Chapter 8a

SOC 3880Intro to Criminal

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Criminal Justice

CHAPTER 8TRIAL

DEFENSE AND PROSECUTIO

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© 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, IncUpper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved


8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4

Summarize major case law precedents establishing and extending the right to counsel.

Describe the plea bargaining process.

Explain the prosecutor's powers and discuss issues relating to prosecutorial discretion.

Explain how the Sixth Amendment bears on rights of the accused.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES



8.5

8.6

8.7

Explain how prosecution diversion programs operate.

Describe the effects of extended and new criminal defenses on the justice system.

Summarize the reasons and solutions for high case mortality.

CHAPTER OBJECTIVES



Explain how the Sixth Amendment bears on rights of the accused.

Learning ObjectivesAfter this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes

8.1


Speedy & Public Trial

Impartial Jury

The Sixth Amendment8.1

The Sixth Amendme

nt

5



Summarize major case law precedents establishing and extending the right to counsel.


8.2


The Right to Counsel8.2

Gideon v. Wainright

Betts v. Brady

Johnson v. Zerbst

Powell v. Alabama

7



Explain the prosecutor's powers and discuss issues relating to prosecutorial discretion.


8.3


Prosecutorial Discretion8.3

Will the case be

prosecuted?

What charges will be

pressed?vs.

9



Describe the plea bargaining process.


8.4

© 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, IncUpper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved11

8.4

Plea Bargaining


8.4 Rate of Case Dispositions Resulting from Trial Has Remained Stable over Time

Of All Convictions Are Result of Guilty

Pleas

90%

Of All Cases Go to Trial

9–10%

12



Summarize the reasons and solutions for high case mortality.


8.5


8.5

Victim or witness

reluctance

Victims' lack of interest

or own criminal record

Search and seizure

problems

Unavailability of

witness(es)

Reasons for High Case Mortality

Prior relationship

between offender

and victim

14



Explain how prosecution diversion programs operate.


8.6


8.6

Pretrial Intervention (PTI):A type of diversion program in which a prosecutor suspends prosecution of a case pending the fulfillment of special conditions by the defendant. If these conditions are met, the case is dismissed.

16



Describe the effects of extended and new criminal defenses on the justice system.


8.7


Extended and New Criminal Defenses8.7

Legal right to

represent oneself

Child abuse

Urban survival defense

Jury influence

18



8.1

8.2

In 1931 the Court held in Powell v. Alabama that legal counsel is guaranteed to defendants who are charged with a

capital crime, are indigent, or are unable to represent themselves due to ignorance, illiteracy, or low intelligence. Six years after the Powell decision, in Johnson v. Zerbst, the Supreme Court extended the right to counsel to all indigent felony defendants in federal cases, but did not extend the right to state cases (where most felony trials take place). The Court justified this position in Betts v. Brady, stating that the right to counsel "is not a fundamental right" in

noncapital cases unless special circumstances such as lack of education or mental illness are present. Many states did not follow the guidelines of Betts, however, and often failed to provide attorneys even in cases that warranted provision of defense counsel. In 1963 this situation culminated in the case Gideon v. Wainwright, one of the Supreme Court's most

significant decisions.

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 wherein 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.

CHAPTER SUMMARY



8.3

8.4Agreement by prosecutor to press less serious charge, drop

some charges, or recommend less severe sentence in exchange for guilty plea from defendant.

Prosecutors are granted considerable discretion in the manner in which they enforce the law. They can set

priorities, concentrate on certain types of cases, and avoid other cases entirely. A good way to assess the extent of

prosecutorial discretion is to trace the effects of a prosecutor's decision on a single case as it proceeds through the system. Assume that police have arrested a suspect on a

charge of armed robbery. They turn the case over to the prosecutor, who decides (1) whether the case will be

prosecuted and (2) what charges will be pressed. In the case of armed robbery, for example, assault, larceny, and

weapons charges could be filed in addition to the robbery charge. These additional charges are called necessarily

included offenses (or "lesser" included offenses) because they are, by definition, included as part of the other (more

serious) offense.

CHAPTER SUMMARY



8.5

8.6

8.7

Diversion programs are alternatives to the formal criminal justice process, implemented after a suspect has been

charged but prior to adjudication. These programs attempt to achieve a noncriminal disposition of the case. Two-thirds

of all prosecutors' offices in the United States have a diversion program for first-time offenders. These programs

have found that prosecutors rank certain factors most seriously when considering diverting an offender from

formal prosecution: The defendant's adult criminal record, other pending cases, and the police report are ranked high

in importance, as well as the defendant's mental health, drug history, and extent of community ties in considering

referral to a diversion program.

New criminal defenses: Right to represent oneself in court, child abuse, urban survival defense, and defenses related to

juries being swayed by the media.

High case mortality stems from issues involving a prior relationship between offender and victim, lack of interest on

the part of the victim or victims' own/prior criminal record/activity, search and seizure problems, unavailability of

witnesses, or reluctance on the part of the victim or the witness.

CHAPTER SUMMARY