2. The Twelve jurors are given the job, by the judge, of deciding whether a teenage boy is innocent or guilty of killing his father. They must separate the facts from the fancy and provide a verdict of guilty if there is no reasonable doubt to the claims, or non-guilty if there is reasonable doubt. The decision must be unanimous. The charge against the defendant is Murder in the first degree – premeditated homicide (death sentence).…
No matter the model neither one would be 100% satisfying, but after learning about some of the pros and cons of both the models I believe the due process model should be adopted as the sole basis of the criminal justice system in the U.S.…
The selection of a jury is the process that occurs right before the actual trial, and after the trial initiation and the arraignment and plea. Only about 10 percent of actual arraignments see an actual trial, because 90 percent of cases that are preparing for trial end up accepting a plea bargain (Schmalleher, 2009).…
Jury selection are various methods used to decide who will be on the jury. The jury pool is initially chosen from among the community utilizing a random strategy. Jury records are gathered from voter enlistments and driver permit/state id. From these records, some people are mailed. They will be addressed in court by the judge and/or lawyers in the U.S. According to Shari Seidman, in some cases such as capital punishment, the jury must be death qualified. Jury procedures are taught in law institutions to law students. The jury chose is said to have been empanaled.…
Jury Selection. To start the process of jury selection, a group of ordinary citizens are summoned to the courtroom by way of a juror summons that he or she has received in the mail. Once in the courtroom each juror must go through a process called voir dire. Voir dire is a questions and answers session that is facilitated by both the prosecutor and defense attorney along with the judge. This process is done to see if any of the potential jurors are biased or have been predisposed by anyone or prior information the potential jurors may have heard about the case. After the jury has been selected, the case is ready to go to trial.…
As Americans, we are given the right to a jury trial, one of the most important freedoms that out judicial system has to offer us. A jury consists of anywhere between 6 and 12 registered voters who determine whether a person is guilty or innocent in the act of crime that they are being accused of. Not only do they possess this power in a trial, but they may also judge the laws themselves and whether or not is perhaps unconstitutional, unfair, or cumbersome, in which case they can declare the defendant, the person accused of the crime, not-guilty. Their responsibility is heavy and their power enormous in the outcome of a trial. It is a way of distributing the power so that not just one person has total power, and also allowing society to be involved with their government because the jury acts as the conscience of our society.…
The judge chooses who will serve on the jury and will consider the recommendation of the jury in a bench trial.…
There are eight stages in a Criminal Trial, the trial initiation, jury selection, openings statements, presentation of evidence, closing arguments, judge’s charge to the jury, jury deliberations and the verdict. In this essay I will focus on the jury selection stage. A criminal petit jury is very important in a trial. The jury is responsible for deciding whether a defendant committed the crime as charged. In a criminal trial there are usually 12 members in a jury. The jury selection is conducted by both the prosecution and the defense attorneys.…
Meyer, J. F., & Grant, D. R. (2003). The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Prentice-Hall, Pearson Education Inc.…
The prosecution is required to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The individual who has been accused of a crime is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. The juror must be able to say to him or herself with moral certainty that the individual is guilty of having committed the crime. If the jurors are not able to do so, the prosecution has not met the burden of proof and the jury must find the person not…
Some of the fundamental characteristics of due process consist of fairness and equity. This process demonstrates an importance within our justice system because equal rights are measured highly while crime control is taken into consideration. An individual should not be held guilty based on facts. An accused individual should be taken under professional legal control, with a proper legal procedure leading to a final decision with details and evidence to prove them wrong. For instance, the government cannot stop an individual from becoming aware of their Miranda rights if he or she was to be arrested. In this case if the arrest goes further without a review of the Miranda rights, and the crime becomes a confession for the arrested person, this confession would be invalid. The reason for this invalid crime would mainly result because this person was denied the due process leading to unfairness. Equality is once again referred to this process of fairness as being just as important to the society as is crime control. In other words everyone is moderately protected under the law. Another basic example related to where equality is represented with the due process is within most…
At the trial, both the prosecutor and the defense attorney will present evidence and testimony. The jury containing 12 members of society chosen to reach a verdict will listen to and evaluate evidence and testimony to determine an outcome. When the trial takes place, the courtroom is generally open to any citizen wishing to visit. Friends, family and members of the press cannot be barred from a courtroom trial.…
Juries consist of a collection of residents brought together to form a decision on a case. Seating arrangements are either in a criminal or civil case, in which the assessment of evidence is present and decisions made are from facts provided. Juries aid solely at trial court level, and because they are truth locators, there is no position in appellate court since the decision established from facts formulated at trial level. Furthermore, judges listen and decide the final word of every appeal (Ehow.com, 2012).…
Step one in a jury trial is Jury selection. In this step about forty individuals are selected to be possible jury members. Each individual is questioned and examined so they can weed through and pick the ones that would fit this jury trial. This is to make sure the individuals are not prejudice, or related to or know the criminal. This process…
What does due process really mean? “Due process means that laws must be applied fairly and equally to all people, especially to a citizen accused of a crime”. (ushistory.org, 2008-2012) If someone is accused of a crime and have been arrested the police cannot question the accused because “Before questioning, the police must first advise the suspect of his constitutional rights (also called “Miranda Warnings”)” (Missouri Protection & Advocacy Services, 2004). This process was set into place because of the case Miranda vs Arizona. Miranda had been taken into custody and questioned by the police without any legal protection. Ernesto Miranda had been accused of a rap-kidnapping charge and had been…