Overview of due process in Criminal Cases

1. Criminal Law
For use with section 16.2

2. I. CRIMES
A. Penal Codes (GR#1: What is the Penal Code?)
 each state’s written criminal law code
 establishes classifications (degrees of seriousness) for certain
crimes
 sets penalties for types of crimes

3. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
2) Felonies

4. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
 convicted persons may be fined or sentenced to one year
or less
 repetition of certain misdemeanors (such as DUI) will
become felonies

5. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
1) Misdemeanors
a) Victimless crimes
 crimes against morality
 difficult to enforce since the victim is the perpetrator
 examples: unauthorized gambling, use of illegal drugs

6. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
 “more serious” crimes

7. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
a) Crimes against people
 violent or potentially violent crimes
i. Examples
 murder
 manslaughter
 assault
 rape
 kidnapping

8. I. CRIMES
B. Types of Crimes
2) Felonies
b) Crimes against property
 most common type of crime
i. Examples
 larceny – taking of property unlawfully
 vandalism – deliberate destruction of property
 fraud – taking property by dishonest means or
misrepresentation

9. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties (GR#2: What are the four functions of criminal
penalties?)
1) Functions of Penalties
a) Justice
 Criminal to pay for an offense against a victim or
society

10. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
b) Safety to society
 Keep dangerous criminals off the street

11. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
c) Deterrent to others
 by seeing the severity of punishments it will keep
people from engaging in criminal acts

12. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
1) Functions of Penalties
d) Correction
 many states call their prison system “Department of
Corrections”
 states seeks to rehabilitate criminals while in prison so
they will not commit a crime when they return to
society

13. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
 because every case has different circumstances,
sentences may be very different

14. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
a) Indeterminate sentencing
 judge gives a minimum and a maximum length for
the sentence

15. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
b) Parole
 offers a lighter sentence to those criminals in prison
who show that they have been rehabilitated
i. Opponents’ Arguments
 parole offers criminals a shorter sentence than the law
states
 some believe that a criminal has not had the chance to
fully pay their debt to society

16. I. CRIMES
C. Penalties
2) Sentencing
c) Mandatory Sentencing (GR#3: For what reason do some
people criticize mandatory sentencing?)
 judges must impose whatever sentence is required
i. Opponents’ Arguments
 Some argue that in some cases a judge must impose
more severe penalties than the circumstances of the
case justifies

17. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
B. Hearing
C. Indictment*
D. Arraignment
Note: This is the order IF the person is
E. Trial arrested at the scene of the crime. If
F. Verdict there is first an investigation before
an arrest warrant is issued then the
G. Sentencing indictment happens before the
arrest.
H. Appeal

18. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
1) Reading of Rights
 this is the result of the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona
 a defendant must know his legal protections before he is
taken to the precinct and asked any questions
 the right to remain silent
 the right to have an attorney present during
questioning
 right to a court-appointed attorney if the defendant
can not afford one
 the right to stop answering questions at any time

19. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
A. Arrest
2) Booking (GR#4: What happens when a person is booked?)
 when the defendant is brought to the police station and
their information is processed
 A lawyer is not required at this time because it is not
specifically a criminal procedure, only an administrative
procedure
 includes fingerprinting, photographing, “pat down”, and
even strip search in some places
 defendant may call his lawyer at this time

20. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
B. Hearing
 defendant appears in court a few hours after being booked
 the prosecution must show the judge that there is probable
cause for believing the defendant committed the crime
(protect of habeas corpus)

21. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
C. Indictment
 formal accusation of a suspect
 If there is an investigation leading to an arrest, many states
use a grand jury to determine if there is enough evidence to
warrant an arrest
 If the person is arrested at the scene of the crime the
preliminary hearings will serve as the indictment

22. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
 the defendant is presented with the charges and is asked to
make a plea

23. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options (GR#5: What are three pleas a defendant can
make at an arraignment?)
a) Not Guilty
 defendant states that he is not the perpetrator of the
crime
 bail is set and is based on the seriousness of the crime
and what risk there is of the defendant returning to
court at his trial date
 the case continues

24. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
b) Guilty
 defendant admits to the crime
 the judge must next determine a punishment

25. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
c) No Contest
 the defendant does not admit guilt but does not want
to fight the prosecution
 this has much the same effect as a guilty plea

26. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
D. Arraignment
1) Plea Options
d) Plea Bargain
 this occurs when the prosecution offers the defendant
the opportunity to agree to plea guilty a lesser charge
 this option, when available, reduces the seriousness of
the crime and eliminates a long drawn-out trial
 this ensures the defendant will be punished for the
crime

27. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
1) Lots of work for the lawyers
 lawyers interview witnesses, studies laws affecting the
case, gathers as much information as possible

28. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
2) Jury selection
 a large pool of potential jurors is selected at random
 lawyers from both sides will select jurors based on how
biased they believe the jurors will be

29. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
3) Opening Statements
 lawyers for both sides will set an outline for their case

30. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
4) Presentation of Cases (GR#6: What process do lawyers use
to make a witness’ testimony seem unreliable or untrue?)
 each side will present evidence, call and question
witnesses, hear testimony, cross-examine opposing
witnesses

31. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
E. Trial
5) Closing statements
 each lawyer will highlight the case they presented in
order to sway the jury

32. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
1) To find the defendant guilty
 the jury must believe that there be enough evidence to
prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the defendant
is guilty
 most states require an unanimous decision

33. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
2) Acquittal
 is a “not guilty” vote
 the defendant is immediately released

34. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
F. Verdict
3) Hung Jury (GR#7: What happens when a jury cannot decide
on a verdict?)
 occurs when after several days, the jury can not reach a
unanimous decision
 this does not provide a guilt or not guilty
 the case may be retried until a verdict is reached

35. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
G. Sentencing
 when the defendant is found guilty
 in some states, the jury decides the penalty
 this is when the defendant decides how long they must
spend in prison

36. II. WHAT HAPPENS IN A CRIMINAL
CASE?
H. Appeal
 a guilty defendant may appeal to a higher court if they
believe that the judge had made errors during the trial