Download Chapter 4:

Courts and the Quest for
Justice
In Theory: Courtroom Ideals
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Courts have extensive powers in our criminal
justice system.
The courts legitimacy is based on two factors:
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Impartiality
Independence
In Practice: The American Judicial
System
Jurisdiction:
 Geographic jurisdiction
 International jurisdiction
 Subject-matter jurisdiction
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Courts of general jurisdiction
Courts of limited jurisdiction
Trial and Appellate Courts
Trial Courts:
 Have original jurisdiction
 Are concerned with questions of fact
Appellate Courts:
 Courts of review
 Concerned with questions of law
The Dual Court System
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The dual court system is comprised of both federal
and state courts.
Both federal and state courts have limited
jurisdiction.
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Federal courts enforce federal statutes.
State courts enforce state statutes.
The distinction between the courts is not always clear. In
some cases, both courts have jurisdiction over the same
criminal behavior
State Court Systems
The state court system includes:
 Trial courts of general jurisdiction
 Appellate courts
 The state’s highest courts
The Federal Court System
Three-tiered model:
 U.S. District Court
 U.S. Court of Appeals
 United States Supreme Court
The Federal Court System
The United States Supreme Court:
 Highest court in the United States
 Nine justices, led by the Chief Justice
 Reviews fewer than 0.5 cases
 Cases selected through writ of certiorari, issued by
the rule of four.
 Makes policy in two ways:
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Judicial review
Interpretation of the law
The Federal Court System
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The United States Supreme Court normally does not
hear any evidence.
The court’s decision is based on the written records,
written arguments, and occasionally oral arguments.
Justices decide each case in conference, and then the
senior justice on the majority side writes the opinion.
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Concurring opinions
Dissenting opinions
Judges in the Court System
The duties of judges before trial include
determining:
 Whether there is sufficient probable cause to issue an
arrest or search warrant, or to authorize electronic
surveillance
 Whether the defendant should be release on bail and
the amount of that bail
 Whether to accept pretrial motions
 Whether to accept a plea bargaining
Judges in the Court System
During the trial judges are:
 Referees
 Teachers
 Administrators
Judges in the Court System
Selection of Judges:
 Federal court judges
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Appointed by the President and confirmed by the
senate.
Life-time appointment.
Judges in the Court System
Selection of Judges
 State court judges
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Appointment
Election
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Partisan elections
Nonpartisan elections
Merit selection (The Missouri Plan)
Judges in the Court System
Judicial Ethics:
 The American Bar Association created the first code
 The Model Code of Judicial Conduct is the basis for
conduct codes in 47 states and the District of
Columbia.
 Many address not only illegal and corrupt conduct,
but the personal conduct of judges
Judges in the Court System
The Recusal Requirement:
 The judge has a personal bias against one of the
parties
 Prior to entering the judiciary, the judge worked on
the case in question
 The judge or his/her family have a financial or other
interest in the case
 The judge or his/her family may be called as
witnesses in the case
The Courtroom Work Group
Members of the courtroom work group:
 Judges
 Prosecutors
 Defense attorneys
 Bailiffs
 Clerks of the court
 Court reporters
The Courtroom Work Group
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Each member of the court room carries out
specialized tasks.
The judge is the leader of the work group.
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Laissez-faire judges.
“Tough-on-crime” judges.
The Courtroom Work Group
The Prosecution
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Criminal cases are tried by public prosecutors, who
are employed by the government.
The attorney general is the chief law enforcement
officer in any state.
Each jurisdiction has a chief prosecutor who is
appointed, or more often, elected.
Chief prosecutors often have numerous assistant
prosecutors.
The Courtroom Work Group
The Prosecution
Prosecutors act as officers of the law during
criminal trials.
 During the pretrial period, they have the
discretion to determine:
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Whether a suspect will be charged with a crime
The level of charges to be brought against the
suspect
If and when to stop the prosecution
The Courtroom Work Group
The Courtroom Work Group
The Defense Attorney:
 Provides legal representation to criminal defendants during
the court process.
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Investigating the incident for which the defendant has been charged.
Communicating with the prosecutor, which includes negotiating plea
bargains
Preparing the case for trial.
Submitting defense motions, including motions to suppress evidence.
Representing the defendant at trial.
Negotiating a sentence, if the client has been convicted.
Determining whether to appeal a guilty verdict
The Courtroom Work Group
There are two types of defense attorneys:
 Private attorneys
 Public defenders / court appointed.
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Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
In re Gault (1967)
Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972)
The Courtroom Work Group
Attorney-Client Privilege:
 Communication between defense attorneys
and their clients must be kept confidential
unless the client consents to disclosure.
 This privilege extends to criminal
confessions.
 Exceptions to attorney-client privilege