The Criminal

Courts
 INTRODUCTION

There are several thousand courts in operation, with most at the local
and county level
The basic purpose of courts is to resolve disputes
In criminal courts, the principal balance is between the rights of the
individual and the rights of the state
The resolution of criminal cases more often entails compromise than
competition
Compromise?
= Plea Bargain
B O T H S TAT E A N D D E F E N D A N T C O M P R O M I S E , W I T H N E I T H E R
G E T T I N G E V E RY T H I N G T H E Y WA N T
IF A PLEA CAN’T BE REACHED- TRIAL HAPPENS
VIDEO ON PLEA BARGAINING
THE ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN COURTS
Court systems contain two basic types of courts:

• Trial courts – Are fact-finding bodies whose job it is to determine the facts of a case (i.e.,
did the defendant commit the crime)
• Appellate courts – Are the law-interpreting bodies whose job it is to determine if the laws
were correctly applied and followed (i.e., should the defendant have been provided
defense counsel at trial)

Within trial courts, distinctions exist based upon:

• Jurisdiction - the courts authority based on both:

• Geography
• Type of case
THE ORGANIZATION OF
AMERICAN COURTS
A court of general jurisdiction can hear civil and criminal cases of all sorts

A court of limited jurisdiction typically is constrained to hearing only minor

cases, or conducting the early parts of more serious cases

Special Jurisdiciton courts are also created to deal with specific types of cases
such as family matters (family or court of domestic relations) or wills and estates
(probate court)
 The federal judicial system comprises:
U.S. Supreme Court
12 U.S. Courts
94 District Courts
Federal Exist in each state
Courts by Are the trial courts of the federal system
Comprise the lower courts in the federal
the system
Numbers Hear both civil and criminal cases
More than 400 magistrates assigned to the
district courts
Special courts for tax, patents, customs, and
contract cases
U.S. District Courts: Nature of Offense, 2016

Drugs

16%
Immigration
32%
10% Firearms and Explosives

12% Fraud

Other
30%
 THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN
COURTS
U. S. Court of Appeals • The court of appeals receive appeals from the decisions of the
represent the fifty district courts and decide appeals from the decisions of many
states, the District of federal agencies.
• Their decisions become binding on all federal district courts
Columbia, and the under their jurisdiction
federal territories

• They hear appeals from the U.S. courts of appeals as well as those from
U.S. Supreme Court is state courts of last resort (usually state supreme courts) that involve
the nation’s highest questions of federal law or the U.S. Constitution
• In most cases the Supreme Court is not obligated to decide a case and
court. It is comprised only elects to do so by granting a writ of certiorari - which is an order
of 9 justices to the lower court to send its records of the case so that the Supreme
Court can review them.
 State courts generally mirror the federal
courts:
They are divided into tiers of limited or
special jurisdiction courts, and a court of last
resort (state Supreme Court).
State Courts From state to state, courts can differ
drastically in terms of their complexity.
General jurisdiction courts are generally are
referred to by various names such as:
Circuit courts, district courts, superior
courts, chancery, county or trial courts
 State Courts (cont’d)

•State court systems take one of two basic organizational structures:

1. A traditional court structure involves separate general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction
courts
2. A unified court system combines the two types of courts into one.

• Courts of general jurisdiction generally conduct trials for civil and criminal cases.
• Special jurisdiction courts include juvenile, family, drug court, mental health court, and
veterans court.
• Appellate courts do not decide issues of fact; rather, appellate courts serve to interpret the law
• Accept findings of fact rom the lower courts and then decide whether the lower-court judges interpreted the applied law
correctly
Problem-Solving
Courts

