...State of Confusion Paper BUS/415 There are several stages to a civil lawsuit. The first stage is Pleadings. This starts off with the original court documents and involves one party that files the complaint. These documents state the initial plaintiff’s argument or case against the other party, also known as the defendant. This allows the defendant to have knowledge of the plaintiff’s facts amid legal grounds of their claims. At times when suing another party they may arise to suing you back, if in that case such a situation occurs, you will then fight back in court while also trying to defend yourself. Then a counterclaim can be filed by the defendant if they have an independent claim against the plaintiff. The second stage is Discovery. This includes depositions which entails the parties of deposing or interviewing under oath before the start of the trial. There are a few types discovery. One is written discovery which has its own two forms; Interrogatories and Requests for admission. Interrogatories are the questions that in your own version of the claims. Requests of admission mainly ask the party to deny or admit to the facts stated in the claim. Penalties can come about if not answered, or answered if false manner. Discovery can also include subpoenas from the court ordering individuals or organizations to produce certain documentation, interview under oath, or answer any written questions which would be the second form of discovery. The third is depositions. This...
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...Constitutional Issues Paper (Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado) By definition the 6th Amendment states 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 (Sixth). When looking into the Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado case Rodriguez was finding fault with being guaranteed a fair jury. He found this fault because after he was found guilty from the trial two jurors informed Pena-Rodriguez’s counsel that one of the juror’s chosen was making racial statements regarding Pena-Rodriguez and the alibi witness during the...
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... It is an essential tool that benefits not only the prosecutor but the defense attorney and the defendant. Plea bargaining allows attorneys to decide cases without needing the judge or a jury to decide the case. It can be beneficial to both the prosecutor and the defense attorney because the prosecutor will have a conviction and the defense attorney would have gained a lesser charge for his client. Throughout this paper I will lead you through the process of plea bargaining, the pros and cons, and how it reflects on crime control and the due process model. History of Plea Bargaining Plea bargaining can be dated back to the nineteenth century. One of the earliest cases reported Commonwealth v. Battis. In this case the defendant who was charged in a capital crime was given time to think about the guilty plea he had entered. The court was reluctant in accepting the plea and was satisfied only after insuring that there had been no tampering, promises, or any persuasions to the defendant. Following the Commonwealth v. Battis case there were other cases that began to be reported that had some level of plea bargaining. It seemed that plea bargaining became more common in the mid 1900’s. The reasoning behind it becoming more common was back in the early days of the English justice system, juries would hear up to 20 cases in a day. What is plea bargaining? According to Black’s Law Dictionary it is a negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant whereby the defendant...
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...FACTORS IN DESIGN - ARCH423b PROF. KATHERINE ANTHONY, INSTRUCTOR FALL 2013 - Peter F. smith This paper is in response to reading 'Design Juries on Trial, The Renaissance of the Design Studio, (1999) by Katherine H. Anthony. I am firstly sharing my best design experience at Harvard University School of Design, in a class 'Presentation Skills, and Getting Published', taught by Eugene Kohn, KPF Architects. When attending the presentation skills class, we were broken into small groups and given projects to attend to. When we pursued gathering information for this topic, we were guided by an attorney working for KPF who introduced us to a procedure called 'throwing the long ball'. Mr. Kohn's attorney shared several pages of a method where 3 students could sequentially gather a very large amount of information about a client, and that client's needs. When presenting our project, he used video cameras to record our body language, as we were practicing, like a mock jury, to package our best practiced presentation to our client. Eugene Kohn. ( property of Harvard University) Edward Larrabee Barnes would pull out a piece of paper with a doodle on it from a jacket pocket, then another sketch from another pocket, and so on. And he'd get the job. (Note from E. Kohn) My worst jury, being hesitantly upfront, dealt with chemical dependency. In my efforts to do well in design, I was up many evenings...
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...Plea Bargaining Paper Daniel Herrera CJA/224 Introduction to Criminal Courts Dr. Beverly Spencer 9/1/2014 Plea Bargaining Paper Plea bargaining is one of the most important pieces of criminal court proceedings that can occur. Plea bargaining is that chance in which a defendant can choose to not be punished or charged as harshly as they should be. Plea bargaining is a very common thing used within the courthouse and even though it can be good for an individual it can also be bad if not completely understood. The thing with a plea bargain is that at any time a judge can overthrow a bargain and still send the case through strenuous court hours. Plea bargaining is however very important because over ninety percent of all criminal cases are built and completed due to plea bargaining. Plea bargaining can be defined as an agreement between a prosecutor and a defendant whereby the defendant is allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge rather than risk conviction for a graver crime in order to avoid a protracted trial or to win the defendant’s cooperation as a witness (“Plea Bargaining”, 2014). Now a plea bargain can mean everything to nothing towards a case. The prosecution would use these types of bargains for leverage against the defendant. What is meant by this is that the defendant can be offered to give a testimony of the events which can eventually lead into a charge and conviction into a higher profiled case. This is the case most of the time; usually the prosecution...
