Chapter 8: Trial, Sentencing, and Appeal
Legal Rights during Trial
Right to jury trial (a 6th amendment right)
· Baldwin v. New York
(1970): D has the right to choose b/t judge/jury trial if facing 6 months or more, regardless of whether case is felony or
misdemeanor
· Traditionally, 12 members
on jury
· Williams v. Florida (1970):
Permitted use if 6 member jury.
· Traditionally, verdicts
unanimous
· Apodica v. Oregon (1972):
Permitted less than unanimous verdicts in non-capital cases
Right to counsel (a 6th Amendment right)
· Powell v. Alabama (1932): Right to counsel in capital offenses.
· Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): Right to counsel in state felony offenses.
· Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972): Right to counsel in all offenses where a person may be incarcerated
Right to speedy trial (a 6th amendment right)
· Law is not specific. 8
½ years too long (Doggett v. U. S.)
· Speedy Trial Act of 1974
limits delays in federal cases
· 180 days is a general
rule for felonies
Right to a fair trial (guaranteed by due process clause of 5th and 14th amendments)
Right to public trial (a 6th Amendment right)
· Richmond Newspapers, Inc., v. Virginia (1980): Public/media has right to attend trial (not necessarily right to televise).
· Conflict b/t First and
Fifth Amendments.
Right to confront witnesses and compel witnesses to testify
Right to self-representation
· D must competently, knowingly,
and intelligently waive right to counsel.
Criminal Trial Process
1. Jury Selection:
- Jurors selected at random from lists or files
such as voter registration or driver licenses.
- Initial list known as venire, jury array, or
jury pool
- Clerk draws names from pool.
- Voir dire: Jurors are questioned by judge, prosecution,
and defense to test suitability to sit on jury. Questions may be asked regarding background, occupations, knowledge of case,
etc. in order to check for bias. Any persons found with bias may be removed for “cause” and replaced with another.
- Peremptory challenges or strikes: Dismissals
of persons on jury for unexplained reasons. Must not be discriminatory reasons.
2. Opening
statements by prosecution/defense
3. Presentation
of the prosecution’s case
- Direct examination by prosecution
- Cross examination by defense
- Evidence introduced (real, circumstantial, etc.)
4. Motion for
directed verdict: Defense requests the judge to order the jury to return a verdict of not guilty because of insufficient evidence.
5. Presentation
of defense’s case
6. Closing
arguments
7. Instructions
from judge to jury on principles of law that must guide them in reaching their decision
8. Deliberation/verdict
- If guilty, then sentencing phase
- If not guilty, defendant released
9. Sentencing
by judge
10. Appeal
Evidentiary Standards
· Presumption of innocence
· Burden of proof is on the prosecution.
· Standard required for a conviction in a criminal
case is proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
· Standard for a judgment in a civil case is preponderance
of the evidence.
Sentencing
Sentence: Term of punishment handed down by a court
Considerations of judges in sentencing:
· Nature of crime
· Victim impact statements
· Pre-sentence investigation
report (e.g., by state probation/parole office) that examines:
o Social and personal history of defendant
o Chances of rehabilitation within community
Terms
Indeterminate sentences: Sentences are not fixed. Parole eligibility exists.
Determinate sentences: Sentences are fixed. No parole. Actual sentence served is the original sentence
minus time off for good behavior (good time).
Presumptive sentences: Mandatory sentences for certain crimes where judges are allowed slight discretion
according to aggravating or mitigating circumstances.
Mandatory sentences: Sentences that must be imposed upon conviction
Concurrent sentences: Multiple sentences run at same time (e.g., a defendant serves 10 years for a 3 and
a 10 year sentence).
Consecutive sentences: Sentences run one after the other (e.g., a defendant serves 13 years for a 3 and
10 year sentence).
Sentence Types
Death penalty (Capital offense-
An offense for which the death penalty may be imposed)
Incarceration: The confinement
of a convicted criminal in a Federal or State prison or a local jail to serve a court-imposed sentence
Probation: The sentencing
of an offender to community supervision by a probation agency, often as a result of suspending a sentence to confinement
Split sentences: A penalty
that explicitly requires the convicted person to serve a brief period of confinement in a local, State, or Federal facility
followed by a period of probation (e.g., shock probation)
Restitution and victim compensation:
The offender is required to provide financial repayment or services for the losses incurred by the victim
Community service: The offender
is required to perform a specified amount of public service work, such as collecting trash in parks or other public facilities
Fines: An economic penalty
that requires the offender to pay a specified sum of money within limits set by law. Fines are often imposed in addition to
probation or as alternatives in incarceration.
Forfeiture: Turning over ownership of money or property seized or ordered by
the court to the government
Capital Punishment and the Law
Furman v. Georgia (1972):
Supreme Court held that the discretionary (no guidelines) use of capital punishment was a violation of the cruel and unusual
protection of the 8th and 14th Amendments. The court did not rule out the use of the death penalty,
but objected to the “arbitrary and capricious” manner in which it was used. (Many states later revised their statutes
regarding the death penalty and they have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
General Supreme Court guidelines for capital punishment:
· Used in capital murder
cases (not rape).
· Limits on damaging background
information on D that goes to the jury.
· Must consider mitigating
circumstances such as age and mental characteristics.
· Aggravating circumstances
needed to qualify for a capital offense are clearly stated in the law.
Witherspoon v. Illinois (1968): Allowed courts to excuse jurors during voir
dire who were opposed to the death penalty.
Appeals
An appeal occurs when the defendant in a criminal case (or either party in
a civil case) requests that a court with appellate jurisdiction rule on a decision that has been made by a trial court or
administrative agency.
Appellate courts may:
· Affirm
(uphold a lower court ruling)
· Modify
(changing a ruling, in part)
· Reverse
(set aside a lower court ruling)
· Remand
(send case back with further instruction for further proceedings)
· Remand
and review
