Mainstream and Crosscurrents, Second Edition Chapter 9 Working in the Courtroom

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 2 The courtroom work group  The participants  Prosecutor  Defense attorney  Judge  Defendants, victims, and witnesses

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 3 The courtroom work group Different levels of jurisdiction and different levels of responsibility dictate different working arrangements among the participants in the courtroom work group.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 4 The courtroom work group Participants  Law enforcement  Court support staff  Corrections  The public

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 5 Participants Law enforcement  Courthouse security officer  Sheriff's deputy  Bailiff

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 6 Participants Court support staff  Clerk of the court  Court reporter  Court administrator

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 7 Participants Corrections  Probation officers  Pretrial services personnel  Rehabilitation specialists

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 8 Participants The public  Bail agents  News reporters  Victim-witness program personnel  Child advocates

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 9 The courtroom work group Prosecutor  The prosecutor functions as a major criminal justice system gatekeeper.  The prosecutor is powerful because the exercise of discretion rests with this office.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 10 Prosecutor Federal-level prosecution The US attorney general is a cabinet- level officer who is appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 11 Prosecutor Federal-level prosecution The attorney general's office is responsible for …  Executive direction & management offices  Litigation  Investigatory & law enforcement agencies  Policy & assistance offices

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 12  Solicitor general  Department of Justice Criminal Division  US attorneys Prosecutor Federal-level prosecution

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 13 CrossCurrents Courtroom work group Prosecution or persecution? The criminal justice process is not only about justice but about politics. Law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges all have their own agendas in addition to pursuing justice.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 14 Federal-level prosecution Solicitor general  Argues on behalf of the federal government in Supreme Court proceedings  Coordinates all the appeals of cases that went against the federal government in the lower courts

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 15 Federal-level prosecution Dept. of Justice Criminal Division Coordinates the prosecution of all federal criminal statutes.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 16 Federal-level prosecution US attorneys  93 US attorneys  Decide which criminal cases to prosecute  Defend the US in civil suits  Represent the US in the collection of debts owed to the federal government

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 17 Prosecutor State-level prosecution  State attorney general  Chief prosecutor  Local prosecutors

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 18 State-level prosecution State attorney general  The chief legal officer for a state  Duties of this office are usually delineated in the state constitution.  Represents the state in legal actions in which the state is a party

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 19 State-level prosecution Chief prosecutor  May be called the district attorney, the state attorney, or the prosecuting officer  Chief law enforcement officer for the community  The US has 2,000 chief prosecutors.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 20 State-level prosecution Local prosecutors  Based at the city/county level  Perform a wide range of duties concerned with either misdemeanor cases or preliminary felony cases

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 21 Prosecutor The prosecutor at work  Fighting  Negotiating  Drafting  Counseling  Administering

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 22 The defense attorney  Protects the interests of the accused  The attorney who performs criminal defense work on a regular basis is part of the courtroom work group.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 23 CrossCurrents Courtroom work group How much justice can you afford? Being accused of breaking the criminal law can be expensive. Should attorneys’ fees be capped? Should the state provide the best attorneys available to defendants who cannot afford them?

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 24 The defense attorney Private attorney/public defender  Assigned counsel  Contract systems  Public defender

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 25 Private attorney/public defender Assigned counsel In small jurisdictions with limited resources, the judge may assign a practicing member of the bar to represent defendants who lack the financial means to hire a private lawyer.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 26 Private attorney/public defender Contract systems Law firms bid for the business of all indigent defense work.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 27 Private attorney/public defender Public defender  A staff of full-time attorneys represents all indigent offenders.  Adopted by most large jurisdictions.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 28 The courtroom work group Judge  Signs search warrants  Informs defendants of charges  Appoints counsel  Sets bail  Takes pleas

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 29  Rules on motions  Participates in plea bargains  Presides at trials  Passes sentences The courtroom work group Judge

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 30 Judge Judicial Selection  Executive appointments  Election of judges  Merit selection

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 31 Judicial Selection Executive appointments  Federal level judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.  For US district court judges, state senators are usually consulted as a courtesy.  At the state level, governors have more effect on judge selection.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 32 Judicial Selection Election of judges Nearly half of the states elect judges.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 33 Judicial Selection Merit selection  Also called the Missouri Bar Plan  A judicial nominating commission presents a list of qualified candidates to the governor, who makes the final decision.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 34 The courtroom work group Defendants, victims & witnesses Defendants, victims, and witnesses bring varying degrees of experience to the court.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 35 Defendants, victims & witnesses Victim-witness programs  Crisis intervention  Follow-up counseling  Personal advocacy  Employer and landlord intervention  Property return  Intimidation protection

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 36 Defendants, victims & witnesses Victim-witness programs  Referral  Court orientation  Court transportation and escort  Public education & legislative advocacy

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 37 Pretrial release decisions  Cash bond  Property bond  Release-on-recognizance  Bail agent

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 38 CrossCurrents Pretrial release decisions Bounty hunters Most states have few or no regulations governing bounty hunters. Bounty hunters are legally considered to be acting by private contract rather than enforcing government laws. More states are now pursuing or have enacted legislation to regulate bounty hunters.

Criminal Justice: Mainstream and Crosscurrents, 2/e John Randolph Fuller © 2010 Pearson Higher Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ All Rights Reserved. 39 Questions Who else can be found in courtrooms besides judges, attorneys, plaintiffs, and defendants? Why is the prosecutor so powerful? What are the two views the public has of defense attorneys?