1. Introduction to Criminal Justice 2003:
The Criminal Trial
Chapter 10
Introduction to Criminal Justice 2003:
A Microsoft® PowerPoint® Tool
Slides prepared by:
Larry Bassi
SUNY Brockport
© 2002 Wadsworth Publishing Co.

2. 6th Amendment and Criminal Trials
In all criminal
prosecution, the
accused shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial,
by an impartial jury of the State
and the district wherein the crime shall
have been committed, …and to be
informed of the nature and cause of
the accusation; to be confronted with
the witnesses against him; to have
compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have
Assistance of Counsel for
his defense.

3. Speedy Trial Act of 1974
No more than 30 days between arrest and indictment
No more than 10 days between indictment and arraignment
No more than 60 days between arraignment and trial

4. The Length of Criminal Trials in U.S. District Courts

5. Jury Trials A legal process by which members
of the community evaluate facts to
determine if the government has
established legal guilt (guilt beyond
a reasonable doubt according to
evidence that is admissible according
to legal standards). 2

6. Issues of Law and Fact Juries answer questions of fact. Judges answer
questions of law. 3

7. Factual Guilt Having factually committed a crime does
not necessarily mean that one has
legally committed it. 4

8. Bench Trial In the jury’s absence, the judge becomes the trier of fact
and law! 5

9. How Are Jury Trials Controlled?
State and federal laws control when a jury trial is available
State and federal laws control what kind of a jury trial is available
State and federal laws control what rules govern jury trials 8 8

10. Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: What Does It Mean?
A doubt of 7 1/2 on a scale of 10.
A doubt based on reason and common sense.
Not frivolous or fanciful doubt.
Substantial doubt.
Persuasion to a moral certainty.
A doubt that would cause prudent persons to hesitate before acting in a matter of importance to themselves. 16

11. Jury Selection Process
Jury pool of 200
to 1,000 citizens
drawn each month
from source list
Panel 30
Voir
Dire
Selected
for jury 14
Challenged
or not used 16
Jury 14
Unit

12. Jury Selection Process
Jury pool of 200
to 1,000 citizens
drawn each month
from source list
Jury Selection
Process
Jury Selection Process
Most jurisdictions use a number
of sources for the names of potential
jurors. The lists are sorted and duplicates
are discarded. The jury pool is then
selected on a random basis. The term
that jury pools serve vary from jurisdiction
to jurisdiction.
Unit

13. Jury Selection Process
A panel of potential jurors is randomly
selected for each jury trial. The size of
the panel may be increased depending
on the possible difficulty of selecting a
qualified jury.
Unit

14. Sample Juror Questionnaire

15. Jury Selection Process
The voir dire is a process of selecting
potential jurors. Both prosecution and
defense may object to jurors
and challenge them
peremptorily or for cause.
Jury Selection Process
Panel 30
Voir
Dire
Selected
for jury 14
Challenged
or not used 16
Unit

16. General Juror Requirements
Citizens of the U.S.
Over 18 years of age
Free of felony convictions
Of necessary good health to function in a jury setting
Sufficiently intelligent to understand the issues of a trial
Ability to read, write and co the English language

17. Challenge for cause To determine if someone is unfit to serve
Prosecution & defense want someone who is sympathetic to their side of the case
Judge and both sides ask questions
Number of these challenges is unlimited

18. Peremptory Challenges
Enable attorneys to excuse jurors for no particular reason or for undisclosed reasons
Number of challenges are limited
Can’t be used to eliminate jurors on the basis of race, ethnicity or gender

19. Jury Selection Process
Jury pool of 200
to 1,000 citizens
drawn each month
from source list
Jurors that are not
selected are returned
to the pool for possible
use on another jury.
Panel 30
Voir
Dire
Selected
for jury 14
Challenged
or not used 16
Jury 14

20. The Steps of a Jury Trial

21. The Opening Statement

22. Evidence Real evidence Testimonial evidence
Direct v. circumstantial evidence
Relevant evidence
Prejudicial evidence

23. Criteria of Admissibility of Evidence
Relevancy
Material
Non-prejudicial
Reliability
Legally obtained 19

24. Witness Examination Direct Examination First examination of
a witness conducted
by the side on whose
behalf the witness
was called. 17

25. Witness Examination Cross Examination Examination of a
witness by the party
opposed to the one
who called the
witness. 18

26. Closing Arguments
Arguments made by each side’s attorney after the cases for the plaintiff and defendant have been presented.

27. Jury Instruction (Charging the Jury)
The process where the
judge instructs the
jury about the law in the
case. Many believe
that instructions are
often too complex for a
jury to fully understand.

28. Jury Instructions

29. Judges v. Juries Judges and juries do not always evaluate
evidence in the same way. Juries often
look at the nature of the victim, the act
(e.g. self defense) and whether the
defendant took the stand.

30. What Do We Know about Juries?
Jury trials are longer and slow down the process
Longer sentences are normally associated with jury trials rather than bench trials
Men are normally more dominant in jury deliberation

31. What’s Known about Jury Voting?
1/3 of all cases only require one vote
If a decision needs more than one vote, the decision of the majority on the first vote will likely end up being the decision on the last vote in most cases.

32. The Verdict Guilty Not guilty Hung jury
judge will normally set a date for sentencing and ask for a presentence investigation report
Not guilty
defendant is free to leave
Hung jury
case may be retried

33. Right to Appeal Right to appeal is determined by law
An appeal waives the right against double jeopardy
Based upon some contended legal error
“Plain error” v. “Harmless error” concept
Court transcript serves as the basis for appellate review

34. The Steps of an Appeal

35. Writ of Habeas Corpus A writ that commands a corrections
officer to bring a prisoner before a
federal court so that the court can hear
his or her claim that he or she is being held
illegally. This can only be filed by someone
who is imprisoned and can
only address constitutional
issues.