Introduction to Criminal Courts

Running Head: CRIMINAL CASE

CRIMINAL CASE

Part 1

Troy Anthony Davis was a black American who was found guilty and later executed for the murder of a police officer MacPhail MacPhail. On August 19, 1989, MacPhail was serving as a security guard at a restaurant in Savannah, Georgia as an off-duty officer. Davis and Young went to an argument, and David assaulted Young at midnight near the restaurant. MacPhail being the responsible officer intervened to defend the man and reach in response to disturbance in the parking area. The police officer tried to stop the men but they ran. From five to six feet apart, Davis shot the police officer. MacPhail was shot again by David with a devil. The police officer died of pain before any medical help would be given—there very eyewitnesses to the situation. Seven eyewitnesses confirmed that they had seen David shooting.

Investigation on David and the night at which the incident happened suggested that David had attended a party that night near Savannah, ignored by some girls, David's aggression aggravated and his urge to do "something". Meanwhile, a person named Michael Cooper was leaving the party in his car, David out of an urge to do something, shot at the car but from a long distance. Cooper was injured in the incident and treated at a hospital exactly one hour before the shooting incident of the police officer. Forensic investigation and ballistic experts later confirmed that the bullet found in MacPhail's body and the one used to shoot Cooper was possibly shot from the same gun.

The crime for which the defendant was charged in the murder of a police officer and the case is a criminal murder case. In the first place, the case was conducted before eleven jury members. Among which seven were black, and five were white. The trial was transparent as there was no physical evidence of David not being guilty and enough eyewitnesses. The case is not simple, but it is very controversial (Mather, 1979). Although at first, seven eye witnesses testified shooting of David's shooting, many of them recanted against him. Many also claimed that they had been threatened by the police as well. It is a matter of the fact that there was no murder weapon found and no other physical evidence found. Along with this, no DNA testing was done. All of these can give a brief benefit of the doubt to the court, but David was suggested guilty otherwise.

Ewart was the lead defense attorney for Troy David, and he states that there was not sufficient evidence to execute someone based on eyewitnesses and the situation studied was disturbing. Although seven to nine people at first identified Davis as the criminal, careful investigation and examination suggested that the circumstances were not too favorable to be considered a witness. Some witnesses were too far to identify a person in the night, and some may have changed their statement under police pressure (Wilkes, 2010). On the other hand, an issue faced by the state was that there was no physical evidence and DNA to prove a guilty plea. Many eyewitnesses changed their stories. The defendants tried their best to resolve the problem and went to the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court rejected it by saying the time to object is over.

Part 2

The pretrial stage of criminal cases starts with arrest to a selection of a jury to initiate a trial. In between arrest to trial, many things happen; it is a bulk of cases. Most of the work and decisions are made at this stage. At the pretrial stage, first appearance, pretrial conferences and plea negotiations, and trial preparation happen. The defendant goes through arrest, booking, bailing, plea bargain, and identifying the cause and preliminary hearing as well. David was prosecuted for murder and illegal use of the gun in November 1989. The booking stage includes legal concerns like fingerprints etc. Arraignment is a stage where the suspect's first appearance in court happens. Judges read and understand the case and study the changes implemented and the defendant's opinion as well. Jury selection is another major part of a pretrial case. Many jurors were considered biased related to the case and were rejected. Ninety percent of juries were a concern and confused about the case and said that they have heard about the "murder "from other people (McPhail, 2012). Due to their biased nature, many of the juries were rejected. In November of 1990, an adjudicator rejected criminological proof from shorts eliminated from his home. David's attorney tried to grant clemency stating the point that many of the witnesses have changed their statement at trial, which is giving the benefit of the doubt to David's case. But the offer was rejected by the court. In May 1991, the jury maintained their avoidance of the argument that the case was of mistaken identity. Consequently, the case went into the sentencing phase.

The sentencing trial involves hearing when a sentence occurs. It is the last opportunity for defendants and prosecutors to present their evidence in front of judges. The capital trial includes 12 juries who decide capital punishment. Prosecution and defenders are allowed to question and reject the jurors during jury selection giving reason or without any reason. Pretrial motion is very important before a trial, Pretrial motions are provided by both sides. In a pretrial motion, one can limit the evidence or request the prosecutor through formal means to lessen a few pieces of evidence. It can also be a way to ask the prosecutor to not question certain matters. It is a way to resolve an issue and prepare evidence to be presented at trial. The motion for change of venue was presented by an attorney of David, but it was rejected by the trial court. It is possible that changing the venue would have positively affected the case. In my opinion, the motion to suppress should have been passed in the case of David because many of the eyewitnesses changed their statements (Marlowe, 2013). If the statement that has been locked at the start would not be used as evidence, then there are fair chances that David would have won the case.

In short, it can be said that criminal cases are handled through a process. It is starting from pretrial, trial and sentencing. Pretrial includes arrest, booking, billing, arrangement, plea bargain, and hearing-trail. It is considered a conference among judges, prosecutors, and defenders before the actual trial starts. In this phase, documents and pieces of evidence can be presented, negotiated with the judges, and motions can be discussed with the prosecutor. It can be termed as the discovery stage because it is the defender's first appearance in court with the charges. The case is opened in front of judges. The trial stage is the actual trial stage among the prosecutors and defenders in which arguments and shreds of evidence are presented in front of juries. Finally, the sentencing stage is the final stage in a criminal case. In which appropriate punishment is decided by judges. In the case of David, the sentence was capital punishment. It has remained a controversial case for a long time, and many people supported David's case. Troy David Anthony was executed on September 21, 2011, after more than fifteen years on death row.

References

Marlowe, J., Davis-Correia, M., & Davis, T. (2013). I Am Troy Davis. HayMacPhailet Books.

McPhail, M. L., Lyon, R., & Harris, D. (2012). Digital divisions: Racial (in) justice and the limits of social informatics in the State of Georgia vs. Troy Anthony Davis. N. Ky. L. Rev., 39, 137.

Wilkes Jr, D. E. (2010). The Final Chapter of the Troy Davis case.

Mather, L. M. (1979). Plea bargaining or trial? The process of criminal-case disposition. Lexington Books.