The Criminal Justice System 3.3 – The Trial Wednesday September 17,

Objectives: SWBAT Identify the key protections of the sixth amendment Analyze the effectiveness of the voir dire procedure. 2

Consider the following You are arrested and charged with burglarizing Poly (the senior class dues moneybox has been stolen). The total amount taken is well over $5,000. You have a couple instances of shoplifting on your record already, so there is a history. 3 There is evidence putting you at the scene, but the evidence linking you to the crime is weak at best You are offered a deal, plead guilty to petty larceny, one- year of suspended sentence with one year of community service with probation. But the guilty plea is on your record forever. Would you take the deal? Why might someone plead guilty to a crime they didn’t commit? Would you take the deal? Why might someone plead guilty to a crime they didn’t commit?

Sixth amendment In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense. Speedy and public trial Trial by jury Confront witnesses Provide witnesses in your defense Right to a lawyer Tried in the state where the crime was committed

Building the Jury Jury duty is selected by voter registration and driver’s license rolls Federal trials use 12 person juries This is pretty standard Other states may use different sized juries for different types of cases 5

Picking a jury The Voir Dire Process People that make it through the initial random selection they become part of the jury pool The lawyers from each side will interview each potential juror The voir dire process is the lawyers for each side trying to find jurors that are likely to vote their way A lawyer may dismiss a juror for a specific reason For-Cause Challenge The juror knows the defendant, expressed a particular bias in the process Preemptory Challenge Limited, no specific reason 6

Picking a Jury Jurors may NOT be dismissed solely for: Race Gender Ethnicity Religion Orientation Etc The Supreme Court has ruled that dismissing jurors solely for this reason is unconstitutional discrimination 7