Police Discreion警察自由裁量权.pptVIP

The Courts “I know you’ve been sworn and I have read your complaints” Judge Wapner The Judicial (Courts) System PUROPOSE? Formally charge Pre-trial Detainment? Determine guilt or innocence Impose a sentence Hear appeals The Structure of the Courts State Courts Layers of Trial Courts (Superior and inferior) Appellate courts Supreme court Federal Courts Trial courts Federal Appeals courts “District courts” The Supreme Court Who are the “players” in the judicial system? Prosecutor Defense Attorneys Judges The Prosecutor Represents the state in criminal matters Federal = Attorney general and U.S. attorneys State = District or State attorney Prosecutorial Discretion (400# Gorilla) Whether or not to charge specific charge Decision to drop case, or nolle prosequi May enter and end plea negotiations The Defense Attorney Private Attorneys (Johnny Cochran) Sixth Amendment right to counsel Attorney list system Contracting with law firm Public defenders system (large, urban) Roughly ? of state inmates were represented by publicly funded attorneys Role of the Defense Represent their client in a vigorous, adversarial manner Investigate incident, interview client/witnesses, represent client at all proceedings, negotiate plea with district attorney Conflict of interest? The Devil’s Advocate Low pay and conflict of interest = burnout The Judge During Trial Rule on questions of procedure (how to question witnesses, rules of evidence) May determine guilt in a bench trial After trial or plea bargain Responsible for determining sentence Is the process really “adversarial?” Sam Walker’s Wedding Cake Celebrated cases may approach ideal of an adversarial process Lower “layers” = administrative rather than adversarial Judge, defense, and prosecutor have a shared understanding of what a case is “worth” The Courtroom Workgroup Term coined by Malcolm Feeley Judges, prosecutors and defense work together daily Minimize conflict and develop informal procedures for dealing with cases