Criminal Procedure

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Criminal Procedure

• PSCI 2481

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What a criminal case different from a civil
case?

• A criminal case arises when the government seeks
  to punish an individual for an act classified as
  a crime by a Congress or state legislature. A
  civil case usually involves a dispute over rights
  and duties that individuals and private
  organizations owe to each other.
• A person convicted of a crime may pay a fine, be
  incarcerated or both. The losing party in a
  civil dispute does not face jail or prison.
  (Although they may have to pay money damages and
  yield goods and property in their possession)
• The standard of proof differs between criminal
  and civil cases.
• Criminal defendants are entitled to a trial by
  jury while not all civil actions qualify for jury
  trials.

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Attorneys in Crime

• The Prosecutor
• The prosecutor (as a representative of the
  government), not the victim, initiates and
  controls the case.
• The Private Defense Attorney
• Private defense attorneys may work for a fee or
  pro bono.
• Few become famous (F. Lee Bailey, Johnnie
  Cochrane). Most do not.
• The Public Defense Attorney
• In criminal cases, government-paid attorneys
  called public defenders represent defendants
  who cannot afford to pay for their own defense.
• They resemble ADAs (young and temporary).
• Overworked and often criticized.

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Criminal Court Basics I (The Role of the Police)

1. Incident (The crime occurs)
2. Allegation (Reported crime identification of
   suspects)
3. Investigation
4. Arrest of suspect

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Criminal Court Basics II

• Booking of suspect (Bail or Detention)
• Initial Appearance (Charge/Bail or Detention)
• Preliminary Hearing (Charge/Bail or Detention)
• Alternative Grand Jury Investigation
  Indictment

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Criminal Court Basics III

• Arraignment (before or after 9)
• Pre-Trial Activities
• Discovery
• Settlement (Plea Bargaining)

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Prosecutorial Discretion I

• To Charge
• Evidential Criteria
• Probability of conviction
• Concern with convictability rather than guilt)
• Unofficial presumption of guilt
• Pragmatic Criteria
• Characteristics of crime
• Characteristics of victim
• Characteristics of defendant
• Organizational Criteria
• Daily interaction with PD
• Workload

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Prosecutorial Discretion II

• To Plea Bargain
• Implicit Bargaining vs. Explicit Bargaining
• The Sentence Bargain
• Variation on a theme The Charge Bargain
• Number of counts
• Severity of the crime

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The Prosecutor Pleas

• Many pleas to reduced charges are not the result
  of actual bargaining between prosecutor and
  defense council.
• Prosecutors often decide that the appropriate
  charge should be less than the more serious
  charge levied at arrest.
• These decisions are often made early in the
  process before the prosecutor meets the defense
  attorney.

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Plea Bargaining, from the Suspects Perspective

• Trial
• E(T) Prob. of Guilty Verdict X Sentence if
  Convicted
• Negotiate
• E(P) Prob of Guilt (Admitted) X Sentence
  after Bargain
• The Decision
• Plead Guilty if E(T) gt E(P)
• Go to Trial if E(T) lt E(P)
• The elements of the decision, esp E(T), are not
  certain. The criminal doesnt know the exact
  probability of losing at trial nor the exact
  sentence he or she will receive if convicted.

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Plea BargainingIts Critics The Response

• The Conservative Objection
• Its just a loophole. It allows criminals to
  beat the system when charges are dropped or
  reduced.
• The Liberal Objection
• Its an irrational action that values expediency
  over the merits of the case. It coerces
  defendants to give up their constitutional rights
  against self-incrimination. It causes
  prosecutors to overcharge as a negotiating chip.
  
• Reality The Nightmare Scenario
• Its absolutely necessary. Without plea
  bargaining, the large number of cases would
  overwhelm the system.

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Typical Case Attrition

• 100 Arrests
• 80 Accepted at initial Screening. 20 are
  Rejected (Released w/o further action)
• 30 more cases are dismissed by the prosecutor or
  court
• 50 move forward within the criminal justice system

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The Prevalence of Guilty Pleas

• The U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to trial
  by jury and protects against self-incriminationbu
  t at least for the last 80 years defendant pleas
  of guilty have been the most common means of
  criminal convictions.
• Of the 50 cases out of every 100 that the system
  prosecutes, 45 end in guilty pleas while only 5
  result in trial (4 by guilty verdict and 1 by
  acquittal)

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Total Effect

• 49 of arrestees are Guilty (45 by plea and 4
  as a result of trial)
• 51 are ultimately released.

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Guilty Pleas per Trial

• Manhattan, NY 24
• Atlanta, GA 22
• Golden, CO 18
• St. Louis, MO 10
• Salt Lake City, UT 9
• Tallahassee, FL 7
• Washington, DC 5
• New Orleans, LA 4
• Portland, OR 4

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Criminal Court Basics IV Trial
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• Basically the process is the same as the civil
  trial. The Prosecutor puts on the case first.
  The Defendant responds.
• Evidence is presented by both sides in the form
  of human testimony and presentation of physical
  evidence.
• A few basic principles differ

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The Standard of Proof

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
• The prosecutor must convince the judge or jury
  that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable
  doubt.
• Doubts about the meaning of evidence are to be
  resolved in favor of the defendant. (This is what
  we mean when we say the defendant is presumed
  innocent until PROVEN guilty.)
• The most common defense is to argue that the
  prosecutor hasnt met the standard, that
  reasonable doubt remains after the evidence has
  been presented that the defendant committed the
  act that he or she is accused on committing.

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In contrast, in civil cases the plaintiff must
only prove his or her case by a preponderance of
the evidence
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Common Defenses I

• The Presumption of Innocence
• Self-Defense
• Who was the aggressor?
• Was the defendants belief that self-defense
  actions were required reasonable?
• If so, was the force used by the defendant
  reasonable?
• Insanity
• Rarely Used/Rarely Successful
• Various Definitions of Insanity
• McNaughten Rule (inability to distinguish right
  from wrong)
• Irresistable impulse (you know youre wrong but
  mental illness doesnt allow you to control your
  actions)
• Psychological testing required by prosecutors
  psychiatrist
• Not guilty by reason of insanity doesnt mean
  free

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Common Defenses II

• Influence fo Drugs Alcohol
• Voluntary intoxication does not excuse criminal
  conduct!
• Alibi
• Evidence that the defendant was somewhere other
  than the scene of the crime at the time it was
  committed.
• Its perfectly legal and reasonable but its use
  as a defense sometimes sounds phony.
• Entrapment
• Entrapment occurs when the government induces a
  person to commit a crime and then punishes the
  person for committing it. (ABSCAM)

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Criminal Court Basics IV

• An Alternative to Judgment
• The Sentence
• Probation
• Fine
• Jail
• Prison