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Chapter 13: Criminal Justice Process ~ Proceedings Before Trial

Chapter 13: Criminal Justice Process ~ Proceedings Before Trial. Objective: The student should be able to identify the required procedures before a trial begins. They should be able to understand the preliminary proceedings and how they correlate in criminal justice.

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Chapter 13: Criminal Justice Process ~ Proceedings Before Trial

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  1. Chapter 13: Criminal Justice Process ~ Proceedings Before Trial Objective: The student should be able to identify the required procedures before a trial begins. They should be able to understand the preliminary proceedings and how they correlate in criminal justice.

  2. Booking & Initial Appearance • Booking: the formal process of making a police record of an arrest • Arraignment: a court session at which a defendant is charged and enters a plea. For a misdemeanor this is also the defendant’s initial appearance, at which the judge informs him or her of the charges and sets the bail

  3. Bail & Pretrial Release • Bail: money or property put up by the accused or his or her agent to allow release from jail before trial. Assures that defendant returns for trial. If present for trial, property is returned. • Personal Recognizance: a release from legal custody based on a defendant’s promise to show up for trial. An alternative to cash bail. • Bail Reform Act of 1984: Prevents someone form being freed on bail if he or she is charged with a felony offense & believed to be dangerous

  4. Information • Defined: a prosecuting attorney’s formal accusation of the defendant, detailing the nature & circumstances of the charge • Based on evidence that the prosecutor collects during preliminary investigation • Defendants charged with misdemeanor are not entitled to a preliminary hearing

  5. Preliminary Hearing • Defined: pretrial proceeding at which the prosecutor must prove that a crime was committed and establish the probable guilt of the defendant. If not proven case may be dismissed • In most states, defendant has the right to be represented by an attorney, to cross-examine prosecution witnesses & to call favorable witnesses. • Dismissal of a case at preliminary hearing doesn’t mean its over. Prosecution may still submit to Grand Jury

  6. Grand Jury • Grand Jury: a group of 16 – 23 people who hear preliminary evidence to decide if there is sufficient reason to formally charge a person with a crime • Indictment: a Grand Jury’s formal charge or accusation of criminal action • About 20 states use grand juries instead of preliminary hearings • Grand Jury makes sure the innocent are protected from being unreasonable harassed by the government

  7. Felony Arraignment & Pleas • After indictment a defendant is required to appear in court to enter a plea. • Guilty: Judge sets date for sentencing • Not Guilty: Judge sets date for trial (jury or bench trial) • Nolo Contendere: Latin phrase meaning “no contest”; a defendant’s plea to criminal charges that does not admit guilt but also does not contest the charges. Equivalent to a guilty plea, but cannot be used as evidence in a later civil trial for damages based on the same facts

  8. Pretrial Motions: Exclusionary Rule • Pretrial Motion: a document by which a party asks the judge to make a decision to take some action before the trial begins • Motion for discovery of evidence: a request by the defendant to examine, before trial, certain evidence possessed by the prosecution • Motion for continuance: a request to postpone a lawsuit to gain more time to prepare the case

  9. Pretrial Motions: Exclusionary Rule (Continued) • Motion for change of venue: a request to change the location of a trial to avoid community hostility, for the convenience of a witness or other reasons • Motion to suppress evidence: a motion filed by a criminal defense attorney, asking the court to exclude any evidence that was illegally obtained from the attorney’s client.

  10. Pretrial Motions: Exclusionary Rule (Continued) • Judicial Integrity: as used in discussing search & seizure, this is an argument for the use of the exclusionary rule, which emphasizes that courts should not permit lawbreaking by police • Deterrence: measures taken to discourage criminal actions; usually some form of punishment

  11. Plea Bargaining • Defined: In a criminal case, the negotiations between the prosecutor, defendant, & defendant’s attorney. In exchange for the defendant agreeing to plead guilty, the prosecutor agrees to charge the defendant with a less serious crime, usually with a less serious punishment • Allows for the government to avoid the time & expense of a public trial

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