1) Realistically, a physical impression of a person most likely predisposes a negative or positive outcome from a jury because what they see in front of them marks the initial idea of who the defendants are. The Press had already misrepresented, in a negative light, to the world the Pachucos and Zoot Suit people. Henry’s statement, “They’re trying to make us look bad,” confirms the fact that the judge and prosecutors, for their benefit, desire that the boys reflect the negative image that correlates with the Pachucos. (54)…
The American Criminal Justice System is a well orchestrated and cooperative performance with the professional courtroom actors and others all playing their parts in the administration of justice. This paper will look at a very important group of individuals the courtroom work group. Each person acts as one of the cogs in the machine, all cooperating to reach a common goal. This paper will describe what a courtroom work group is, who is in a courtroom work group and what they each do. The role of the prosecutor will also be described and how they determine which cases to pursue, and what would happen if the criteria for the prosecution of cases were more lenient or stringent. Lastly, this paper will describe the effects of the criminal justice funnel and the backlog of cases on the American court systems and the courtroom work group. Are there any solutions to help eliminate the funnel and help reduce the backlog of cases? To get an answer to that question, a review of the how this important group works will have to be understood.…
Urbszat, D. (2005). The challenge for cause: Does it reduce bias in the jury system?.…
As we walked into the jury room, after hearing the case of Commonwealth v. Miller, I had already decided how I would vote and, honestly, I determined I was not going to be swayed. We swiftly chose a foreman by appointing the one, who had been given the jury instructions, to that position. Next, we read the jury instructions out loud, in order to remember and understand the definition of each charge. Debate over the meaning of the instructions ensued for a short amount of time before we dove into determining guilt or innocence. Everyone was given a chance to discuss the case and, personally, I felt comfortable entering the discussion and debating the case. After discussion, we voted and were evenly split among guilty or not guilty. Next, we…
Courtroom trials are very interesting to me and I really enjoyed clerking for judges and being able to watch everything from beginning to end. The case I have chosen is a jury trial and that jury ends up being seven women and five men. The criminal laws that were violated were many starting with Child Neglect, making false official statements and obstructing an investigation. Forging checks, fraudulent use of identification and petty theft, first degree murder, aggravated child abuse aggravated manslaughter and four counts of lying to law enforcement. Heading the prosecution was the District Attorney of Orange County Florida with several of the Assistant District Attorney’s. The defense has Jose Baez and what they were calling a ‘team’ of defense counsel, which actually ended up only being 3. Judge Belvin Perry was on the bench and all of the witnesses that were on both the states list of witnesses to call but the defense as well. The outcome of this trial rocked the nation as the verdict was read live which were Not Guilty of Aggravated Murder, Aggravated Child Abuse and Aggravated Manslaughter. The defendant was found guilty on 4 counts of the forgery of checks and was credited for time served, then released from jail.…
This paper contains an observation from a competition that was held by Liberty University. In the courtroom Observation four law students argue the case of White vs. O’Malley’s Tavern. The original case (case number 82A04-8876-CB285) has gone before the United States District Court in Northern Indiana. In the case Mrs. White is asking that O’Malley’s Tavern be held liable for her husband’s death, while O’Malley’s Tavern is stating that they should not be held liable for the incident. This paper will discuss the argument for both sides, if summary judgment should be allowed, and how courts are viewed in the Christian Worldview.…
The United State’s Criminal Justice system allows people to be put to a fair trial within a court of law. This means that everyone has the right to be tried for the crimes that he or she is being charged with and has the right to an unbiased trial. Though everyone has this right, many people do not know how the trial process works, or do not know what the courtroom personnel do. The purpose of this paper is to explain how the major personnel of the courtroom work and the rolls and responsibilities of each person.…
The adversarial nature of formal conflict resolution upon which our common law system is based often neglects to provide American citizens with justice. Clearly justice can be defined in a list of different ways, and justice cannot be regarded as one definite, worldwide accepted ideal. For the purposes of this discussion, however, the function of criminal trials in the U.S. will be defined in the most simple of terms: the discovery of the truth in a given situation through due process of law, such that those who are guilty of crimes portrayed by arranged laws are punished through fines, imprisonment, and other established reprimands. This truth, however, is sometimes not reached in trials, and the adversarial system is often to blame for this failure. More specifically, it is the roll that attorneys play within this system in which it is the responsibility of these officials only to win cases with any means legally possible, not to aid the discovery of true facts that prevent the system’s ability to uncover the truth in matters. Thus, the adversarial roll of lawyers within the legal system hinders the pursuit of discovering who, in fact, is innocent, and who is guilty in legal disputes and trials, effectively impeding the system’s ability to achieve its purpose in the aforesaid…
