...THE ARGUMENT FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION AT BAIL HEARINGS IN ALL CRIMINAL CASES IN STATE COURT The right to legal representation is generally accepted in the United States as a Constitutional right guaranteed to everyone. The Supreme Court promised the right to counsel to “ any person haled into court” in the infamous Gideon v Wainwright case. This case was instrumental in advancing the rights of indigent defendants through its proclamation that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in criminal proceedings should also apply to State Courts. However, Gideon’s promise to counsel has yet to completely guarantee equal access to justice when first appearing at judicial proceedings in state courts. Although defendants who can afford lawyers will usually hire one from the onset of a criminal proceeding, the right to counsel for indigent defendants (i.e. a state-provided attorney) is interpreted as attaching at varying stages of a prosecution in different states. Only eight states guarantee indigent defendants the right to legal counsel at the initial bail hearing. Representation at the initial bail hearing is critical as a lawyer’s intervention is crucial for obtaining a defendant’s release and for protecting a defendant’s due process right (guaranteed in the Fourteenth amendment) against an unreasonable denial of liberty during pretrial detention. The lack of counsel in pretrial proceedings can result in numerous consequences; some include a high number of pleas...
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...The Court’s Administration: An Analysis of the Roles in the Process of Criminal Trial The Court’s Administration: An Analysis of the Roles in the Process of Criminal Trial Criminal procedure is the process of investigating, prosecuting, and punishing crimes (Scheb & Sharma, 2013). Criminal procedure includes law enforcement activities, including the arrest, interrogation, and identification of suspects. Criminal procedure also involves a process of criminal trial, in which a person is tried for their crime. The trial process can be extensive, but criminal charges can also be settled in the pretrial process. The pretrial process largely determines the outcome of a criminal case; most criminal cases never make it to trial. Charges against the defendant may be dropped or dismissed due to a lack of evidence. The defendant may also plead guilty without trial. Many guilty pleas result from plea negotiations between the prosecutors and defendant or defense attorneys. This pretrial process makes a formal criminal trial unnecessary (Scheb & Sharma, 2013). There are various roles in the criminal trial process, including the judge, the prosecuting attorneys, the jury, and the expert witnesses such as forensic psychologists. The assortment of roles has a high effect on the outcome for the defendant. A prosecutor is responsible for determining what charges to pursue and whether to plea bargain with the defendant. A jury decides a verdict. A judge decides a sentence. A forensic...
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...them in a visual context. While working on the data points from Arrest to Pretrial, most of the initial weeks were spent on wrapping around what an ideal data map would look like. The research resulted in rich collection of data that gets collected during booking process. Representing all the information that gets collected at each level of process, involved granular analysis of...
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...many, but not necessarily all, of the dynamics of the criminal justice system apply to various racial and ethnic groups. 3. Leinfelt, F. H. (2006). Racial Influences on the Likelihood of Police Searches and Search Hits: A Longitudinal Analysis from an American Midwestern City. Police Journal, 79(3): 238–257. 4. Office of Justice Systems Analysis (1995). Disparities in Processing Felony Arrests in New York State: 1990–1992, Office of Justice Systems Analysis, New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. 5. Sabol, W. J., and Couture, H. (2008). Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007. Washington, D.C. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 6. U.S. Census Bureau (2007). 2006 American Community Survey. Available online at: http://www.census.gov/acs/ www/index.html. 7. Sabol and Couture, op. cit. 8. U.S. Census Bureau, op. cit. 9. Bonczar, T. P. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974–2001. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics. 10. Snyder, H. (2006). Juvenile Arrests 2004. OJJDP Bulletin: Washington, D.C.: National Disproportionate Minority Contact Databook. 11. Federal Bureau of Investigation (2007). Crime in the United States, 2006. Washington, D.C. 12. Spohn, C. (2001). Thirty Years of Sentencing Reform: The Quest for a Racially Neutral Sentencing Process. In W. Reed & L. Winterfield (Eds.), Criminal Justice 2000 (Vol. 3, pp. 566). Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Justice. 13. King, R. (2008). Disparity by Geography: The...
