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Chapter 2: Criminal Courts: Organization, Function, Jurisdiction, and the Criminal Process 1. An Introduction to the Criminal Justice System. All societies: deal with and adjudicate deviant behavior. American justice: Dual system of state and federal courts. One act: may be federal and a state crime. Ultimately, police and courts follow minimum standards of federal Constitution. Flow chart of Figure 2.1 demonstrates typical possibilities of criminal procedure. Reported, discovered, or observed crime: Initiates government response. May require extensive investigation. Case may exit system early. Arrest: Information. Probable Cause Bad Guy Someone Committed that act Bad Act Something Criminal Happened Indictment. Probable Cause, you’ve got a bad guy and a bad act Complaint. Someone calls, and you go arrest Summons. When and where to show up
Juvenile Referral. Juvenile certified to adult court. Prosecutor “direct files” in adult court. Adjudicated in juvenile court. Indictment: Held for trial, bail possible. Grand Jury is 16-23 people Formal charging document Paperwork entry point for person to stand trial Refusal to indict. Ends case, subject exits system. No bill Does not necessarily end that case Double jeopardy does not apply Information. Preliminary hearing. Don’t want to give away whole case, play whole hand Just show the judge that there was probable cause If prosecution puts on witness, the defense can cross examine him/her Defense is going to try and discredit the prosecution and put doubt in the judges mind Juror, prosecution, court reporter as in grand jury, in addition to: Judge presiding Defense Defense council Witness It is public What is said on witness stand becomes locked into the case, because s/he was sworn in Probable cause found: Held for trial. No probable cause: Released. Felony case: Trial by jury or option to be tried by judge. Duncan 2 years and a day Baldwin v. New York 6 months and a day Degree of exposure of more than six months, right to jury or trial by judge Why Trial by judge? Heinous acts Juvenile Graphic crime scene photos Children Judge will be more desensitized to this stuff Six months and below, judge tries the case
General to appeal Procedural errors Have to file paperwork to request appeal within a timely manner Getting case to supreme court They have choice to take or reject the case 9 justices 4 must accept so that it will be heard Minority vote What is likely to get case heard? Kilo v. U.S. Similar situation in Texas and Oregon Informant tip of grow house Thermal scan of residence suspected of growing marijuana Bad guy Bad act What we found with thermal scan equals probable causes Obtained search warrant Found Mary Jane Arrested those responsible If going to search need probable cause and warrant or emergency No warrant to get thermal imaging Texas Court of Appeals 5th^ circuit Thermal scan does not constitute a search Heat escaping is outside of the house Sometimes heat is willingly pushed out by homeowners for comfort Abandoned in a sense Don’t need probable cause or warrant Oregon 9th^ Circuit High technology equipment to identify happenings inside the walls of a home Activities within four walls and roof No right to find out what is going on
5 th^ Circuit and 9th^ Circuit found different answers to same question Guaranteed to be heard by supreme court because it is differing orders for law enforcement Ask federal question that has never been asked before Illegal seizure in state Constitutional federal right Kicked over to federal side Appeal to circuit court Maybe to supreme court ultimately Can be heard in state/local and then federal, without double Jeopardy applying e.g. robber federally insured bank that is state licensed tried with exact same evidence with same set of facts also can be affected by tribal law as well if act was committed on tribal land State courts have sovereign power to try violations of state law. State court powers: not granted by federal Constitution. Federal Constitution grants powers to federal courts. Some federal court powers regulated by Congress.
3. Pretrial Criminal Procedure: The Initial Steps toward Prosecution. Prosecution evaluates case: Considers: Strength of case. Availability of witnesses. Here is what this witness said and this is what he knows What they saw What they found interview again before trial Problems with admissibility of evidence. Illegally seized? Constitutional issues. defense affirmative defense i have a bad act, you have the guy, but it wasn’t a bad act justification self defense Priorities of the prosecutor’s office. Drug cases Threshold Manages volume of cases Man power Volume of criminal activity
4. Initiating a Criminal Case: Complaint and Summons. Police book suspects in jail based on probable cause determined by: Police or judicial warrant. Grand jury indictment. Often reviewed by a judge. Was judgment call of probable cause correct Misdemeanor cases Based on citizen compliant. Domestic abuse Observations of law enforcement officials. Formal complaint of citizen may: Indicate probable cause to arrest. May cause a judge to issue warrant. Investigation by police may begin. Prosecutor determines whether case is felony, misdemeanor, or no case. 5. The Charging Instruments: Indictment and Information. You can wave any right against you Can I talk to you? Can I take a look at your car? If a federal prosecution: Grand jury indictment required under Fifth Amendment. If potential punishment greater than one year. If a state prosecution: No Fifth Amendment right to indictment. Not all states require grand jury indictment. Oklahoma and California – Prosecutor has the option Case 2.1, Leading Case Brief: Hurtado v. California , 110 U.S. 516 (1884). Facts: Defendant convicted of state murder in absence of grand jury indictment. He contended Fourteenth Amendment due process guaranteed right to indictment in a serious state prosecution. Issue: Does Fourteenth Amendment incorporate right to indictment in state case through due process clause? Held: No. Rationale: There are many ways of granting fundamental fairness in the criminal process. Differences in concepts of liberty and justice do not dictate that United States or each state follow all English common law or the Magna Charta. Due process of law was not meant to require the institution and procedure of a grand jury in every possible serious prosecution. The grand jury: Composed of citizens who hear evidence. May ask questions of witnesses. Meets in secret.
