LS308 Unit 9

Unit 9 Assignment
LS 308 Law & Society
July 15, 2014

There are many functions of any court system. The primary function of the criminal courts in society is to help keep domestic peace. Criminal court is one of the major components of the criminal justice system. When an arrest is made it is the judge and prosecutor who are in charge of deciding what punishment will be sufficient as well as if it is necessary to take the case to trial (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). If everything works as it is intended to work, those who are guilty will be found guilty, those who are innocent will be found innocent, and it will not be determined by the defendant’s social class, race/ethnicity, or gender (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). Unfortunately, just like most things, the criminal court system is not void of flaws. There are still innocent people that are found guilty and guilty people who are found innocent. There have even been innocent people who have been executed in states the practice the death penalty. There are different models of criminal courts that help society understand how they should work. These models consist of the adversarial and consensual models. The most familiar model is the adversarial model. This is also called the combat model. “In this model, the prosecutor and defense attorney ‘fight it out’ by vigorously contesting the evidence before a judge acting as a neutral referee over the proceedings” (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). In most cases, a consensual model is used. This can be done by a good deal of cooperation with the prosecution and the defense. “Fighting it out” is a way to slow down processing of a case, especially when the main goal is to get through most cases as quickly as possible. According to Law and Society, “the adversarial model largely operates for only two types of criminal cases: (1) celebrated cases, in which the crime is particularly grisly and/or the defendant is well-known (for example, O.J. Simpson) or unusual in some other respect and (2) serious felonies, that is, many homicides, robberies, and rapes committed by strangers. Two more models that compete in the criminal court system are the crime control model and the due process model. The primary goal of the crime control model is to ensure public safety. This model assumes that most criminal suspects are guilty and thus emphasizes the need to expedite their cases through the courts and other branches of the criminal justice system (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). On the other side of things, the main goal of the due process model is to protect individuals from abuse of power from the government. This model makes the assumption that some suspects and defendants may be innocent even though they are accused of the crimes. In any event, both the innocent and the guilty deserve to have their rights (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). Herbert Packer wrote that, “the legal process under this model is similar to an obstacle course, as the Constitution and Bill of Rights make it relatively difficult (at least compared to the situation of dictatorships) for the government to arrest, convict, and incarcerate someone accused of a crime” (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). There are many different reasons why a criminal may consider a plea bargain in a criminal case. Many have an opportunity to negotiate a plea bargain, which means prosecutors and judges feel increased pressure to move cases quickly through the system (www.nolo.com). This has to do with the overcrowding in jails and prisons across the country. Many times when a defendant takes a plea bargain, he/she receives a lesser sentence for a less-severe charge than might result from sitting through a trail with a jury. This saves the courts and defendants quite a bit of money and effort as well as taking care of the matter quickly. Even the people who never get rearrested, getting a charge reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor can help them in the long run for reasons including: some professional licenses must be forfeited upon conviction of a felony, future employers may not want to hire someone previously convicted of a felony, felony convictions may be used in certain court proceedings (even civil cases) to discredit people who testify as witnesses, felonies can’t own or possess firearms, and in many jurisdictions, felons can’t vote (www.nolo.com). This makes the impact of a plea bargain quite large. A plea bargain helps speed the process of the court system as well as helps the defendant get a lesser charge. The right to an attorney is found in the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The defense attorney’s role is very important in almost every criminal case. There are many duties that can vary depending on the severity of the charges in a case. The general responsibilities of the defense attorney are: (1) advising the defendant of their rights and explaining to them what to expect during different stages of the criminal process, (2) ensuring that the defendant’s constitutional rights are not violated through law enforcement actions, or in court proceedings, (3) negotiating a plea bargain, on the defendant’s behalf, and (4) from arraignment to sentencing: investigating, cross-examining government witnesses, objecting to improper questions and evidence, and presenting any legal defenses(Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). Defense attorneys represent their defendants to the best of their abilities. If things were the way we had planned on them the innocent would never be charge of a crime they didn’t do and a defendant’s social class, race/ethnicity, or gender would not be taken into consideration while in court (Steven Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009). However, the court systems do not always work the way we planned for them too, but it is the job of the defense attorney to make sure that everything that can be done is done to protect the defendant.
The role of the prosecutor has several different jobs in criminal court. A prosecutor is one that much decides if charges and what charges should be pressed against the defendant. They take the evidence and build their side of the case in attempts to prove the guilt of the defendant. Many times the prosecutor will create a plea agreement in which attorneys will have their clients plead guilty and take the plea agreement to get them a lesser crime, especially when the defendant has little to no chance of surviving a trial. When this happens, the prosecutor is responsible for creating a fair and reasonable plea bargain. The role of the prosecuting attorney is very important to help lessen the crowding in jails and prisons as well as giving a proper punishment to those who have broken a law.
The jury has a very important function when a case goes to trial. The jury is composed of a group of peers agreed upon by the defense and the prosecution. It is the jurors’ job to listen to the evidence provided and decide if they believe the defendant is guilty or not guilty. Many times there are multiple charges being brought against the defendant in which the jury can decide if the defendant is guilty of all charges are just certain ones. There are many reasons that juries are important. Some cases can be very complex and take a lot of time. The jury is a group of people that are chosen to decide the outcome of the case. Being called to jury duty also gives citizens the opportunity to be a responsible citizen. As much as we all dreading jury duty, after it is all said and done, we will feel like we have done our civil duty. Juries also help citizens learn about the legal system. It opens society’s eyes to see that the court room is actually quite different from those seen on the television. During jury duty you see the inside working of the courtroom when you may never put yourself in a situation to see a courtroom.
A jury has a very important role in society. They must sit and listen to a lot of evidence from both the prosecution and the defense. Both the prosecution and the defense are trying to prove that each of them is right with their theories. It is the jury’s job to evaluate the evidence given and decide if the defendant is innocent or guilty. This can get very difficult. There is so much information the jurors must take in and decipher. Once their opinions have been made they must all agree with each other on the outcome. There are times when a jury can be stuck because one person may believe the opposite of the rest of the jurors. It many times give society a sense of great pride when they feel like they have done the right thing and have helped in the punishment of a criminal.
The role of the judge and the jury are similar yet very different throughout a case. The judge plays several different roles. Their main roles are interpreting the law, assessing evidence presented, and control how hearings and trials unfold in their courtrooms (http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/role_of_judge-en.asp?l=5). While the judge is in charge of the trial, the jury does not control any of the court room. The jury and the judge are both impartial decision makers. The jury has a slightly smaller job because they just decide the outcome for the defendant, while the judge must pass the sentencing and impose a penalty which can be anything from a fine to jail time depending on the severity of the crime.

Works Cited
"Defendants ' Incentives for Accepting Plea Bargains." Nolo.com. .
Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009
"The Role of the Judge." The Role of the Judge. .

Cited: "Defendants ' Incentives for Accepting Plea Bargains." Nolo.com. . Barkan, Law and Society: An Introduction, 279-280. Pearson Education, Inc. 2009 "The Role of the Judge." The Role of the Judge. .