Institutional Corrections

Chapter 9: The Criminal Trial and Sentencing

The Criminal Trial • Criminal trials: Ascertain

guilt in those charged with crimes. • Legal guilt: Prosecutor

persuades judge or jury defendant is guilty. • Burden of proof:

beyond a reasonable doubt

• Factual guilt: Whether the defendant actually committed a crime.

How many go to criminal trial? • 2-3% criminal cases

2

3 • https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/06/11/only-2-of-federal-

criminal-defendants-go-to-trial-and-most-who-do-are-found-guilty/

Most defendants who did go to trial were found guilty, either by a jury or judge.

Plea Bargains • Plea bargain: Prosecutor offers lesser charge

or fewer charges in exchange for guilty plea.

• Judge must determine that the plea was entered voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. • Judge accepts the plea à the sentence

may be imposed immediately. • If sentencing was not agreed upon, a

sentencing hearing will be scheduled.

4

The Criminal Trial

• Not to confuse with civil trials • Civil trials: Settling disputes between two noncriminal

parties.

Criminal trials • Traffic hearings: Used to deal with traffic offenses. • Adjudicate: Rendering formal judgment on dispute. • Bench trial: Judge is fact finder instead of jury. • Jury trial: Jury is the fact finder and renders verdict.

5

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Opening Statements

6

I. Presentation of Opening Statements • Purpose: to offer a picture of what

actually transpired. • Not evidence but predictions of

what will be presented. • Perjury: Swearing of a false oath. • Prosecutor presents first. Then,

defense.

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Opening Statements

7

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Hc9KMn6u5W4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCPDNc1g xJo

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Evidence

8

II. Presentation of Evidence • Federal Rules of Evidence: Guide what

constitutes evidence and what can be introduced at trial.

• Evidence must be: 1. Relevant: must have ability to prove

or disprove a fact 2. Material: must be offered to prove

a fact in dispute 3. Competent: must be reliable

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Evidence

9

II. Presentation of Evidence • Evidence can take on many forms:

• Examples: Witness testimony, written documents, DNA, ballistic reports, photographs

The Criminal Trial: Types of Evidence

Types of Evidence

1. Direct evidence: Doesn’t require fact-finder to draw an inference

• Example: Video of defendant committing crime

2. Circumstantial evidence: Requires interpretation of evidence.

• Example: Forensic evidence by expert witness

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XmheZj5n-c

10

The Criminal Trial: Types of Evidence, Hearsay

Hearsay

• Hearsay: Out-of-court statement

offered in court to prove truth.

• Problematic

• Why??

• Memory problems

• He said, she said

• Hearsay rule: Hearsay is

inadmissible.

11

The Criminal Trial: Types of Evidence, Hearsay Exceptions to hearsay (~30 exceptions)

• Dying declaration: Final words of a crime witness.

• Excited utterance: Words blurted out under stress/excitement.

• Reputation concerning character: May testify about social reputation. • Example: coach, community leader

12

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Closing Arguments

III. Presentation of Closing Arguments • Before, prosecutor presents case, then defense. • At the end, closing arguments presented.

• Summarize evidence and arguments for the jury. • No new evidence

13

The Criminal Trial: Presentation of Closing Arguments

III. Presentation of Closing Arguments • Before, prosecutor presents case, then defense. • At the end, closing arguments presented.

• Summarize evidence and arguments for the jury.

• Rebuttal: Prosecutors may receive the last opportunity to speak.

14

Reaching a Verdict: Judge’s Charge

IV. Judge’s Charge to the Jury • Judge instructs jury on the legal aspects of reaching a verdict. • Pattern jury instructions: Language template used in

charging jury. • Charging instructions generally note:

üInnocent until proven guilty. üBeyond a reasonable doubt üRequired objectivity.

16

Reaching a Verdict: Jury Deliberation

V. Jury Deliberation

• Deliberation: Jury process of determining guilt. • Sequestered: Jury may be isolated to prevent outside influences from

affecting verdict. • Why sequester a jury? REMEMBER: The courts want an unbiased jury.

Sequestering a jury can prevent rumors, outside media, any outside influence from swaying a juror’s decision.

17

Reaching a Verdict: Reading of the Verdict

VI. Reading of the Verdict

Guilty verdict. The jury can find the defendant as guilty as charged on any, some or all charges.

Guilty • Most criminal trials end with a guilty verdict.

• State criminal court: Needs 9 out of 12 members to secure conviction

• Federal criminal court: Needs 12 out of 12 members to secure conviction

18

Reaching a Verdict: Reading of the Verdict

VI. Reading of the Verdict

What happens when a jury cannot get a unanimous vote? The jury is seen as a “hung jury”.

