Chapter 8 Trial Courts: Preliminary Stages of Criminal Cases

1. Chapter 8 Trial Courts: Preliminary Stages of Criminal Cases Focus: early stages of a criminal case (arrestsinitial appearancesetting of bailprosecutorial screeningpreliminary hearinggrand jury reviewexclusionary rule. Half of defendants have charges dismissed here. • Crime • On the rise from 60searly 90s; then declined (Fig 8-1) • Two general categories: • Type I: Major (Index) crime (homicide, auto theft, rape, arson, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary, larceny over $50) • Type II: Minor crime (simple assault, public drunkenness, disorderly conduct, drug offenses). C. American overall crime rate, is highest among Western dems.

2. Police • Decentralized, spread over 18,000 agencies (800k officers) housed at the federal, state, county, local, and special agencies (Table 8-2). • Why is law enforcement work political? • Historically, because of patronage and corruption (people getting and losing jobs based on loyalty to local political party bosses). Civil service reform reduced this. • Modern era, because of race relations (police brutality directed at racial minorities). Also, policing has become proactive as well as reactive. • Arrest Success: A. #of Arrests: Success has always been measured by #arrests made as % of crimes committed. 1. 20% result in arrests; 45% of violent crime and 18% of property crime. 2. Of 14m arrests, 2.2m are for Type I; 1.6m are for drug offenses; 1.8 property, and .7 for violent crime. • Quality of Arrests (i.e., record of achieving conviction). *In LA, prosecutors accept 86% of felony arrests from

3. Sheriff and 60% for police arrests. • Defendant (the accused) • Profile: significantly younger, male, disproportionately racial minorities, more likely to be from broken homes, less educated, unemployed, and single. Among those convicted, even more stark disparities (Table 8-3). • Defendants often unable to understand the simplest of legal terms or processes. • Initial Appearance • Police must present defendant to judge soon (typically 48hrs). • Hears basic rights (remain silent, counsel, bail, preliminary hearing) • For minor crimes, initial appearance usually the only courtroom encounter (pay fine). • For major crimes, it’s a formality (set bail and schedule next appearance, appoint counsel)

4. Bail: a guarantee that someone released from jail will return to court as needed (not available for capital offense; why?). Get it back upon appearance. A. 3 Methods: 1. Post Full amount 2. Post property bond (collateral) 3. Bail Bondsman – posts bond and charges nonrefundable fee (e.g., 10% of bond). Richer defendants better able to post, so less likely to await trial in jail. • 2 Factors determining bail amount: • Seriousness of crime (positive relationship) • Prior criminal record • Prosecution • National level – U.S. Dept of Justice (primarily conducted by U.S. district attorneys appointed by Pres and confirmed by Senate). • State level – state attys. general, although they usually play larger role in consumer rights.

5. County level – Prosecutor is the chief law enforcement officer of the community (DAs). Typically elected, prosecuting cases in trial courts of general jurisdiction. • Local/City – prosecutes minor criminal offenses in minor trial courts. • Filing Charges, 3 kinds: • Complaints: charge signed by either victim or arresting officer • Information: charge signed by prosecutor (serves as indictment in non-grand jury states) • Indictment: sent to grand jury for approval Whole process greatly influenced by prosecutor (if and what to charge) • Preliminary Hearing • In grand jury states, this hearing determines whether to send to grand jury; in non-grand jury states, sole procedure for determining trial. • Advantage=state; state does not have to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; hearsay admissible;

6. Prosecutor must show only probable cause that defendant committed crime. Largely formality, takes 5 minutes, almost no cases dismissed here. • Grand Juries – determine probable cause and indictment (sufficient evidence to go to trial). A. 5th amendment says that defendants accused of federal offenses are entitled to grand jury (optional for states: Hurtado v. CA, 1884). • Size of grand juries ranges from 6-23; randomly selected like other juries. • Works in secret, unlike trial juries, so that investigation material concerning the accused is not made public. • Dominated by Prosecutor (e.g., grand jurors hear only witnesses called by P) • Exclusionary Rules: A. Definition and Justification: Prohibits the admission of evidence gathered illegally. 1960s: rise of scrutiny over the process by which evidence is gathered. Justified 3 ways:

7. Normative argument (court should not condone illegal conduct) • Assessment that excluding the evidence will enhance propriety among police. • View that alternative remedies (civil suits against officers) are ineffective. • Identification of Suspects: during police lineups, one has right to an atty. • Confessions 1. 1930s, SC dismissed confessions via physical/psychological coercion. Adopted specific guidelines for genuine confessions in Miranda Warnings • Right to silence • Anything you say may be used against you • You have the right to have a lawyer present • You have the right to court-appointed counsel if you are indigent. • Also, SC shifted burden of proof from defense to prosecution that the confession is genuine.

8. With Nixon appointees to SC, Miranda requirements relaxed and provided exceptions (e.g., public safety). This legal attitude has grown ever since. • Searches: 4th amendment protects against “unreasonable searches and seizures”. Historically, this did not prevent admission of relevant evidence (gathering procedure considered separate issue). 20th century, adopted exclusionary rule and applied to states. • Costs of Exclusionary Rule: not much. Rarely are arrests/convictions dismissed/reversed due to inadmissible evidence. • Case Attrition (Figure 8-4). High attrition early in process, small during trial phase. Anomaly: As the case moves along, the certainty of conviction increases. • Why Attrition occurs • Legal Judgments (evidence problems: 1. insufficient 2. uncooperative witnesses/victims) • Policy Priorities: Prosecutors/police tend to stress those offenders posing greatest societal threat (e.g., tiny marijuana possession)

9. Substantive Assessments: defendants with clean record or determined not to be a real threat (e.g., old drunken man, stumbles into liquor store waving toy gun demanding whiskey: technically armed robbery).