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...Individual Jury Trial Analysis Brad Phillips October 16, 2013 In the United States criminal justice system, there is a process that must be followed in order to not only charge a person with an offense or crime but also in order to submit that person to a criminal court trial. When an individual is charged with a crime there are steps that a law enforcement officer must take in order to make a legal arrest but the process does not end at that point as there is also significant steps that must be taken before a jury trial begins. Each of these steps is significant and vital to the criminal justice system as they each protect against corruption, abuse and violation of individual rights. After examining each step on its own merit it is much easier to observe how each of these steps plays its role apart and in relation to the other steps in the process. The first step in the jury trial process is the act of initiating a trial. This is the step in the process wherein a hearing is held to determine the specifics of the trial. The judge will determine if the defendant is competent to stand trial and also rule on any pretrial motions that have been made. In addition, if the trial is taking place in a state that has Grand Jury requirements, it is during this phase that the Grand Jury meets to decide on evidence and if there is sufficient justification for the trial to continue. The second step in a jury trial is the selection of the jurors. This is not always the next...
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...Analysis of the Fifth Amendment Katrina Krolak, Katia Denis and Dan Mullen The University of Phoenix U.S. Constitution HIS 301 Georgia Mc Millen March 17, 2008 Introduction The Fifth Amendment provides for certain personal protections including the right to avoid self-incrimination and the potential for criminal convictions based on double jeopardy. The analysis of the Fifth Amendment in this research will review the background of the amendment, and various interpretations throughout history. The impact of the Fifth Amendment on American society, and the potential for changes in the future will also be researched. The classroom text of the course U.S. constitution and the Internet will be used as sources of reference. The Fifth Amendment “No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation.”(Lectric Law Library [LLL], N.D., page 1). The Fifth Amendment is one of 10 amendments included in the Bill of Rights that specifically deal with personal liberties from unjust searches to free speech. (Head, 2008, page 1). The bill of rights was ratified on December 15, 1791 (Karnis Landy & Milkis, 2004, page 16). The ten amendments in the bill of rights were intended to limit the control of the new government on personal freedoms. The Fifth Amendment specifically protects the citizen from self-incrimination...
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...The two basic principles on which the court juvenile court were founded are one, and juveniles were not mature enough to take responsibility of their actions compared to adults and two, it was easier to rehabilitate juveniles as compared to adult criminals (Grisso & Schwartz, 2000). In more than a century, these principles remained the benchmarks of the juvenile courts as they expanded from Chicago, their original birthplace, into other states and eventually in other parts of the world. However, in the recent year rising incidences of juvenile criminals being tried as adults has increased as it was before the advent of the first juvenile court. Much of this stems from the public outrage against the children who, in high numbers, are engaging in violent crimes. Many countries have adopted legislation that permits them to juveniles to be tried as adults. In some countries, there are provisions that allow prosecutors to try children as young as 14 years under certain circumstances (Grisso & Schwartz, 2000). Juvenile courts establishment aimed at separating the youthful offenders from the adult criminals and thereafter processing and rehabilitating them in forgiving and less punitive manner compared to the adult criminal system (Redding & Fuller, 2004). The main reason behind the distinction is because the juveniles are developmentally different from adult in the sense of underdeveloped self-control, increased vulnerability and influence from the outside i.e. peer pressure...