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...037,605 people within the county’s 407 square miles. Home to several intelligence agencies, and half of the metropolitan area’s Fortune 500 companies, Fairfax county has one of the highest median incomes in the country for a county of its size, second only to neighboring Loudoun County. The county was the first in the nation to reach a six figure median income and is known as one of the most populous areas in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Areas. The Fairfax County Circuit court, located in Fairfax City, is used to serve the residents of both the county and the city itself. The court is in the 19th Judicial Circuit, and is used for a wide range of cases as it is the largest trial court in the state. It is composed of twenty judges, fifteen of which are active and five of which are retired trial judges. The court is located in downtown Fairfax City within a plaza also including the General District Court and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. Operating Monday through Friday, the court...
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...Defiance Of course, one of the famous, attractive and effective movies, which illustrate jury trial system in the US, is Twelve Angry Men (1957). American Film Institute revealed that the movie was the second best film in the Court Drama genre (AFL’s 10 Top 10). Exploration of this film, when jury trial does not happen in Islamic Court, deeply influenced the concepts such as the true judgment and justice in my mind as a Muslim. This paper is aimed to discuss and analysis several instances of defiance behaviors, which are displayed in the movie. It also considers strategies groups utilize to extinguish defiance in each instances of defiance. The first scene; all jurors sat around the table exception for the foreman who concerned to keep formal procedure in the group. He mentioned if all jurors get a unanimous verdict, the defendant would charge mandatory death sentence. He started to count the votes “guilty”, while jurors were raising their hands. Juror number 1, 3, 4, 7, 10 and 12 quickly put up their hands but jurors 2, 5, 6, 11 and 9 raised with slightly pause. Juror number 8 was the only person who believed the boy is not guilty and he had not been conceived to put someone into a death sentence:”It's not easy to raise my hand and send a boy off to die without talking about it first...We're talking about somebody's life here. We cannot decide in five minutes.” Certainly, it would be hard to become alone against the group. The juror number 8 is the first...
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...defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge are three of the most important positions involved in this process. The roles of the prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, and other members of the court are examined. You learn about the options that judges consider when determining punishment. You also explore the premise of determinate and indeterminate sentencing and how it affects the actions of the court. The differences between the federal and the state courts and between adult and juvenile court systems are another important aspect of this week. You discuss the various steps during the pretrial process, jury selection, and trial, as well as the process of plea bargaining and its value in the criminal justice system. Discussion of a Key Point, Thread, or Objective While reading the assigned chapters, consider the rights of the accused, such as the right to a speedy trial, legal counsel, and the right to know the charges. How do these rights factor into how the...
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...Accountability has become Hostage of Plea Bargain. Does Plea Bargaining Undermine the Criminal Justice System? Legal and Social Impacts on Society. Student’s Name Institution Contents 1.1 Background to the Study...............................................................................................4 1.2 Purpose of the Study.....................................................................................................5 1.3 Research Objectives......................................................................................................5 1.4 Research Questions.......................................................................................................6 1.5 Significance of the Study..............................................................................................6 2.0 Methodology/ Research Design.....................................................................................6 2.1 Sampling Design............................................................................................................7 2.2 Sample Size....................................................................................................................7 2.3 Data Collection and Analysis.........................................................................................7 2.4 Validity and Reliability..................................................................................................8 2.5 Skills Required......................
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...crime may bargain with the prosecutor to receive a lesser punishment. Typically, the accused person will plead guilty, sometimes to a lesser charge than the original one (to manslaughter rather than murder, for example). As stated by the Boston College Law Review, the U.S. Supreme Court estimates that at least ninety percent of criminal convictions are based on guilty pleas. Typically, defense counsel and the prosecutor negotiate the charges to be brought. If the bargain pertains to the sentence to be meted out, a judge may also participate unless barred from doing so. The main purpose for plea bargains is this process saves the government the time and cost of a jury trial in exchange for a reduced sentence. Defendants who plead guilty as part of a plea bargain give up three constitutional rights: the right of trial by jury, the right to confront and question one's accusers, and the right to refuse to incriminate oneself. However, it can speed up the criminal justice system, and an accused person can get a lessor punishment. The two types of plea bargains are explicit plea bargains and implicit plea bargains. Explicit plea bargains are those in which some concession has been granted to the defendant in exchange for his or her agreement to a guilty plea....
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...desire to create efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control in the processing of defendants, and that reform should work to balance the power between the prosecutors and defense team.” (Bowen) Each reviewed author had a little different way to achieve that balance. Uviller (2004) thinks that the system should resemble at factory type approach. The first stage is the charging stage. The case enters the system and is reviewed for the most obvious, easy to prove, and reasonable charges. It then would move to the adjudication. In this stage the negotiating attorney would attempt to make a deal with defendant in order to get a guilty plea. If a deal cannot be reached, the case would then be transferred to the trial team in preparation for a trial. Bibas (2004c) proposes that best way to reform plea bargaining would be to create a balanced system that increases the power of the defense team without taking power from the prosecutor. He also argues that the reform process should not create alternative systems or completely eliminate plea bargaining. Wright and Miller (2002) suggested and proved that more emphasis...
