1. Pretrial Activities and the Criminal Trial
Justice Chapter 10
Pretrial Activities and the Criminal Trial

2. Pretrial Activities 1. 2. 3. 4.

3. Criminal Trial Process1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

4. Thursday, January 10th
Pretrial Activities

5. First Appearance
Defendants first time at coming in contact with an officer (magistrate or lower court judge) of the court
Given formal notice of charges
Advised of their rights
Opportunity to retain a lawyer or to have one appointed to them
Opportunity for bail

6. 48
Based off 1943 U.S. Supreme Court Case - McNabb v. U.S. max time from arrest to first appearance = ???? hours

7. Aspect of 1st Appearance Hearing
Release of an accused person from custody, for all or part of the time before or during prosecution, on his / her promise to appear in court when required.
Pretrial
Release
If defendant is dangerous to self or others, charged with serious crimes, and possible escapees
Held in jail until trial = pretrial detention
Aspect of 1st Appearance Hearing

8. Judge - 4 Key Factors Seriousness of charge Prior criminal record
Info. about defendant
Community / family ties
Employment status
Substance abuse problems
Available supervisory options if released

9. Bail Most common release/detention mechanism Two purposes Bail Bond
What are your options?
Bail
Most common release/detention mechanism
Two purposes
Ensure reappearance of the accused
Prevents unconvicted individual from suffering unnecessary imprisonment
Bail Bond
Document guarantees appearance of defendant in court

10. 8th Amendment to U.S. Constitution
does not guarantee the opportunity for bail but does state that “excessive bail shall not be required.”

11. Alternatives to Bail Release on Recognizance Property bond
Manhattan Bail Project – 1960’s
Property bond
Deposit bail (Court plays role of bail bondsman)
Conditional release
Third party custody
Unsecured bond – no monetary deposit – failure to appear result in forfeiture of entire amount of bond
Signature bond
Alternatives to Bail

12. Pretrial Release and Public Safety
Defendants released before trial
_____% state level felony criminal defendants
_____% federal felony defendants
____% defendants rearrested prior to trial
_____% arrested more than once 57 66 16 30
57 – 66 –
Danger Law – limits right to bail with certain kinds of offenders

13. Duane “Dog” Chapman – Bounty Hunter International

14. Grand Jury Often 23 private citizens Hear evidence from prosecution
Filters to eliminate further processing cases with not enough evidence
England = 1166
Initially way of identifying law violators
Held in secret

15. Preliminary Hearing Tennessee & Georgia
Is the defendant competent to stand trial?
Preliminary Hearing
Used in place of a grand jury
Prosecutor files complaint against accused (information)
Similar to but not as complex as criminal trial
Primary purpose = give defendant opportunity to challenge legal basis for detention
Tennessee & Georgia

16. Arraignment and the Plea
First appearance of the defendant before the court that has the authority to conduct a trial
Brief – two purposes
Inform defendant of specific charges
Allow defendant to enter a plea
Plea
Guilty
Not guilty
Nolo contendere (similar to guilty plea) 315
Stand Mute = not guilty

17. 90% Plea Bargaining Process of negotiation Benefit to prosecutor
Defendant, prosecutor, and defense counsel
Benefit to prosecutor
Additional advantage of a quick conviction without need to commit time and extra resources for a trial
Benefit to accused
Reduce / combine charges
Lessen defense cost
Shorter than anticipated sentence

18. Eric Rudolph
315
Plea…

19. Vocabulary… Group of two Enough papers for vocabulary
Create notecards…Visual on each

20. THE CRIMINAL TRIAL Rules of Evidence
Court rules that govern admissibility of evidence at trials
Nature and Purpose of Criminal Trial
Purpose
Determination of defendant’s guilt (factual vs. legal or innocence)

21. Criminal Trial Process
Friday, January 11th
Criminal Trial Process

22. Adversarial System Prosecution VS. Defense
Can you convince the judge or jury that your perspective is the right one?
Adversarial System
Prosecution
VS.
Defense
Who is Joe Lloyd? Pg. 427

23. Stages of a Criminal Trial
Trial initiation
Jury selection
Opening statements
Presentation of evidence
Closing arguments
Judge’s charge to the jury
Jury deliberations
verdict

24. Speedy Trial Act
6th amendment – “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial”
Federal Law
Requires that proceedings against a defendant in a criminal case begin within a specified period of time, such as 70 working days after indictment.

25. Klopfer v. North Carolina
U.S. Supreme Court case held that the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental guarantee of the Constitution.
Duke University Professor
Civil disobedience in a protest against segregated facilities.

26. Indictment or Information to be made within 30 days of arrest.
Trial to happen within 70 working days of indictment
May be extended up to 180 days …
Witnesses cannot be called
Defendant is not available for trial

27. Outcome – “Common sense compels the conclusion that the 180-day period does not commence until the prisoner’s disposition request has actually been delivered to the court and the prosecutor of the jurisdiction that lodged the detainer against him.
Fex v. Michigan
Indiana prisoner
1993
Appealed conviction of armed robbery & attempted murder charges
Claim – had to wait 196 days

28. Jury Selection Challenges to the array Challenges for cause
3 types of challenges recognized in criminal courts
Challenges to the array
Belief that the pool from which potential jurors are to be selected is not representative of the community or biased
Challenges for cause
Individual juror can’t be fair or impartial
Peremptory challenges
Right to challenge a potential juror without disclosing the reason for the challenge.

29. Peremptory Challenges
Numerical limitation = 20 in capital cases and as few as three in minor cases
Powers vs. Idaho
Edmonson v. Leesville Concrete Co.
Georgia v. McCollum
Campbell v. Louisiana
(Race and the jury factor
in the above cases)

30. Opening Statements
Initial statement of the prosecution or the defense, made in a court of law to a judge, or to a judge and jury, describing the facts that he or she intends to present during trial to prove the case.

31. Presentation of Evidence
Types of Evidence
Direct evidence
Circumstantial evidence – requires interpretation as to what the evidence indicates
Real evidence

32. Allows for hearsay testimony when someone knows they are dying
Dying Declaration
Allows for hearsay testimony when someone knows they are dying

33. Judge decides what evidence can be presented in a case

34. Cases to know Fex v. Michigan Coy v. Iowa Powers v. Ohio
Idaho v. Wright