1. Structure and Participants
Criminal Justice
Chapter 9
The Courts:
Structure and Participants

2. Civil Law Criminal Law Civil Law:
Must be initiated by private parties.
Punishments include fines, or agreement to pay the defendant for injuries or damages.
Defendant cannot be sentenced to jail or executed.
Civil cases are named after the last names of the two parties (Smith v. Jones).
Standard of proof is a preponderance of evidence.
Criminal Law:
Initiated by the criminal justice system.
Punishments can include fining, sentencing to imprisonment, and even execution.
Government is the prosecutor, and the defendant is the name of the person being accused of the crime (State v. Smith).
The standard of proof is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
Civil Law
Criminal Law
Lecture Notes
Civil Law:
Must be initiated by private parties.
Punishments include fines, or agreement to pay the defendant for injuries or damages.
Defendant cannot be sentenced to jail or executed.
Civil cases are named after the last names of the two parties (Smith v. Jones).
Standard of proof is a preponderance of evidence.
Criminal Law:
Initiated by the criminal justice system.
Punishments can include fining, sentencing to imprisonment, and even execution.
In a Criminal Case, the government is the prosecutor, and the defendant is the name of the person being accused of the crime (State v. Smith).
The standard of proof is finding the person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Teaching Tips
Discuss the O.J. Simpson murder trial in terms of both trials and both outcomes.

3. America’s Dual Court System
Two levels of U.S. Courts- 1.) federal & 2.)state.
Dual system reflects the state’s need to retain judicial autonomy separate from the federal government.
Most criminal cases originate within state courts.
The courts are responsible for both civil and criminal judicial oversight.
Most of the resources and time are taken up by civil cases.
Jurisdiction- refers to those cases in which it may exercise lawful authority
Determined by statute or constitution
Original Jurisdiction
authority of a court to hear or to act on a case from its beginning and to pass judgment on the law and the facts.
…may be over a specific geographic area or over particular types of cases.
Appellate Jurisdiction
authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court.

4. 9.2 The State Court System: Court of Last Resort (State Supreme Court)
Intermediate Appellate Court(s)
(in 39 of 50 States)
Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction
(Superior Courts, Circuit Courts, Courts of Common Pleas, and—in New York—“Supreme Court”)
Probate Court
(Wills, Guardianship, Estates, Trusts)
Lecture Notes
Jurisdiction: The territory, subject matter, or people over which a court or other justice agency may exercise lawful authority as determined by statute or constitution. Basically describes where a case or matter should be resolved.
Original Jurisdiction: The lawful authority of a court to hear or act on a case from its beginning and to pass judgment on the law and the facts. The authority may be over a specific geographic area or over particular types of cases.
Appellate jurisdiction: The lawful authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court.
Trial Courts (also called “lower courts”): This is where the cases begin and are heard. This court also imposes sentences. If a trial is appealed and a new trial is ordered, this is referred to as trial de novo.
State Appellate Courts: This is where individuals can appeal their trial or decision against them. There is usually an intermediate appellate level and a high level appellate (also called a court of last resort). The high level appellate courts are the farthest a person can appeal at the state level. Appeals can be made to the U.S. Supreme Court but it must be based on a violation of a federal guaranteed right.
Appeal: Asks a higher court to review the decision of a lower court. The court will look at the trial and ensure the rules and procedures were followed correctly.
Dispute Resolution Centers: An informal hearing place designed to mediate interpersonal disputes without resorting to the more formal arrangements of a criminal trial. Most of these centers deal with minor matters and violations. They were designed to ease the caseload for the trial courts.
Community Courts: A low level court that focuses on quality of life crimes that erode a neighborhood’s morale. The focus of these centers is on problem solving rather than punishment and build on restorative principals like community service and restitution.
Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
(“Lower Courts,” also called Misdemeanor Courts)
Justice of the Peace and Police Magistrate’s Courts
District Courts or County Courts
Municipal and Magistrate’s Courts
Traffic, Family, Juvenile, Gun, Drug, and other Special Courts
Figure 7-2. A Typical State Court System.

5. Federal Court System
FIGURE 9–1 The structure of the federal courts.

6. Federal Judiciary Act of 1789
3-Tier Model for Court System
Trial courts of limited jurisdiction
Trial courts of general jurisdiction
Appellate courts
Most states today use the three-tiered structure.

7. State Trial Courts Where criminal cases “begin.” Bail hearings
Arraignments
Enters pleas
Conducts trials
Sentences
Two types of trial courts:
Courts of limited, or special, jurisdiction (lower courts)
Courts of general jurisdiction

8. State Trial Courts: Courts of Limited & General Jurisdiction
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
Authorized to hear:
Misdemeanors, family disputes, traffic violations, and small claims
Rarely hold jury trials
Do not maintain records of proceedings (just charge, plea, finding, and sentence)
Less formal than higher courts
Courts of General Jurisdiction (high courts, circuit courts, or superior courts)
Formal courts that make full use of juries, witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys
Any criminal case
Lower court appeals
Trial de novo- “new trial”-cases that are retried on appeal

9. Appeals
Appeal- requests by a defendant to a higher court asking it to review the actions of a lower court.
Death penalty or life sentences are automatically appealed.
Appellate court reviews transcripts from lower trial courts and may allow both sides to make oral arguments.
Results
Most convictions are confirmed.
Some decisions are reversed and cases remanded.
Recourse may be to a state supreme court.
Generally, state supreme court is the court of last resort.
Cases can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court if they are based on a claimed violation of the defendant’s rights as guaranteed under federal law or the U. S. Constitution.