“Hung Jury” • Hung jury (deadlocked): Unable to agree on guilt or innocence of

defendant.

• Mistrial: Trial ending prior to normal conclusion. Some examples includes an incorrect jury selection, improperly admitted evidence, death or illness of a juror or attorney.

• Allen charge: Additional jury instructions to reduce chances of a mistrial. **allowed in federal cases, but not in all states (varies by state). 19

Reaching a Verdict: Reading of the Verdict

VI. Acquittal What happens when the prosecutor doesn’t show evidence of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt? The jury may acquit the defendant.

Acquittal • Acquittal: To free someone from criminal charge following a not-guilty verdict. • Jury nullification: Ability of jury to ignore the law and acquit a guilty defendant.

When would this happen? Consider severely harsh punishment for a minor offense. There are some other key cases when juries engaged in jury nullification. • Can’t be retried by same sovereign. • Exceptions to double jeopardy: same facts but different elements of each crime, different

jurisdictions, trial in civil and criminal court.

20

Reaching a Verdict: Reading of the Verdict

VII. Reading of the Verdict • Reading of the verdict: A formal courtroom event in

which jury offers their verdict on charge(s).

21

Sentencing: What happens next?

• Principles of punishment:

• Proportionality: Severity of sentence matches crime.

• Remember, it wouldn’t make sense to give a death penalty for minor drug possession.

• Equity: Similar crimes should be punished similarly. • This is to keep things fair for everyone.

• Social debt: Accounts for criminal past in sentencing.

• ”Criminal career” should receive a harsher penalty due to the debt to society.

• Five primary goals of sentencing:

• Retribution: sentence is deserved and justified.

• Incapacitation: removing the offender from society.

• Deterrence: dissuading offenders and others from crime.

• Rehabilitation: treating the offender to lower recidivism rates.

• Restoration: addressing harm to victims and community.

• Presentence investigation (PSI): background info (history and extenuating circumstances) to consider in sentencing.

• https://www.flmp.uscourts.gov/presentence- investigation

• Information collected varies per jurisdiction.

• Probation officer collects this information. A lot of researchers and scholars also use these PSI reports in studies.

22

Sentencing: Indeterminate

Indeterminate Sentencing

• Indeterminate sentencing: Allowed greater judicial

discretion to craft an individualized sentence with

emphasis on rehabilitation.

• Sentenced to a range of years with a stated

minimum and maximum.

• Example range: 5 to 15 years…as you can

see, it is a wide range.

• Parole boards make the actual determination as

to when the prisoner is released.

• Parole board: A board that reviews prior acts

and behavior to determine when a prisoner

is ready for release.

23

Sentencing: Indeterminate

Indeterminate Sentencing

Positives? • It allows for individualize sentences

Negatives? • Unintended consequence: sentencing inequity. Some people were

receiving more lenient sentences than others, even for the same crime.

• Characteristics of the criminals became important: • Examples? Young vs. old, male vs. female, White vs. Black,

Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic, employed vs. unemployed • Seen as “coddling” criminals incapable of reform or being too soft. • Uncertain nature amounted to cruel and unusual punishment for

prisoner…some people received indeterminate sentences with no end date.

à All this led to a call for greater equity and proportionality in sentencing.

24

Sentencing: Structured Structured Sentencing

• Sentences are generally given in the form of

fixed terms with an anticipated date of

release.

• Far more impersonal, removes or

greatly curtails judicial discretion and

reflects a shift away from

rehabilitation towards greater

retribution.

• Removes an offender’s motivation to

participate in programs as a means to

shorten the sentence.

• Seen in a positive and humane

light because now offenders

have a goal end date to work

towards.

• Some elements of indeterminate sentencing

remain, such as limited parole and good

time served. 25

Sentencing: Structured Structured Sentencing

• Determinate sentencing: Established by legislative statute and rules out prison alternatives.

• Increases the likelihood that offenders are imprisoned and increases the length of their sentence.

• Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994: Requires prisoners to serve at least 85% of their sentence in order for states to qualify for federal financial aid. • Reduced the amount of “good time”

an inmate could earn. • As offending decreases, prison

population is increasing. 26

Sentencing: Structured • Mandatory minimum: Applies minimum sanctions to particular types of crime.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDPU6j5dYi8 Doesn’t allow for discretion or alternative sanctions.

• Example? • Drunk driving • Firearm present in the commission of a crime • Drug related crimes

• Goal: prevents judges from imposing alternative sanctions where reasonable • But is this a good thing?? Can you see any issues or hurdles mandatory minimums may

present?