Witness list Physical evidence Some mandatory pretrial motions: Double jeopardy claim. I have been found guilty or prosecuted on these same operative facts and should not have to stand trial Not in timely manner, we assumed you waived that right and you can stand trial Speedy trial allegation. If you go outside the parameters of what is allowed, the case is dead and cannot be retried Starting date of prosecution Where we are at now Not in timely manner, we assumed you waived that right and you can stand trial Defects in charging instrument. Information and indictment Formal piece of paper saying that a crime has been committed by a specific bad guy Not in timely manner, we assumed you waived that right and you can stand trial Severance of charges and/or defendants. Two fe/males in robbery, want to separate selves for separate trials Coercion Change in trial venue. If the case has gotten a lot of notoriety in the press, the defendant can request change in venue for a different jury pool 8. Plea Negotiations. 85-90% of cases are pled out in pretrial negotiations Who wins? Everybody Wins, except for the victims (all charges were not prosecuted) Prosecutor Justice will be served because time will be served even if I give up a few charges Defense I need to give client my best legal advice Not fight it all the way and do serious time. Cut your loses now when you have the chance to minimize your sentence Minimizes risk/damage Judge More cases than hours to try 8-10% would be tried if there were no plea bargaining The system would shut down Prosecution, Defense, and Investigator are involved Possible when each side determines:
Compromise benefits each side. Few or no outstanding issues exist. Judge must be sure of free, voluntary plea. A certain conviction and/or sentence serves interests of both sides. Defendant may plead and reserve one or more issues for appeal. Can hold for appeal purposes this one question, and plea out on the rest of the charges Plea bargain: a contract obligating both sides. Contract relationship Each side is bound Agree to lesser charge in exchange for... Each side has to carry out their side of the bargain before the trial takes place Not effective until judge accepts. Nonbinding until the judge accepts After acceptance: prosecution must perform. Or allow defendant to withdraw plea. Contract was broken by prosecution Can take guilty plea off the table Start plea process over. 9. Jury and Non-jury Trials. Sixth Amendment: Right to jury trial. If potential sentence longer than 6 months. Non-unanimous jury verdicts permitted in state cases. Federal prosecutions: Unanimous 12-person jury. State 6-person jury: Unanimous verdict. Anything else is a hung jury Jury unable to come to a verdict Double jeopardy is not in play Can go back and reprosecute Jury polled to see how close the vote was so they can see if they want to reconvene the case Jury duties: Weigh evidence, determine facts, apply facts to law, and reject excluded evidence. Trial by judge: Listen to evidence, weigh evidence, rule on objections, and reject consideration of excluded evidence. Burden of proof: same for jury or judge trial. Standard of proof Affirmative defense Is the defenses job to prove PPE / BRD Anything to the right of the 50/ Recognizance of the evidence – PPE More likely than not
12. Opening Statements. Opening statements: not evidence. Prosecution: Tells jury what the evidence expected to prove. Presents theory of case. Defense: Mentions what defense will prove or disprove. May delay opening statement until start of defense case in chief. 13. Prosecution’s Case in Chief. Presents evidence first. Has burden of proof of all elements. May include lay and expert witnesses. Defense may cross-examine each prosecution witness. Prosecution rests: indicates end of prosecution case presentation. 14. Defense’s Case in Chief. Defense duties: Demolish prosecutor’s case or create reasonable doubt. Defendant may testify. Defense conducts direct examination of own witnesses. Witnesses: May call lay and expert. Burden of proof: Only on affirmative defenses. 15. Prosecution Case in Rebuttal. Prosecution may recall prior witnesses. May present new witnesses. Clarify earlier testimony. General Rule: Cannot introduce new matters not covered earlier. 16. Defense Case in Rejoinder. Rebuts and clarifies prosecution’s case in rebuttal. May impeach witnesses from prosecution case in rebuttal. May not introduce new matters: can address any new matters mentioned by prosecution. 17. Motion for Judgment of Acquittal. Motion offered at end of defense case in rejoinder. Rarely successful. May be granted if element of crime missing. Motion may first be made after prosecution’s case in chief. 18. Closing Arguments. Prosecution presents closing argument first, defense goes second, prosecution has final say. Attorneys: Summarize evidence. Place respective cases in best position. Closing arguments: Not evidence. Personal opinion of guilt or innocence by attorneys: Not appropriate. 19. Jury Instructions. Purpose: Educate the jury concerning law applicable to case. Including, proof beyond a reasonable doubt, inferences, presumptions, and judicial notice. From pattern jury instructions and suggestions offered by parties.
Judge determines ultimate content of instructions. 20. Verdicts, Sentencing Process, and Post Trial Motions. After jury instructions: Jury deliberates in secret. Defendant has right to poll jury. Failure to reach verdict: Hung Jury; retrial possible. Decision to acquit: Ends case forever. 20. Verdicts, Sentencing Process, and Post Trial Motions. (cont.) Jury verdict: Turns into Judgment. Judge sets forth the plea, jury decision, sentence = judgment. Sentences in federal courts follow non-mandatory guidelines. Pre-sentence reports: Assists judges in sentencing. Parties may speak prior to sentencing. 20. Verdicts, Sentencing Process, and Post Trial Motions. (cont.) Judge advises convict of appellate remedies and procedure. Post trial motions include: New trial: Jury irregularities, newly discovered evidence, improper admission of evidence. Notice of appeal of verdict and/or sentence and motion to forfeit property. 21. Appellate Practice. All cases: Statutory right to first appeal. Notice of appeal: Mandatory. Attorney investigates facts, files brief. Existence of facts: not arguable, generally. Only major errors reverse convictions. Appeal discretionary after first appeal. 22. State and Federal Habeas Corpus. Habeas Corpus petition requests court order that requires: The person holding convict produce his or her body. Explaination why continued custody is legal. Denial of writ: Can be appealed. 23. Summary. State and federal courts have three levels. Some crimes are both federal and state. Complaint, Indictment, or Information begin most criminal cases. Guilty verdicts may be appealed upon proper procedure.