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...Jury Selection, Trials and Constitutional Rights The jury selection process is a significant portion of the trial process. Jury selection ensures that courts maintain proper Due Process and comply with constitutional guidelines. Furthermore, it gives lawyers the ability to evaluate the people in the jury and determine how they would feel about the case. The trial process branches out into six steps: jury selection, opening statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments, charging of the jury and deliberation of jury. Throughout the process of jury selection, potential jury is based on a process names an voir dire; otherwise known as committing to telling the truth. During voir dire, potential jurors are included in the case or eliminated from the jury. Potential jurors are required to answer a series of questions concerning their personal bias regarding the case. The series of questions help determine if any of the potential jurors have had previous exposure to the context of the case, or a personal connection to the actual trial. If a lawyer can conclude based on the questioning, that the juror may be biased, they have the ability to challenge their position on the jury. Voir dire will be further examined in order to discuss how an unbiased jury is prepared for a trial. The following step once the jury is selected is the opening statements. The prosecution and the defense each have an opportunity to present their case to the jury. Although, no...
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...Bargaining Glenn Friedlander CJA/224-Introduction to Criminal Court Systems October 22, 1013 Deborah Carr Plea Bargaining Plea Bargaining is a process in which the prosecutor and the defendant via the defense attorney comes to an agreement during a multi-charge case for the defendant to bargain with the prosecutor after being informed by his or her defense attorney of the consequences of one or more charges for a lesser sentence rather than going to trial and possibly receive the max sentence he or she are facing (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). This is normally used when a defendant and his or her defense attorney knows there is no way for the defendant to get off based on the charges he or she is being charged with and the evidence against them. More often than none, the defendant’s attorney is highly aware of the possibility of losing the case based on the results of the investigation that was conducted after the crime was committed. This process is also designed to save tax payers money by avoiding a lengthy trial that was probable based on the crime committed. Charge Bargaining This is a process in which the prosecutor can negotiate with the defendant to make it seem like the prosecutor is on the defendant’s side. This is done by telling him or her they will avoid adding additional charges if the defendant chooses to plea bargain with the prosecutor at that particular time or whichever time the prosecutor provides for the defendant to discuss the options with...
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...essay discussing how a trial by jury is a small-scale example of social constructionism. Social construction is the frame through which society views an idea. It could be the idea of a crime (for example, drug abuse is a socially constructed crime not an inherent crime) or the idea of an event (for example, the beating of Rodney King as police brutality instead of necessary to protect the officers). Nothing is black-and-white, there are many different ways to view a situation. Juries are selected to be a group of peers – this is what our justice system is based off of. If an objective peer would do the same thing in the same situation, perhaps you’ll be acquitted. However, the peer-based system is flawed. The first reason is because it can be hard to find a peer for some groups. The more educated a person is, the less likely it is that their jury will be intellectual equals. On the flip side, with an extremely under-educated person, the same principle applies. The juried system works best with an average person sitting before an average group of peers. However, this same idea – of average juries for average citizens – can skew the trial in an unfair direction. Legal studies professor Hiroshi Fukurai wrote about the peer trial being a detriment to justice, giving the example of Ku Klux Klansman trials shortly after the Civil War. These men were tried for murder and torture of abolitionists and escaped slaves, and many were found not-guilty by a jury of white Republican...
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...U.S. v Bruce Dolan Closing statement In a Final attempt to please the court, your Honor , Ladies and Gentleman of the jury. I would like to point out the prosecution has presented unfair persuasion, unreliable sources better known as twists, and has shown variance in trial. The prosecution contradicts its view in seeking out rightful justice, due to the fact prosecution made a plea bargain with all witnesses who admit to committing higher crime for their testimony against my client Mr. Dolan. Evidence of Mr. Dolan's drug activity came from testimony of government witness. Lacks sufficient indicia of reliability to ensure accuracy of witnesses drug activity. Prosecution has failed to state elements of crime including in fact that there is no knowingly and volunteered evidence that Mr. Dolan participated in the conspiracy to distribute. Conspiracy always involves two or more people because one cannot conspire by himself. Also all statements of witnesses who should be labeled as“ co-conspirators” fall under exception of hearsay rule found in Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(e). Tom cord admitted to purchasing pounds of methamphetamine a month over a course of a year and a half; which is approximately thirty six pounds he solely distributed. Mr. Rodney Mack admits to being close friend to Mr. Dolan, is that probably cause to believe Mr. Mack is one of the distributors he speaks of. Which would mean he has access to Mr. Dolans resisdence? Is in fact Mr. Mack the true owner...
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