· Assess the past, present, and future impact that victim rights laws have on court proceedings.…
First I will start off with the one who has all the authority, the judge. The judge is the one who makes all the rules. Next is the prosecuting attorney. The prosecuting attorney may also be known as the district attorney, state’s attorney, county attorney, commonwealth attorney or solicitor. The prosecuting attorneys duty is to conduct criminal proceedings on the behalf of the state or the people against those accused. The three main roles of the prosecutor are investigating crimes, to decide whether or not to instigate legal proceedings and to appear in court. All of the duties of a prosecutor may become too much for one person to handle so they supervise a staff of assistant district attorneys who do most of the work in the courtroom. The prosecuting attorney determines which cases to pursue by the amount of evidence that they gather. If the attorney cannot find enough evidence to get a conviction then they may make the decision to drop the case. Next is the defense attorney. The defense attorney is the one who represents the one being accused of a crime. Public defenders also represents those accused of crimes, however they are state employed lawyers.…
One of the important roles a judge, a criminal prosecutor, and a criminal defense attorney will carry out is called, a “courtroom work group”. The courtroom work group interact on a daily basis by these three entities joining together to converse over matters such as if the case has probable cause to convict the offender or whether or not if there is enough evidence to go forward with a criminal trial. Normally, the prosecutor will try to persuade the defense that they do not have a case or try to talk the defense into a guilty plea or possible bail. In other words, anything they can do to speed up the process with various types of negotiations. The judge has to remain ethical and fair to see both sides of the prosecution and defense to determine if the negotiations are valid enough to go through with. Even though the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney are the main officials of the courtroom work group, we cannot forget about other members that play a part as well. The minor (respectfully) members or other members that make up a courtroom work group are the court clerk, the bailiff, and the court reporter. The court clerk upholds all the records while the court reporter makes sure he/she transcribes the official proceedings. The bailiff helps to keep court order throughout a trial. Although I can understand how the main officers discuss the case and try to solve it without a trial, I feel that every case should be heard. The major problem with this though is time and money. In order for every offender to have a case without the prosecutor trying to convince the defense into something else, there would have to be a lot more courthouses with a lot more main officers. The only way this would ever happen is to hike up the taxes and no one wants their taxes to increase.…
This process is where witnesses are called to give their statements. They are questioned and cross examined by all lawyers/attorneys. Cross examination is being questioned by each lawyer/attorney they may ask the same questions but in different words. The prosecutor is there to make the jury believe the criminal is guilty whereas the defense attorney is there to make the jury question if the criminal is really guilty. There are also three types of witnesses which are; ordinary witnesses, expert witnesses, and character witnesses. “Ordinary witnesses can testify only as to their personal observations. Expert witnesses, on the other hand, are allowed to offer their opinions in their area of expertise. Chartacter witnesses may testify only to the general good reputation of the defendant” (Zalman,…
A. Lawyers who work within the parameters of the courtroom work group receive benefits for their clients, including more case information from prosecutors and perhaps better plea bargains. Lawyers who are less cooperative find that they do not get favorable case-scheduling considerations and get less favorable plea bargains.…
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.…
Xander Barden and Katelyn Lippa are the defendant’s (O’Malley’s Tavern and Patrick Gibbs) representatives they are recommending the Court present an outline verdict to the bartender, John Daniels and O’Malley’s Tavern. There is definite understanding and helpful information defined in the Indiana Dream Shop Act which contains useful knowledge. Mr. Edward Hard did not participate or take on any behavior or actions that provided proof of intoxication. Debora White, the Plaintiff is in search of compensation from the defendants, O’Malley’s Tavern and Patrick Gibbs with the theory that Mr. Patrick Gibbs had concrete awareness of Mr. Edward Hard’s consumption of alcohol. (I.C. 7.1-5-10-15.5, 1996) cites that Mr. Gibbs the defendant have actual knowledge of the person being intoxicated before damages are allowed to be awarded. Practical awareness does not persuade the hindrance nor does individual awareness. Indirect evidence doesn’t support practical awareness only actual knowledge. Individual awareness can sustain the intrusion whereas actual knowledge has to carry through and support the intrusion. Observable dealings with the recognizable events of intoxication are prejudiced according to the 7th Indiana State Circuit Court. In the Supreme Court statue stated prior to the year 1988 common law tolerated practical awareness for intrusions and caused a change in the law for this not to be supported.…
