CJL-3510 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Death Of Caylee Anthony, Appellate Court, Civil Rights Cases
13 Dec 2016
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Chapter 1: Courts, Crime, and Controversy_________________________________________________________________
The courts and the Criminal Justice System
In addition to Courts, the two other main components of the Criminal Justice System are:
1. Police
2. Corrections
Courts are related to the rest of the criminal justice system as follows:
Interdependent
All have different goals, histories, operating procedures
All forced to interact with one another
Only the judiciary can hold a suspect in jail prior to trial, find a defendant guilty, and sentence the guilty person to prison
Fragmented (Nonsystem)
Over 18,000 law enforcement organizations
- work overlaps and activities are not always coordinated
Corrections encompasses prisons, probation, parole, drug treatment, halfway houses, etc.
Court has many actors including private citizens
Tensions and Conflicts
Come from conflicting goals and perspectives
US Courts
Dual court system: separate state and federal courts (rarely do cases move from one court to another)
1. Trial Courts
-Trials are held here, jurors sworn, and witnesses are questioned
Lower Courts
- Process felony cases but cannot find the defendant innocent or guilty and therefore cannot sentence
- processing minor offenses
example: set bail
Major Trial Courts
- responsible for final phases of felony prosecutions
- enter a plea of guilty (or go to trial), and guilty are sentenced
2. Appellate Courts
- review decisions made by (major) trial courts
- courts review decisions made elsewhere, but no trials are held rather, lawyersargue whether the decision was
made correctly
3. US Supreme Court
Cases are hand selected
- Conflict of law
- Important social issue
- Justice’s interests
- Lower courts have disregarded past Supreme Court decisions
Hears Fewer than 85 cases a year
Usually only hears cases impacting society as a whole
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Actors in the Courthouse
Prosecutors: their offices decide which cases to prosecute, plea bargain, and to try
Defense attorneys: constitution guarantees defendants the right to counsel
Judges: elected by the voters, authority figures in the courthouse because only judges can set bail, instruct jurors, and
impose sentence
Defendants: usually, large, young, poor, uneducated males. Most stand accused of property crime or low level drug
offenses
Victims: increasingly demanding major roles in setting bail and granting release from prison
Following the steps of the Process
1. Crime
- felony/ misdemeanor
2. Arrest
3. Initial appearance: brought before a judge without unnecessary delay
- feloy defedat’s iitial appearae is a forality because no plea may be entered
- isdeeaor defedat’s iitial appearae is the defedats oly ourtroo eouter seteed
immediately)
4. Bail
5. Grand Jury: check on unwarranted prosecutions
- convince a majority of the grand jurors that a crime was committed and there is probable cause
- if GJ fids PC, it returs a iditet true ill hargig the defedat ith a rime
6. Preliminary Hearing: provide a check against unwarranted prosecutions; must prove to judge that a crime was
committed and there is PC
7. Arraignment: defendant is given a coy of the formal charges and for the first time is called upon to enter a plea (little of
importance happens here)
8. Discovery: exchange of information prior to trial; prosecutor turns a copy of documents to defense attorney
9. Pretrial Motions: requests for a judge to make a decision before trial
10. Plea Negotiation: findings of guilt result not from a verdict at trial but from a voluntary plea by the defendant;
understanding of what sentence is appropriate for a given type of defendant
11. Trial*: most fundamental rights granted to those accused of violating criminal law.
- prosecutor is first to call witnesses
12. Sentencing: prison sentence or probation; fines are rarely used in felony cases
13. Appeal: for those found guilty→ file an appeal with a higher court in hope of a new trial
Law on the Books
Legal and structural components of the judiciary
- Constitutions
- Legislation
- Regulations
- Court Cases
Law in Action
Focuses on human factors governing the actual application of law
- Police
- Prosecutors (most powerful player in courtroom)
- Judges
- Victims
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Witnesses
- Jurors*
Brown v. Mississippi
Race related murder case of innocent men and corrupt police
Confessions based on torture, coercive tactics
- Free ad olutary ofessios as eidee
Due process & 14th Amendment
Crime Control Model and Due Process Model
Conflicting values of role of criminal court
Casey Anthony case
The ot guilty otroersy surroudig the ase a e opared through to riiologial oepts:
- Crime control
- Due process
The Crime Control Model and the Due Process Model
The Crime Control Model
Conservatives see crime as the product of a breakdown of individual responsibility and self control
- Individual Responsibility
- Self-Control
- Discipline
- Quickly determine innocence or guilt
- Informal Fact-Finding is foolproof to prevent the innocent from being falsely convicted
- Speed and finality of courts
- Courts hinder effective law enforcement and provide inadequate protection to society
Conservative model
- Proposes harsher penalties
The Due Process Model of Criminal Justice
- Protecting the rights of the individual
- Social Influences
- Formal Fact-Finding
- Careful consideration of each case (not speedy)
- Considers the court to find error on the part of law enforcement & prosecutors
- Community based sentencing
Liberal model
- Advocates social programs aimed at reducing crime by reducing poverty
Media Depictions/Distortions of Criminal Courts*
Most people in the U.S. learn about the process of criminal courts through the media
Advantage:
People are able to understand influences on the outcome of the case, such as:
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
In addition to courts, the two other main components of the criminal justice system are: police, corrections. Courts are related to the rest of the criminal justice system as follows: Only the judiciary can hold a suspect in jail prior to trial, find a defendant guilty, and sentence the guilty person to prison. Work overlaps and activities are not always coordinated. Corrections encompasses prisons, probation, parole, drug treatment, halfway houses, etc. Dual court system: separate state and federal courts (rarely do cases move from one court to another: trial courts. Trials are held here, jurors sworn, and witnesses are questioned. Process felony cases but cannot find the defendant innocent or guilty and therefore cannot sentence. Responsible for final phases of felony prosecutions. Enter a plea of guilty (or go to trial), and guilty are sentenced: appellate courts. Review decisions made by (major) trial courts.