For three years in a row the Saint Peter Mock Trial team has made it to state. They would never have been able to accomplish this without the help of the amazing coaches and the dedication of the students. The members of that team graduated last year and the younger kids have to step up and take their place. The team only has three coaches and around thirty members this year, three times more members than the team had three years ago. Only seven of these members have been in mock trial in previous years. Every year the Minnesota State Bar Association comes up with a case for the mock trial competitions. Every year the teams have to learn a completely new case, with different arguments. Every year the coaches have to teach students what took them two to four years to learn in law school. With only three coaches, how are they ever going to be able to teach thirty students the concepts of mock trial? The team needs two separate teams, one high school and one middle school team and more coaches.…
Resurrection in Christian belief is the rising of the dead at the Last Judgment. Resurrection is most notably associated biblically with Jesus Christ. Christ’s rising from the dead three days after having been crucified on the cross is a story well known among most. It is the first ever and authentic report of a resurrection in our history. “Never before had anyone been raised from the grave in such a way as to be completely transformed and thus beyond the icy fingers of death.” (Deffinbaugh) Resurrection is a common biblical theme noted several time in the scriptures within the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible connecting the two.…
During the mock trial, both sides introduced their claims. The prosecuting side argued that Bigger should be sentenced to death and the defense side argued that Bigger acted upon insanity and should be put in rehabilitation. Each side brought up a witness and each witness got questioned from both parties. Prosecution went up first, then defense. After all the questioning of the witnesses, both sides got to close with their conclusions. The overall case went very well. Each side did a great job, this including my opponents. Obviously I didn’t want my opponents to do well, but they did a very great job. Each witness had played their roles very well and looked prepared when coming up to the stand. The prosecuting team’s lawyers, were as well, great at their roles. They asked questions that provoked my defense side’s witnesses, but we did well in answering them. Coming to this point, was easy and fun to do.…
The significance of observing this courtroom trial was to see the way our federal courts systems work. In this case I saw a criminal law trial, which chapter 15 explains as the branch of the law that deals with disputes or an action involving criminal penalties that regulates the conduct of individuals, defines crimes, and provides punishment for criminal acts. Chapter 15 gave me a better understanding of how…
I spoke with authority as I reviewed the evidence. As I handed out the voting ballots, I realized that I had transformed from a nervous observer into a poised and confident leader. One last obstacle presented itself when one of the members got cold feet. “I can’t do it!” she said. “I can’t look him in the eye and find him guilty.” Eleven sets of anxious eyes glared at me as I put my hands on her slouching shoulders. The situation needed a remedy, and it was clear that I was in charge of providing it. I reminded her of the victims and of the trauma they had suffered. I recited the words of the judge’s instructions regarding our duty to justice and the law. None of us wanted to deliver this life-altering news. However, as her leader, I assured her that together we could find the strength to do…
It isn’t arduous to see why some may question the efficiency of trial by jury and whether it should, and is able to, continue to discover innocence or guilt. Regarding the trial of Vicky Pryce, the failure of the jury within the hearing conjured ridicule and disdain from the judge and the media. The case deeply unsettled the trust of many in the system. The eight women and four men were dismissed after illustrating “fundamental deficits of understanding” (Jacobson, Hunter & Kirby, 2015, p. 55). Their profuse questions for the judge were deemed as unintelligent and unnecessary and so a costly re-trial was required. Consequently, this ordeal provoked a stronger desire for the abolition of trial by jury, to be replaced by a single judge as a more…
In the play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose, juries with very different opinions about life, society and people try to reach a verdict in a murder trial were the defendant, a sixteen year old boy from a bad neighborhood, is sentenced to the death penalty for charges of first degree murder. In the surprisingly entertaining yet inaccurate portrayal of what happens in the jury room, the juries do everything from recreating a witness’s testimony to looking over, and even touching, evidence from the case. As the play progresses, it is mostly clear that the rights of society are put first then the rights of the individual. In conclusion the rights of society and the individual are not very well balanced. Most of the jurors were already set on declaring the boy guilty at the beginning of their discussion because they believed it was the right thing to do for the good of the majority before analyzing all the facts and the testimonies and evidence of the trial.…