Chapter 7: courts, prosecution and the defense

State courts of limited jurisdiction

courts that have jurisdiction over misdemeanors and conduct preliminary investigation of felony charges.

State courts of limited jurisdiction

(About 13,500 independent courts)

Who is most often accused of providing assembly line justice

Specialized courts

(Drug courts, mental health courts..)

Courts of limited jurisdiction have additional courts within them that specialize in one type of criminal act.

Courts of general jurisdiction

State or federal courts that have jurisdiction over felony of fences and more serious civil cases . (Cases involving more then a dollar amount set by legislation ~$10,000)

Handles cases with punish,net greater then one year

Appellate courts

(Every state has one)

Court of last resort for the general jurisdiction courts

Appellate courts

1/4 of all cases.

A court that reconsiders a case that has been tried in order to determine whether the measures used compiled with accepted rules of criminal procedure and were in accordance with constitutional doctrine

Court of last resort

A court that handles the final appeal on a matter. The us Supreme Court is the official __________ for criminal matters.

1. Us district courts

2. Us courts of appeals (circuit courts)

3. Us Supreme Court

The federal government established what three tiered hierarchy of court jurisdiction

13

How many judicial courts are there within the us courts of appeals

Writ of certiorari

An order of a superior court requesting that the record for an inferior court be brought forward for review or inspection. (When Supreme Court decided to hear a case) example could be disputes between states.

Landmark decision

A decision handed down by the us Supreme Court that becomes the law of the land and serves as a precedent for resolving similar legal issues.

Jury trial

The process of deciding a case by a group of persons selected and sworn in to serve as jurors at a criminal trial, often as a 6 or 12 person jury

Us magistrate judge

A federal judge who is appointed by a district court judge and who presides over various civil cases with the consent of the parties and over certain misdemeanor cases.

Missouri plan

A way of picking judges through nonpartisan elections as a way to ensure that judges adhere to high standards of judicial preformance

True.

No exams, no age limit, and no requirement to be a us citizen. Not even a law degree requirement .

True or false. There are almost no formal qualifications for federal judges

Prosecutors

Representative of the state in criminal proceedings, advocate for the states case, the charge, in the adversary trial

Us district courts

Trial courts of the fed system

Civil rights, kidnapping, citizenship

Interstate transportation

Rights of ailians

Us court of appeals (circuit)

12 regional, 1 federal = 13 total courts

Substantive and procedural issues involving rights granted by the constitution

(Located in regions)

Us supreme court

Federal Last resort.

Nations highest applet body

Appointed by the president (lifetime appointment)

Approved by congress

Only court established through constitution

Shapes future meaning of the constitution

Supreme Court procedure

Step one: grants writ of certiorari

"Rule of four" 4 to agree on case

Step two: written or oral agreements heard

Either affirms or reverses decision of the lower court (legal briefs)

Reasons for congestion in court system

Complex law, increasing populations, aggressive prosecutors, reform efforts, civil litigation

Roles and duties of a judge

Rule on appropriate conduct

Settle questions of evidence and procedures

Guide questioning of witnesses

Instruct jurors on points of law and evidence

Decide cases and sentences

Judge qualifications

Resident of the state

Licensed to pro twice law, member of state bar

>25 years and < 70 years

Some mini pile and town courts don't need law degrees

Judge selection

1. Appointment (by governor )

2. Elected official to make appointment

Or 3. Missouri Plan(bar committee = merit selection)

A. Judicial nomination for bench

B. Elected official to make appointment

C. Subsequent nonpartisan and non competitive elections

Other forms of judges to lighten the load

Retired judge, referees, natural parties, magistrates, and pt judges

Arbitration

Formal (governed by law)

Way to lighten load

Mediation

Non formal way (comes before arbitration)

Way to lighten load.

Nolle prosequi

Charges that are dropped if conditions are not in favor for conviction

Influence over judge decisions

Factors:

1. Attitudes, ideology and opinions

2. Demographic characteristics (sex and race)

3. Re- election (draw less attraction to themselves)

True

True or false. There is no proof to show that bias in decision making by a judge is due to basis of race, gender or class.

Factors linked to prosecutorial discression

Legal, victim, extra legal and resource issues

(Broad discretion, few limitations)

Duties of a prosecutor

Law enforcement and prosecutors work very closely.

Police investigation report

Provide legal advice

Training police personal

Engage with media

**criticized for bargaining justice away

Common reasons to dismiss a case

Insufficient evidence

Witness problems

Interest of justice

Due process problems

Plea on another case

Pre trial diversion

90%

_______ of criminals lack funds to have a defense attorney

(6th amendment = right to counsel)

Abandonment of the law

Con of prosecutorial discretion

Allows for alternative decisions and humanize the operation of the criminal justice system

Pro of prosecutorial discression

Public defender ()

An attorney usually employed by the government (at no cost to the accused) to represent poor persons accused of crime

Adversarial procedure (defense attorney)

The process of publicly pitting the prosecution (state) and the defense (advocate for the accused) against one another in pursuit of the truth.

The 1963 us Supreme Court case that granted council to indigent defendants in felony prosecutions

Gideon and Wainwright

The us constitutional amendment containing various criminal trial rights , such as the right to public trial and the right to trial by jury, and the right to confrontation of witness

The sixth amendment

Assigned councel

A lawyer appointed by the court to represent a defendant

(Appointment of a list of members who accept cases on a judge to judge, case to case basis

Contract system

Providing council to indigent offenders by having attorneys under contract to. The county handle all or some of the cases.

(Non salaried private attorney)

Public defender

A salaried staff of full or part time attorney through private or public nonprofit organization