10. State Court Administrator’s Duties
Prepare, present, oversee court system’s budget
Analyze case flow and determine allocation of personnel and how to streamline cases
Gather and present statistics
Serve as liaison between legislators and court
Develop and coordinate funding requests
Manage court personnel (promotions, benefits)
Coordinate plans to train judges and other personnel
Assign judges to judicial districts
Review payments to counsel for indigent defendants

11. The Federal Court System
Established by the U.S. Constitution
Article III, Section 1
“One Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”
Jurisdiction
Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising under the Constitution, federal law, and treaties.
Federal courts settle disputes between states and have jurisdiction in cases where one of the parties is a state.
Structure
Three Levels of Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Courts of Appeals
U.S. District Courts

12. U.S. District Courts There are 94 judicial districts
At least 1 district court per state
District courts in Puerto Rico, the
District of Columbia, and other U.S. Territories
The trial courts of the federal system
Original jurisdiction over all cases involving alleged violations of federal statutes
District Court Judges
There are 650 district court judges.
Appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate
Serve for life
District court judges are assisted by magistrate judges, who:
Conduct arraignments
Set bail
Issue warrants
Try minor offenders

13. U.S. Courts of Appeal: Circuit Courts
There are 13 U.S. Courts of Appeals
The 94 judicial districts are organized into 12 regions (circuits), each with 1 Circuit Court.
The Federal Circuit has 1 U.S. Court of Appeals.
167 appeals court judges
Review cases on appeal from U. S. district courts and trial-level federal courts
FIGURE 9–3 Geographic boundaries of the U.S. courts of appeals.

14. U.S. Courts of Appeal: Circuit Courts
Have mandatory jurisdiction over decisions of appealed district court cases Right to Appeal The Constitution guarantees a right to appeal. A defendant’s right to appeal, however, has been interpreted to mean the right to one appeal. Therefore, the U.S. Supreme Court does not hear every appeal by defendants dissatisfied with the decision of a federal appeals court.

15. U.S. Supreme Court The U.S. Supreme Court consists of nine justices:
Eight Associate Justices & one Chief Justice
Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and serve for life.
U.S. Supreme Court members (2012):
John G. Roberts, Jr. (Chief Justice)
Antonin Scalia
Anthony M. Kennedy
Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen G. Breyer
Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr.
Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan

16. Jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court
Original jurisdiction
Limited
Reserved for disputes between states and some cases of attorney disbarment
Appellate jurisdiction
Reviews the decisions from U.S. Courts of Appeals and state supreme courts
Appeals—Of 5,000 annual requests for review, only about 200 are heard.
“Rule of Four”- Four justices must vote in favor of a hearing for a case to be heard.
Usually the Court only reviews cases that involve a substantial federal question.
The Court issues a writ of certiorari to a lower court.
The Court reviews transcripts and hears brief oral arguments
writ of certiorari- order issued from an appellate court for the purpose of obtaining from a lower court the record of its proceedings in a particular case.

17. Judicial Review
… the power of a court to review actions and decisions made by other agencies of government. It is probably the U.S. Supreme Court’s greatest power. Marbury v. Madison (1803)

18. Opinions of the Court Supreme Court decisions are rarely unanimous.
Types of opinions:
Majority—Justices agree in outcome and reasoning. This is the opinion of the court.
Concurring—Agree with outcome, but for different reasons.
Dissenting—Disagree with outcome.

19. Courtroom Participants
Professional (Courtroom Work Group)
Judge
Prosecuting attorney
Defense attorney
Bailiff
Court reporter
Clerk of the court
Expert witnesses
Non-Professional (Outsiders)
Lay witnesses
Jurors
Defendant
Victim
Spectators
Press

20. Adversarial Process
…pits the interests of the state, represented by prosecutors, against the accused, represented by defense counsel, in a process constrained by procedural rules specified in law and by tradition.

21. The Judge Primary duty  to ensure justice Responsibilities include:
Ruling on most matters of the law
Weighing objections
Deciding the admissibility of evidence
Sentencing offenders
Disciplining disorderly courtroom attendees
Deciding guilt or innocence (for bench trials)

22. The Judge
The chief judge handles administrative responsibilities if there is no court administrator.
The chief judge:
Hires staff
Ensures adequate training of new judges and staff
Generally manages court operations

23. Judicial Selection Federal Judges State Judges Nominated by President
Confirmed by senate
State Judges
Popular election
Gubernatorial appointment
Missouri Plan (combines appointment and election)

24. Missouri Plan
Non-partisan committee creates a list of possible candidates.
Final list sent to governor’s office.
The governor appoints from the list.
After a specified time period, the appointed judge stands for election.

