: ( JURIS + DICTION)
 Geographic jurisdiction
 Federal versus State
 State versus State
 International jurisdiction
 Subject-matter jurisdiction
 Courts of general jurisdiction
 Courts of limited jurisdiction
•TRIAL and APPELLATE
COURT
 Trial Courts:
 Have original jurisdiction
 Are concerned with questions of fact
 Trial and Sentence by Judge
 Appellate Courts:
 Courts of review
 Concerned with questions of law
 Basis for Precedent
DUAL COURT SYSTEM
 Fed and State court have limited jurisdiction
 Some crimes are illegal by both Federal and
State systems
 Person can be tried in either system
 Prosecutors steer suspect to where they can
get the harsher penalty
Learning Objective 4
 Outline the several levels of a
typical state court system.
STATE COURT SYSTEM
 The state court system includes:
 Lower courts, or courts of limited
jurisdiction
 Magistrate courts
 Specialty courts
 Trial courts of general jurisdiction
 Appellate courts
 The state’s highest courts
Learning Objective 5
 Outline the federal court system
FEDERAL COURT
SYSTEM
 Three-tiered model:
 U.S. District Court
Lowest tier/Judge-Jury/ 94 nationally
 U.S. (Circuit) Court of Appeals
Decision is Final/13/ Exception appeal to
Supreme Court
 United States Supreme Court
Reviews a relatively small amount of cases
U.S. SUPREME COURT
 Has a huge impact on Criminal Justice System –
handles only a small number of cases percentage
wise
 Gideon v Wainright ( right to counsel )
 Miranda v. Arizona ( pretrial interrogations )
 Furman v. Georgia- (death penalty unconstitutional)
 Gregg v. Georgia ( when death penalty is allowed )
SUPREME COURT
Makes Criminal Justice Policy:
 Through judicial review
 Through authority to interpret statutory law
Jurisdiction of Supreme Court
 Consists of nine justices ( 8 + 1)
 Rare instances has original or trial
jurisdiction
 Rarely do cases originate at the Supreme
Court
SUPREME COURT
Which cases reach Supreme Court ?
 Thousands are filed and on the average 100
are heard
 Writ of certiorari – send for case from the
lower court
 Lower courts petitions for writ of certiorari
 No writ unless at least 4 justices approve –
Rule of 4
 90% denied – unless the case addresses an
important federal law or constitutional issue
SUPREME COURT
 The United States Supreme Court
normally does not hear any evidence.
 The court’s decision is based on the
written records, written arguments, and
occasionally oral arguments.
 Justices decide each case in conference,
and then the senior justice on the
majority side writes the opinion.
 Concurring opinions
 Dissenting opinions
JUDGES IN THE COURT
SYSTEM
 The duties of judges before trial include
determining:
 Whether there is sufficient probable cause to
issue an arrest or search warrant, or to
authorize electronic surveillance
 Whether the defendant should be release on bail
and the amount of that bail
 Whether to accept pretrial motions
 Whether to accept a plea bargaining
 Sometimes acts as the negotiator
JUDGES IN THE COURT
SYSTEM
 The duties of judges during the trial:
 Takes over the role of the referee, is expected
to be neutral, responsible that trial follows the
dictates of law
 Acts as a teacher, explains points of law to the
jury, decides on length and type of sentence
 Acts as an administrator, schedules the docket
and keeps track of tremendous amount of
paperwork
Learning Objective 8
 Selection of Judges:
 Based on two key factors
1. Independence
2. Accountability
 Federal court judges

Appointed by the President and confirmed by the
senate
 State court judges

Election ( partisan and non – partisan)

Merit
SELECTION of COURT
JUDGES
 Selection of Judges
 State court judges
 Appointment
 Election
 Partisan elections
 Nonpartisan elections
 Merit selection (The Missouri Plan)
 Diversity on the bench
COURTROOM
WORKGROUP
 Members of the courtroom work group:
 Judges
 Prosecutors
 Defense attorneys
 Bailiffs
 Clerks of the court
 Court reporters
ASSEMBLY LINE
JUSTICE
 Excessive caseload results in assembly line
justice
 System lacks resources to deal with
excessive caseload
 Judges are measured by their ability to keep
the assembly line going
IMPACTS ON THE CRIMINAL
JUSTICE SYSTEM
 Police officers do not investigate less serious
offenses unless the offender is caught in the
act
 Police officers are encouraged to obtain
confessions rather than other types of
evidence
 Prosecutors press charges for less serious
offenses only when the are a “slam dunk”
 Prosecutors are more likely to plea bargain
resulting in less prison time for offenders