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...Prison Overcrowding Final Project Terence Ingram Professor Karina Arzumanova, Esq. March 17, 2013 Strayer University Prison Overcrowding Final Project Criminal Activity is on the rise. With prison populations growing at an all-time rate, the federal prison system has not been able to keep up. As a result, this is a serious problem which puts inmates and guards in danger and holds back efforts to rehabilitate convicts. (McLaughlin, 2012) Violence will be on the rise as more inmates are squeezed into small living quarters. Increased inmate misconduct is a direct result of prison overcrowding which negatively affects the safety and security of inmates and staff. If prisons don’t find a solution to this problem, it will create more tension and could potentially cause an inmate to snap and create a violent incident. With more prisoners confined in small spaces, prison officials are forced to cut back on inmate’s cafeteria time, time in the recreation yards, and television rooms. Multiple inmates are put in cells that were specifically created for one individual inmate. Common areas that were not meant to be used for inmates are being used for living arrangements even though it was not designed for that. Crowded cells and the loss of privacy increase the odds that inmates will lash out, threatening the guards keeping watch. ( McLaughlin, 2012) Policies have been put in place to make sure that inmates are not being violated. Some may say that overcrowding in prisons is inhumane...
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...Written Testimony of Professor Monroe H. Freedman Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Law United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary Regarding S. 804-Undercover Operations Act May 16, 1984 Mr. Chairman, and Members of the Subcommittee: Thank you for inviting me to testify regarding S. 804-The Undercover Operations Act. I have been asked to provide relevant biographical information and have done so in a footnote.' My principal concern with S. 804 relates to undercover operations directed against corruption in the administration of justice. I do not mean that such investigations necessarily raise more serious problems than those directed against, say, political organizations, religious groups, or news agencies; indeed, some of my suggestions may be applicable to those areas as well. As one who has a particular interest in the professional responsibilities of lawyers and judges, however, I believe that I can be most useful to the Committee by focusing on that area. A. The Special Need For Undercover Operations against Lawyers and Judges There is surely no need to belabor the importance of integrity in the administration of justice, or the necessity to pursue any corruption vigorously. At the same time, we must recognize that undercover operations directed against lawyers and judges, if inadequately controlled, could have an even more severe impact on the administration of justice than whatever corruption exists. 1 . Monroe H. Freedman is Professor of Law...
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...cruelty, questions of equability, and the public attitudes. In this paper I will explain viewpoints of proponents and opponents of the death penalty. Capital punishment in the United States has been around for many, many years. It was commonly used in the history of the criminal justice system. The methods of executions in history were cruel and unusual. Some of the methods included boiling the guilty in oil, burning to death, hanging them, strangling, stoning, and impaling. 1968 was the first year where the death penalty was not exercised in the United States. In 1976, Georgia, Florida, and Texas were the first three states to uphold the death penalty statues. Later, capital punishment was reinstated to other states as well. Since then there have been debates with this topic. Abolitionists believe that it is morally wrong. They may also believe that it has no benefits to our society. On the other hand, proponents feel that it is a deterrent and can save many innocent lives by getting rid of the murderers that can possibly take other lives. During the 1970s, Issac Ehrlich was the first person to study deterrence in regards to capital punishment. He studied it by using multivariate regression analysis which allowed him to separate the effects on murders from different factors. Some of the factors included race, age, income, unemployment, and execution rate. Ehrlich studies did indeed find deterrent effects. Ehrlich estimated that for each execution...
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...and after giving both Michael and his wife, Sylvia, Miranda warnings, they interrogated both husband and wife twice. The statement Michael challenged under the Confrontation Clause came from a tape recorded interrogation of Sylvia. In her second interrogation, she gave a version of the fight between Michael and the alleged victim that at least appeared inconsistent with her husband’s self-defense claim. Sylvia’s tape recorded statement was introduced at trial against Michael even though he had no opportunity for cross examination. In reviewing the statement’s admission by the trial court, the Washington Court of Appeals and Washington Supreme Court applied slightly different tests grounded in the framework described by Ohio v. Roberts, a system that looks for “adequate ‘indicia of reliability. However, the two courts reached opposite results. The court of appeals reversed the conviction, finding no “particularized guarantees of trustworthiness, while the Washington Supreme Court reinstated the conviction because it bore guarantees of trustworthiness. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari. It...