25. Judges: Qualifications
At general and appellate levels:
Be a member of the state bar
Be a licensed attorney
Hold a law degree (in most states)
Attend professional training
In some states, lower court judges may be elected without educational or other professional requirements.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Qualifications:
Ninguno (Spanish)
Aucun (French)
Nemo (Latin)
Никто (Russian)
NONE!! (English)

26. Prosecutor Prosecutors can be elected or appointed.
All but five states elect prosecutors.
Prosecutors are elected for four-year terms.
Five states and the federal government appoint their prosecutors.
Responsibilities
Present the state’s case against the defendant
State has the burden of proof
Supervise staff of assistant district attorneys
Serve as quasi-legal advisor to police
Files appeals on behalf of the state
Makes presentations to parole boards

27. Prosecutorial Discretion
Prosecutor decides:
Whether or not to charge someone with a crime
Which charges are to be filed against the defendant
Whether multiple charges should be filed together or separately
When to schedule cases for trial
Whether or not to accept a negotiated plea
What evidence to present, including witnesses
What sentencing recommendations to make
Brady v. Maryland (1963)- prosecutors must disclose any evidence directly related to guilt/innocence to the defense
Exculpatory evidence- evidence that tends to clear defendant of guilt/blame
U.S. v. Bagley (1985)- prosecutors must disclose any evidence the defense requests

28. The Prosecutor’s Professional Responsibility
Prosecutors are expected to abide by various standards of professional responsibility, such as those found in the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Standards.
Prosecutors are barred from advocating any fact or position they know is untrue.
Abuse of Discretion
Prosecutors may abuse their discretion by…
Not prosecuting friends
Accepting guilty pleas or reduced charges for personal consideration
Overzealous prosecution to gain visibility for possible reelection
Scheduling activities to make life difficult for defendants, in an attempt to put pressure on them to plead guilty Discrimination against minorities

29. Defense Counsel Represents the accused
Participates in plea negotiations
Prepares a defense
Calls witnesses
Refutes case presented by prosecutor
Presents arguments at time of sentencing
Files appeals

30. Three Major Categories of Defense Counsel1.
Private attorney
(retained
counsel)
Have their own legal practices or work for law firms
Fees can be high 2.
Court-assigned
counsel
(assigned
Lawyers drawn from a roster of all practicing attorney
Fees are paid at a rate set by the government
Most widely used 3.
Public defender
Relies on full-time salaried government staff

31. Criminal Defense of the Poor
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees criminal defendants the effective assistance of counsel. Defendants who are unable to pay for private defense attorneys will receive adequate representation at all stages of criminal justice processing. Waiving the Right to an Attorney 1% of federally charged defendants and 3% of state level defendants represent themselves. Faretta v. California (1975)- Indigents are not required to accept counsel. They may waive their right and represent themselves Change of venue- movement of trial to a new location

32. Courtroom Participants
Bailiff
Charged with ensuring order in the courtroom
Announces judge’s entry
Calls witnesses
Maintains control over the defendant if person has not been released on bail
Maintains physical custody of and supervises jury during deliberations and sequestering
Local Court Administrators
Many states employ court administrators:
Facilitate the smooth running of courts in particular judicial districts
Provide uniform court management

33. Courtroom Participants (cont’d)
Court Reporter, (stenographer) or court recorder, creates a written record of all court proceedings.
Transcripts are necessary for appeals
Clerk of Court
Maintaining all records of criminal cases and verdicts
Preparing the jury pool and issuing jury summonses
Subpoenaing witnesses
Subpoena- order requiring something/someone appear in court
Marking physical evidence for identification at trial
Swearing in witnesses
Expert Witness
Have special knowledge and skills in an established profession or technical area. Usually, this person is paid to testify.
Unlike lay witnesses, they may express opinions and draw conclusions in their testimony.

34. Courtroom Participants (cont’d)
Lay Witnesses- Non-expert witnesses.
Eye witness
Character witness
Victim
Are subpoenaed to testify to that which they have direct knowledge of.
Jurors
Article III of the U.S. Constitution
“trial of all crimes…shall be by jury”
States determine the number of jurors. Most use 12, plus 2 alternates.
Jury duty…a civic responsibility
Defendants have the right to have their cases heard before a jury of their peers.
Peer juries are those composed of a representative cross section of the community.

35. Courtroom Participants (cont’d)
Defendant- generally, they must be present at trial.
Defendants exercise choice in:
Selecting and retaining counsel
Planning a defense strategy with counsel
Deciding what information to provide counsel
Deciding what to plea
Deciding whether or not to testify
Determining whether or not to file an appeal
Spectators and the Press
May be present at trial; with more at higher-profile cases
The right of reporters to be there is supported by the Sixth Amendment’s requirement of a public trial.
Most courts allow cameras in the courtroom for television coverage

36. Spectators and the Press
May be present at trial; with more at higher-profile cases
The right of reporters to be there is supported by the Sixth Amendment’s requirement of a public trial.
Most courts allow cameras in the courtroom…for television coverage.