1. In your Interactive Notebook: Unit.Day 3.7 Criminal Law & Procedures
ON YOUR DESK: 1) laptop (warming up)
2) Interactive NB
3) (Completed) Study guide
WARM UP
Why does the government have the burden of proof in criminal cases?
AND: give an example of how a lawyer might create “reasonable doubt” in the mind of a jury
Today’s OBJECTIVE(S) -- WRITE THESE DOWN:
I can define each phase of criminal procedure and put them in order

2. Updates & Deadlines SUBMIT By Today: Today’s Agenda
Study Guide: through 2.7
Children’s Book Project
ACES paragraph #1
Cite a case that demonstrates how courts interpret and protect the constitution.
Today’s Agenda
SG through 3.7; Current events
Final touches on book
NGG breaks down criminal procedure
End of class quiz

3. Current Events Discussion: Find an article today if you need to.
All students must:
present an article at least once each week.
Final chance to present will be on Fridays;
last 15 minutes each Friday being dedicated to current events discussions.
Weekly presentation and participation in class discussions on Current Events counts as 5% of your final grade.
The papers you will eventually write on controversial issues will count as 10%.
2nd Quarter paper due in December.

4. What are the Steps in a Criminal Case?
Arrest, and booking
Suspect appears in court and is informed of the charges against him/her
Bail is set or suspect is released with a promise to return for the court date
Information/Arraignment ~ suspect is formally presented with the charges and has to enter a plea
Textbook pp

5. What are the Steps in a Criminal Case?
Plea
Trial
Guilty (Sentencing), Not Guilty (Acquittal), and Hung Jury (Mistrial)
Textbook pp

6. Components of a Trial Jury Selection Opening Arguments
Witnesses Testify
Cross-Examination
Closing Statements
Jury Deliberation
Verdict
Sentencing (Only if found guilty)
Textbook pp

8. Why do they say the court system is “adversarial?”

9. Adversarial
Adversarial = Conflict
2 sides present opposing arguments

10. What are the two sides?

11. Prosecution and Defense
Defendant Person charged with a crime
Defense Tries to prove that the defendant is not guilty
Prosecution Tries to prove that the defendant is guilty

12. Arraignment Defendant Can Plead Guilty or not guilty
Plea Bargain saves the state time and money
Defendant usually gets a reduced sentence for a guilty plea

13. Before the case Each lawyer submits a “brief”
Presents the argument as to why h/she should win the case

14. The Decision to Plea-Bargain
Offering plea bargains gives prosecutors lots of power.
Justice in America is dispensed mostly through plea bargaining.

15. Plea Bargaining
The defendant may be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense.
A defendant who pleads guilty may receive a lighter sentence.
A defendant may plead guilty to one charge in exchange for the prosecutor’s promise to drop another charge.

16. Plea Bargaining
The bargain a prosecutor will strike generally depends on three factors:
The seriousness of the offense
The defendant’s criminal record
The strength of the prosecutor’s case

17. Plea Bargaining
Plea bargaining is widely used because of several factors:
It reduces uncertainty in the criminal justice process.
It serves the interest of the participants
Prosecutors get high conviction rates.
Judges reduce their caseload.
continued…

18. Plea Bargaining
Defense attorneys spend less time on each case and avoid expensive trials.
Defendants get lighter sentences than they might have gotten from juries, and can avoid conviction on stigmatizing crimes such as child abuse.

19. To Start the Trial… Opening statement
Provides an outline for the argument s/he will be present

20. Who oversees the trial?

21. Judge
Job is to make sure that the case proceeds in a fair and legal way

22. The Judge
Judges have a variety of responsibilities in the criminal justice process:
Determining probable cause
Signing warrants
Informing suspects of their rights
Setting and revoking bail
continued…

23. The Judge Arraigning defendants Accepting guilty pleas
In some jurisdictions, managing their own courtrooms and staff
Allowing the jury a fair chance to reach a verdict on the evidence presented

24. Who else works in a court?

25. Other Court Jobs
Bailiff Keeps order in the court, swears in witnesses
Court Reporter Keeps a transcript of the trial

26. Key Actors in the Court Process
The three key actors in the court process are:
The prosecutor
The defense attorney
The judge

27. The Prosecutor Prosecutors have the authority to:
Decide whether to charge or not charge a person with a crime
Decide whether to prosecute or not prosecute a case
Determine what the charge will be

28. The Defense Attorney The Sixth Amendment gives the right to a lawyer.
What Supreme Court Case guaranteed that right?

29. Giddeon v. Wainwright
You get a lawyer even if you are too poor to pay for one.
Types of defense lawyers
Public defenders
Private attorneys

30. The Public Defender Paid by the government
Usually have lots and lots and lots of cases
Too many clients to spend lots of time on one case
Works closely with prosecutors
They deal with each other all the time by working on the same cases.

31. Private attorney If you can afford it, you can pay your own lawyer.
Often private lawyers are better than public defenders
They have more time to work on your case
Sometimes, what you pay is what you get
Sometimes cheap lawyers aren’t very good

32. Witnesses People who testify under oath during the trial
Expert witnesses: scientists, police officers, or others who can testify about how to interpret or explain evidence
Eye witnesses: people who saw a crime happen
Has been proven to be fairly unreliable.
Character witnesses: people who testify that the defendant is a good/bad person to help create an image of that person for the jury

33. Perjury Lying under oath during the trial
If you don’t tell the truth during the trial, you can be held in contempt of court or sent to prison.

34. Who makes the decision about guilt or innocence?

35. The Jury System
Juries are regular every day people selected to determine whether the prosecution is able to prove a person “guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”
Jurors are paid very little, just enough to offset cost of missing work.
Jury duty is required and is a civic duty 35

36. The Verdict Verdict – the decision of the jury 3 options:
Acquittal: not enough evidence to prove the accused person committed the crime
Guilty: evidence is sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused person did what they are accused of doing
Hung Jury: jurors are divided and cannot reach a verdict
Verdicts must be unanimous – all jurors agree

37. “beyond a reasonable doubt”
Jury must reach a unanimous decision – every juror agrees
Jurors must be convinced that the defendant committed the crime
If juror has a REAL doubt that the person did what they are accused of, they must vote to acquit
Doubt must be reasonable, not imagined

38. Mistrial
If something happens during the trial that the Judge believes will prevent jurors from giving a fair trial to the defendant, the Judge can order a Mistrial.
They have to start over with a new set of jurors