27

Sentencing Guidelines

• Sentencing Guidelines: Presented in a form of a grid which identifies the appropriate sentence for the offender based upon the severity of the crime and the offender’s criminal history. • Generally followed, but technically considered to be

advisory.

28

Sentencing Guidelines • Here are some examples from Florida’s Sentencing Guidelines

29

Sentencing Guidelines Here are some examples from Florida’s Sentencing Guidelines

30

Sentencing: Structured • Federal Sentencing Guidelines Act

of 1984: Eliminated federal parole release for prisoners and abolished almost all good time earned.

• Allowed release supervised by U.S. Probation Office.

• Three-Strikes Laws: An example of mandatory minimum mandating long sentences without parole for those convicted of a third felony offense.

• Pros: removed violent repeat offenders

• Cons: incarcerated nonviolent offenders for a LONG time

• https://www.npr.org/templa tes/story/story.php?storyId= 114301025 s

31

Diversity in Sentencing

• Most felony defendants sentenced in the United States are poorly educated, minority males with a mean age of 35.3 years.

• In 2010:

• 86.8% sentenced were male.

• 48.1% Hispanic.

• 20.7% non-Hispanic Black.

• 51.4% less than a high school education.

• 28.7% high school education.

• In 2020:

• https://www.sentencingproj ect.org/research/detailed- state-data-tool/

32

https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/research-and- publications/backgrounders/rg_differences-series.pdf

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case • Federal government and

several states try capital cases for: • Premeditated or first

degree murder, treason, murder of federal agents and politicians, and some crimes against children.

• Defendant may face execution if convicted.

33

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case • Important differences:

• Prosecutors are required to file a notice of their intent to seek the death penalty in a case

• During voir dire, attorneys ascertain if prospective jurors are death qualified. • Death qualified:

Suitable to serve on a case in which the punishment might be execution.

34

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case • Important differences: • Juries are more likely to be sequestered.

• Can you think of reasons why this may be deemed necessary? • Bifurcated trials: first trial determines guilt and second

establishes the sentence. • 1st trial: determine guilt • 2nd trial: establish the sentence.

• Requires unanimous verdict from the jury. • Mandatory appeals process almost always characterizes

capital cases.

35

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case: Demographics Gender, Race, and Hispanic Origin on Death Row

• By the end of 2015, 2,881 persons were on death row in 33 states and 28 were executed.

• 49 on death row in Federal Bureau of Prison.

• 98% are male; women are less likely to receive the death penalty even when their crimes are similar to men on death row. • 56% Non-Hispanic Whites: underrepresented of the

general population.

• 14% Hispanic: representative of the general population.

• 42% Black: overrepresented of the general population.

36

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case: Public Opinion

Public Opinion and the Death Penalty • 55% in favor of death penalty

for someone convicted of murder (2017), a historic low.

• Does favor depend on

generational attitudes?

• Lee et al. (2022) study:

• YouGov survey with

1,000 participants

• 4 generations

37

Lee et al. 2022: Public Opinion

38

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case: Public Opinion • Arguments for capital punishment: • Cannot reoffend. • General deterrence. • Just and moral response to actions of an individual

convicted of murder or other brutal crimes. • Retribution goal, an eye for an eye concept.

39

Special Criminal Trial: Capital Case: Public Opinion

• Arguments against the death penalty:

• Contradictory and morally inconsistent. • Most research fails to support a general

deterrent effect from capital punishment. • Innocent persons could be executed. • Sentences of death are unfairly

administered. • Inequities of geographical location, race of

defendant or victim, socioeconomic status. • High cost of capital punishment.

40

Victims of Crime and the Criminal Trial • In order to maximize the success of convicting an

offender, the initial actions of the victim are critical. • Play a key role during the investigation/gathering

evidence • In some cases, the victim will need to testify. • Many find this to aid the healing process.

41

Victims of Crime and the Criminal Trial Integration of the Victim into the Process • In the past, victims were not informed about the

status of the case and not alerted as to the whereabouts of the defendant. • In 1988, the federal government established the

Officer for Victims of Crime: • Goal: assist crime victims through funding, leadership,

policies, and practices.

42

Victims of Crime and the Criminal Trial Integration of the Victim into the Process • In 2004, Crime Victims’ Rights Act: • Established victim rights in federal criminal cases.

• Victim bill of rights: Offers similar rights to crime victims on a state level. • Victim impact statements: Allows the victim to tell

the judge how the crime affected the victim. It also ensures the victim’s right to be heard.

43