W ARM -U P - Get your computer and write on a small sheet of paper your name and which article you read in your first group: The four articles 1. “Americans are bargaining away their innocence” 2. “Presumption of innoncence exists in Theory, Not in Reality” 3. “Journalists should protect the innocent but its easy to fail” 4. “No country has a monopoly on fair trials”

N EXT G ROUP Come up with a list of unjust practices seen anywhere in the articles and add that to the next Socrative question

F INAL Q UESTION Find in a quote from any article describing the “cause” of two of the following problems: 1. Too many cases plea bargained 2. Journalist exagerration 3. Pre-trial bail policies

PLEA BARGAINING Problem Innocent people might plea bargain instead of taking the “risk” of going to trial Hard to claim innocence after you are guilty

PLEA BARGAINING Some Causes Too much of a case load – trials are costly and time consuming Pressure on defense lawyers who in turn might pressure suspects to plead guilty

JOURNALISM AND P RE -TRIAL P UBLICITY Problem: - Intriguing stories about a suspect may lead the general population to “presume guilt” instead of “presuming innocence” - The general population serves on the jury that makes real decisions about guilt Causes: - Complete stories about a horrible criminal are more interesting than stories about a “possible suspect”

P OLICE I NTERROGATION May cause a suspect to say something that they wouldn’t normally say

E XCESSIVE B AIL - Problematic because it discriminates against the poor - Much harder to prepare for a trial in jail

Y OU ’ RE CRAZY ! Not guilty by reason of insanity Defendant is “unable to appreciate the nature and quality of the wrongfulness of his/her acts”

P LEA BARGAINING -90% of all cases are plea bargained Means the defendant and the prosecution work out a deal about the sentencing without going to trial

H EARSAY Not admissible in criminal court for the following reasons Not reliable Not taken under oath Does not allow for cross-examination Allowed in civil suits

4 T YPES OF LAW Common Law/Case Law – the body of law that is made up of judicial opinions and precedents **Follows the principle of stare decisis, which means to “stand by the decision” and means that previous legal decisions should be followed Examples : disputes over same-sex marriage Statutory Law – Law that is written by a legislature Ex: posted speed limits **A “civil law ” legal system has lots of statuatory law, while a “common law” legal system has lots of case law

4 T YPES OF L AW Civil Law – deals with noncriminal suits brought to protect a private right or matter Examples: Contracts, Divorce cases - Fines or property transfer as punishment - Individual decides whether or not to pursue justice Criminal Law -Concerned with offenses against an individual that are deemed offensive to society Ex: rape, burglary Punishable by fines, jail, etc. Misdemeanors, felonies State vs. individual Ex: State of North Carolina vs. Clark Government is responsible for pursuing justice, not the victim.

T YPES OF CRIMES Violation-any time a law has been broken Infractions Minor offense or petty crime Examples: jaywalking, traffic violation, littering Misdemeanors Punishable by no more than 1 yr in jail Examples: 1 st offence of drunk driving, vandalism, shoplifting, simple assault, trespassing, prostitution Felonies Stiffer penalties ranging from 5yrs-life in prison Examples: arson, aggravated assault, burglary, robbery, homicide, rape, credit card fraud, identity theft