Specialized courts are aimed at solving

specific types of problems (also referred to
as “problem solving courts.”
Courts range from:
Drug Courts: Deal exclusively with offenders who have substance
abuse problems (Represent approximately 75% of all problem-
solving courts)
Domestic Violence Courts
 Problem-Solving Courts (Cont’d)
Wolf (2007) outlined six principles that guide the development of problem-solving courts:
1. Enhanced information – Problem solving courts are equipped with better staff training and specialized
knowledge regarding the problem
2. Community engagement – Courts can engage the community to discuss topics of interest such a local “hot
spots” of crime.
3. Collaboration – Courts can improve interagency communication by bringing together multiple parties
such as judges, prosecutors, probation officers, social service partners, victims’ groups, etc.
4. Individualized – courts can sentence offenders to individually tailored community-based services that can
reduce recidivism, improve community safety, and enhance confidence in the system
5. Accountability – The courts can improve the accountability of offenders by sending the message that all
criminal behavior has an impact on community safety and has consequences
6. Outcomes – The courts can analyze the outcomes, costs, and benefits of the court’s operations. This
allows more accountability to the public
 Problem-solving courts (cont’d)
At the same time, some courts have broadened the problem-solving approach
to community problems
Community Courts - have developed and spread to deal with a range of community
problems through the application of criminal law (and less formal adjudication options).
Courts connect to community resources and seek to solve problems rather than simply find facts.
Some places with actual community courts practice restorative justice which is a form of negotiation and discussion
between the parties involved in a case designed to create or improve understanding
Key component of community courts is citizen involvement
A part of this general movement involves community prosecution , in which the prosecutor is assigned the case
from initial appearance through disposition, and works with the police, community, and other agencies not just to
secure a conviction, but to also solve the problem that led to the criminal behavior.
 THE DEVELOPMENT OF
AMERICAN COURTS
During the colonial period, most political power was in the hands of the colonial governor.
As the colonies grew and commerce developed, the county courts became increasingly less
able to handle the number and intricacy of cases that arose.
Each colony created special courts to expedite the handling of cases.
After the American Revolution, the greatest issues facing the courts were those surrounding
balance between federal and state powers
The nature of the U.S. Constitution, with limitations on federal powers and reservation of
certain government powers to the states, ensured the continuation state judicial systems.
The Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court of the United States authority to
review state decisions involving questions of a constitutional or federal nature.
States retained tremendous powers
 THE FUNCTIONS OF THE
COURTS
In describing the role of the courts, one of the first goals of the process is likely to be justice.
However, parties of a suit are only interested in winning.
Nobody can agree on what is “just.”
The civil caseload represents the largest portion of court workload, with the exception of traffic cases.
The functions of the criminal courts are twofold:
The repression of crime
The protection of the rights of individuals accused of crimes
Courts serve these goals within and environmental context that includes many factors such as:
Characteristics of the various actors (defendants, witnesses, juries, judges, prosecutors, defense
attorneys)
The organizational goals of involved agencies, political climate, present social forces
 THE CRIMINAL COURT PROCESS
The basic dispute in criminal courts is that between the need to control criminal behavior and the
desire to protect individual rights and liberties
This dispute is at the core of each decision in the court segment of the justice system

The principal decision point in the courts are

Initial appearance for setting of bail
Formal Charging
Preliminary Hearing
Arraignment on the charges
Trial
 Initial
Formal Preliminary
Appearance
Charging hearing
for setting bail

Trial Arraignment
 INITIAL APPEARANCE
Bail – is a security posted by the defendant to ensure appearance at a later court proceedings
The Eighth Amendment provides that “excessive bail shall not be required.”
Bond Agents are often small business owners who provide bail for criminal defendants for a fee.
Release on Own Recognizance – Occurs when a defendant with ties to the community is released on
his or her own recognizance without posting bail if there was reason to believe that he or she would
not flee the jurisdiction
Preventative Detention – Occurs when the court denies pretrial release for defendants suspected of
being dangerous
As a result of growing pressure, many states are beginning to look at possible reforms to their bail
procedures
Risk assessment tools is one option utilized to determine whether a defendant is suitable for release
 Preliminary Hearing

The next stage in the process is the preliminary hearing

At this juncture, the case against the accused is reviewed by a neutral
magistrate/judge to determine whether the evidence is sufficient to justify
binding the defendant over for future trial
The prosecution must show that there was enough evidence to establish probable cause that the
defendant most probably committed the crime.
 The state must file formal charges against a
defendant
These charges are allegations of the specific
crimes for which the defendant will stand
trial for.
Charges are when the criminal law
FORMAL regarding the facts of the case are applied
CHARGING by the prosecutor. This identifies which
provisions of the criminal code the accused
offender violated.
The evidentiary standard for charging
someone with a crime is the same as that for
arrest:
Probable Cause
 The state can file charges two ways:
Indictment by the Grand Jury, which is a
panel of citizens that reviews evidence in
criminal cases to determine whether
Formal sufficient evidence exits to justify trial of
an individual
Charging Information process

Continued Exculpatory evidence is evidence that tends

to establish the innocence of the accused
Noile Prosequi is the ability prosecutors
have not to prosecute
 ARRAIGNMENT
Once formally charged with a crime, the defendant is called into court to be notified of the
charges against him or her and is asked to plead guilty or not guilty to the charges.
In most criminal cases, the defendant will enter a plea of guilty (most generally as a result of
plea bargaining)
Arraignment – is the point when formal charges are read and the defendant is asked, “How do
you plead.” The possible responses are:
Guilty – Is an admission of guilt and removes the need for a trial
Not guilty – results in the setting of a trial date
Not guilty by reason of insanity
Nolo Contedere – the defendant does not contest the charge & will be convicted of the offense
Or can remain silent
 Jury trials are not often used
It is the possibility of the jury trial that serves to ensure “justice”
in the more common event of plea bargaining.
Trial occur in less than 10% of felony cases in the United States
There are two types of trials:
Bench Trial – Judge hears the evidence and determine
innocence or guilt and penalty if guilty
Trial by Jury – is a trial by peers who hear the evidence and
decide innocence or guilt and penalty is guilty
If it is a jury comprised of 12 jurors, some states do not

TRIAL require a unanimous vote.

In states where the verdict must be unanimous, it is
considered a “hung jury” if less than 12 jurors find the
defendant guilty and the prosecutor may or may not decide
to retry the case all over again with a new jury at a later date.
If it is a jury that consists of 6 jurors
Double Jeopardy -Once a person is found not guilty by a jury,
they cannot be tried for the same crime again.

Trial Tax or Plea Discount?