Pretrial Procedures, Plea Bargaining and the Criminal Trial

Pretrial Procedures, Plea Bargaining and the Criminal Trial

Trial Process

1) selection of the jury

2) opening statements by prosecution and defense

3) presentation of the prosecution's evidence and witnesses

4) presentation of defense's evidence and witnesses

5) presentation of rebuttal witnesses

6) closing arguments by each side

7) instruction of the jury by judge

8) decision by jury

Pretrial Release Methods

Bail Agents

Citations

Release on Recognizance

10% Cash Bail

Bail Fund

Bail Guidelines

Preventive Detentions

Pretrial Detention

Appeals

Bail

Pretrial Release

when defendants plead guilty they can request higher court to review case again

based on questions of procedure, not on issues of defendants guilt or innocence

may pursue habeus corpus

the appeals process performs the important function of righting wrongs and helps ensure consistency in the application of law by judges in different courts

Plea Bargaining

Jury Trial

Jury alone evaluates the facts in case

Juries perform 6 vital functions:

1) prevent govt. oppression by safeguarding citizens against arbitrary law enforcement

2) determine whether the accused is guilty on the basis of the evidence presented

3) represent diverse community interests so that no one set of values or biases dominates decision making

4) serve as a buffer between the accused and the accuser

5) promote knowledge about the criminal justice system by learning about it through the jury-duty process

6) symbolize the rule of law and the community foundation that supports the criminal justice system

Trial

seriousness

trial determines very few of the defendants fates

fewer than 9% of felony cases go to trial