the trial process

Dr. Nguyen

Criminal trial

conducted as a jury or court trial

Court (bench) trial

trail by judge without a jury

The Jury (12 people w/ 2 alternatives)

•The juror must be an adult (18 years or older).

•Citizen of the United States.

•Resident within the jurisdiction of the court involved.

•Sufficient knowledge of the English language to understand the testimony and be able to communicate during the deliberation.

•Persons with disabilities may be on a jury with assistance.

•Past felony convictions will be disqualified in most states.

•Jurors are selected from lists of registered voters in the jurisdiction of the court involved.

venire

the pool of jurors sent to a courtroom

voir dire

the process of questioning a panel of prospective jurors to select the final panel “to speak the truth”

Challenges for cause

the motion that a prospective juror should be excluded because he or she is incapable of being impartial.

peremptory challenge

motion that excludes a prospective juror from the jury panel without specific reason or justification.

Function of the Jury

The Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial requires a unanimous verdict to convict a defendant of a serious offense.

Jury Nullification

power of a jury in a criminal case to acquit a defendant for any reason or no reason at all. When a jury exercises this power, its decision cannot be appealed.

Rarely discussed in criminal law

It is not lawful for a judge or lawyer to tell a jury of its power to nullify

stems from double jeopardy clause of the 5th amendment

judge’s functions

•See that the defendant in a criminal trial gets a fair trial

•Interpreting the law of the case for the jury.

•Deciding what evidence is and is not admissible.

•Ruling on objections made by the attorneys.

•Protecting witnesses from overzealous cross-examinations.

Bench/Court trial- judge performing the function of the jury; determine facts and renders a verdict

Exculpatory evidence

any evidence that tends to prove the innocence of an accused.

Contempt

the power of a court to punish persons for failure to obey court orders or to coerce them into obeying court orders. Fines or jails the person for criminal failures to obey the court. In civil cases, judge orders the person to jail until the person complies with the judge’s order.

1963 Brady v. Maryland

Supreme Court ruling under 5th and 14th amendments

pretrial discovery

Ensures that reciprocal pretrial exchange of information is completed between the prosecution and defense

reasonable suspicion (stop, frisk, question)=legal

legal standard of proof that is less than probable cause but more than a hunch. A police officer has a reasonably justifiable suspicion that a person is involved in criminal activity. Specific and articulable facts and rational inferences from those facts

Probable Cause (arrest, search, file information, indict)

A reasonable person would believe that a crime was or is being committed

Prima Facie

refer to either a piece of evidence which is presumed to be true when first viewed, or a legal claim in which enough evidence is presented to support the validity of the claim

preponderance

Jury finding/civil trial decision. Standard of proof used in civil lawsuits.

Clear and convincing

Highly and substantially more likely to be true than untrue.

Reasonable doubt

based upon a reason that would make a reasonable person hesitate to act in connection with important affairs of life.

In propia persona

“pro pre” latin for in their own person

can waive their right to counsel and represent themselves

Opening Statement

summary of how the prosecution expects its evidence to show the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or how the defense attorney expects to raise a reasonable doubt

Case-in-chief

that portion of the trial that comprises the main evidence for either the prosecution or the defense.

Prosecution

has the burden of going forward with its case-in-chief, presenting witnesses and exhibits

defense

runs after the prosecution and presents its case in chief.

Corpus delicti

Burden during its case-in-chief to introduce sufficient evidence to establish that a crime was committed by someone

prima facie

evidence sufficient to establish that a crime was committed and that the defendant probably did it

Judgment of acquittal

judicial decision on whether the prosecution has satisfied its burden during the presentation of its case-in-chief.

Leading question

a question that suggests to the witness the answer sought by the questioner. 

evidentiary objections

legal arguments raised by opposing counsel during a trial to prevent a witness from testifying or other evidence from being admitted

Redirect Examination (prosecution and defense)

•Further questioning, after cross-examination, for the limited purpose of rebutting or clarifying information brought out during cross-examination.

•New matters or issues cannot be brought out for the first time on redirect examination.

Re-cross examination

•Further questioning, after redirect examination, for clarification purposes. This and subsequent questioning are purely within the discretion of the trial judge.

•After re-cross examination, in rotation, the opposing attorneys may be permitted further questioning at the court’s discretion.

•None of these further steps is required, and any questioning past redirect examination is purely within the trial judge’s discretion.

Affirmative defense

a reason under the law that allows a defendant to claim to be exonerated, one that the defendant must affirmatively claim and prove

Jury deliberation

The jury will review the evidence presented during the trial and attempt to arrive at a unanimous verdict

Hung Jury

If the jury cannot reach a verdict, the result is known as a ________