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...enforcement by profiling criminal suspects assessing in truthfulness of suspects and evaluating the validity of their confessions. Psychological theory and techniques can be used to improve police officers evaluations of criminal suspects. * Profiling is usually performed at the beginning of criminal investigation when the police need help focusing on certain types of people who might be the suspect * Once a suspect has been identified law enforcement officials use other procedures to determine whether any of them should be charged. * Police look for visual and verbal cues to determine whether they are giving truthful responses Suspects are sometimes given a lie detector test to encourage them to confess. * The tests provide more information about their guilt or innocence. * They conflict with some psychological findings about their accuracy. * Sometimes they are submitted into evidence. * Many psychologists question the validity of the test. The police interrogate suspects and encourage them to confess because the confessions make it more likely that suspects will successfully prosecute and eventually convicted the suspects. Psychological finding often conflict with the courts evaluations of a voluntary confession. There is some evidence psychological characteristics are linked to behavioral patterns and they can be detected by a psychological analysis of crime scenes. * Criminal profiling is used to narrow criminal investigations to suspects...
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...(Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2009 1 Syllabus NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES Syllabus SKILLING v. UNITED STATES CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 08–1394. Argued March 1, 2010—Decided June 24, 2010 Founded in 1985, Enron Corporation grew from its headquarters in Houston, Texas, into the seventh highest-revenue-grossing company in America. Petitioner Jeffrey Skilling, a longtime Enron officer, was Enron’s chief executive officer from February until August 2001, when he resigned. Less than four months later, Enron crashed into bankruptcy, and its stock plummeted in value. After an investigation uncovered an elaborate conspiracy to prop up Enron’s stock prices by overstating the company’s financial well-being, the Government prosecuted dozens of Enron employees who participated in the scheme. In time, the Government worked its way up the chain of command, indicting Skilling and two other top Enron executives. These three defendants, the indictment charged, engaged in a scheme to deceive investors about Enron’s true financial performance by...
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...Running Head: CORRECTIONAL THEORIES 1 Competing Theories of Corrections in The Criminal Justice System Nicole Yaniero AIU Online Running Head: CORRECTIONAL THEORIES 2 Abstract In today’s system, there are several competing theories for what approach should be taken to improve the correctional system. Certain strategies, such as punishment and rehabilitation, have different goals. These goals, in most cases, are different from each other. People all over prefer one strategy to the other, and compelling evidence can be brought into perspective for each. Aside form the usual, non traditional aspects and approaches to fixing the corrections system are also talked about today. This paper will discuss all elements of corrections theories, its goals, its effectiveness, and the rating of completion of academic and vocational programs offered to inmates in prison. Running Head: CORRECTIONAL THEORIES 3 Competing Theories Of Corrections In The Criminal Justice System In today’s day and age, many views and criticism take place of the Criminal Justice system. In specific, the correctional aspect of the system receives much of this criticism. There are two strategies particularly that come into play most often when speaking of corrections. These two strategies are punishment, and rehabilitation. Each of these strategies have its own set of goals...
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...His/her Name Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name Customer Inserts Grade Course (06, 07, 2012) Racism in criminal justice system Introduction Justice is a term that we hear a lot in our everyday life and also accept it although many of us might have a doubt as to what it truly means. Justice is the phenomenon through which we could achieve righteousness and equality. But unfortunately racism has been a common practice in the criminal justice system. Racism is actually discrimination against a group or individual based on color, social and financial status. It is something that occurs more than we notice. Many scholars believe that racism play a more important role in targeting and sentencing process in the criminal justice system and this is something which should not happen in any country no matter what. In order to understand the role that racism plays in the criminal justice system we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing in the court. There are various publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which unwillingly get people into the system. Though these are two major components of the discriminatory acts that exist within the criminal justice system, it does not actually begin with these institutionalized methods. It is the laws and crime control policies that create discrimination in the system. It has been witnessed that in some instances these laws and policies are set in favor of the white people...
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