What is a courtroom work group? “The professional courtroom actors, including judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and others who earn a living serving the court.” (Pg. 312) By Frank Schmalleger 2011. From my understanding a courtroom work group is anyone who works as an employee of the court systems. This includes the bailiff, courtroom recorders, courtroom clerks and translators. During a daily basis the courtroom work group is expected to maintain interaction that serves the court and its many members. The courtroom work group is focused on bringing the case to a fair ending by communicating with each other even though there are different parties hoping for different outcomes. The reason they are able to communicate so well is because even though they support different sides of the case, they are all focused on closing the case quickly. If I was able to make changes to the courtroom work group I would like to change the allotted time each judge spends on a single case. I feel it is important that citizens understand what the judge is telling them and they feel like they are being treated with care not just being rushed through the system.…
A courtroom workgroup in the U.S criminal justice system is an informal arrangement between a criminal prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and the judicial officer. The courtroom working group seeks to bring justice to all. It ensures that all parties are accorded due fairness and equal opportunity regardless of gender, race, age, religious affiliation nor any other factor. They also see to it that trials are completed successfully. These individuals are grouped into two categories. These are the professionals and the outsiders. Professionals are the court officers such as the judges, attorneys, public defenders, defense attorneys and court reporters. I believe that the criminal prosecutor, defense attorney, and a judicial officer make up the most common courtroom work group. The daily interaction of this group is to make sure that rules are being followed in each group. Also making sure it is given in a timely fashion. The courtroom work group needs to work in order to offer plea bargains and select jurors.…
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 judge will then hear the charges that the suspect has, then will sentence the suspect according to the charges. The names of the two judges at the Town Hall are Tom Crowley and Ron Reinstein. Their Clerks are Judy Oaks and Sue Gorman. The clerks are in charge of getting the right files out, prepare the judge, administers oaths to witnesses and interpreters, taking care of records and exhibits, keeping minutes of proceedings, preparing criminal judgments and verdict forms, and generally helping the judge keep the trial running smoothly. Without the clerk, the trial may result in the wrong verdict because with no one to help organize the papers and everything else that needs to be used during the trial, there may be some miscommunication and it could turn into a big mix up. So having a clerk and many other people involved in a trial can be very helpful.…
The responsibilities of a judge in the criminal justice process consist of a variety of duties; no court judge have just one duty or job to complete on a daily bases. Some of these duties include determining probable cause, signing warrants, informing suspects of their rights, setting and revoking bail, arraigning defendants, and accepting guilty pleas. When a judge is not in court, most of the time, they are negotiating dispositions with prosecutors and defense attorneys. The most important responsibility is to ensure suspects and defendants are treated fairly in compliance with Due Process of Law. In a jury trial the judge is responsible for allowing the jury a fair chance to reach a verdict. Before releasing them to deliberate or discuss…
There are many roles in the courtroom that each person plays and each role has its benefit for the criminal justice system as a whole. It is understandable that each role plays a part in the sentencing with the hope that justice is being served but with much intentions and seen all too well that everyone is not satisfied with the sentencing phase and may feel that justice has not been served and some may feel that it has. In the courtroom the roles of each person happens to be a part of case and the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and victim all play a role. There are others that are a part of the role…
There are many parts of the courtroom work group professionals who successfully pursuit justice and the process of convicting a criminal. The courtroom work group has a major role in convicting and finalizing a case. In the courtroom work group, there are three groups of people that hold the entire courtroom together. Without the work group, the courtroom would not flow, and coming to a conclusion to the case would not be as easy. The work group is made up of the Judge, the Defense Attorney, Public Defender, Court Recorders, and the Prosecutor Attorney. Which all are part of the courtroom work group which they work together to reach a decision, in the case by interacting among themselves and who’s involved an implicit recognition and rule of civility, cooperation, and sharing their goals. There are many roles in the work group, and if they are not all followed through with then the results could be different than what they should be. In this paper, we will look at the roles of the prosecutor, how the criminal justice funnel effects the courtroom work group and what will help eliminate the funnel and reduce the backlog of cases.…
One of the issues facing the court system today is judges are not able to see many cases because of their administrative role. Judges spend the majority of their time “papering budgets, scheduling cases, supervising employees, and maintaining court records” (Robinson, 2009, pg. 208, para 5). The courthouse employee’s work together getting cases dispensed as quickly as possible. Some of these cases are dismissed before even being seen because of how many cases there are. Many of the minor cases are plea bargained so that the…