criminal court week 2

Assignment 1: Judge vs. Jury

The Centervale Police Department (CPD) decided to assign Anne Doil and Justin to work together as partners because Anne has worked well as a mentor to Justin. Justin continues to learn from Anne's experience and expertise in the field and at the office.

This week, Anne and Justin are attending the court proceedings of a case in which they arrested the defendant. The case is currently set for a jury trial. The prosecutor has substantial evidence against the defendant because Justin and Anne did a great job documenting the case. The prosecutor would like Justin to testify regarding the evidence he collected and the statements the defendant made during the arrest. It is Justin's first court appearance and he is nervous. Justin confides in Anne that he remembers the theory behind what he has learned and the roles of the players, but is unable to decide whether the judge or the jury is more important in a trial.

Use the Argosy University online library resources to research the role of the judge and jury in a trial process.

Submission Details:

By Saturday, March 22, 2014, in a minimum of 250 words, post your response to the following in the Discussion Area:

· What are the roles of the judge and the jury? How are the two roles similar and how are they different?

· Who among the two is more important in a trial process? Why?

· Explain the education, training, and selection processes for a judge. Do these processes alone make the judges the most important figures in the courtroom?

· Considering that some judges are elected, others are appointed, and some are chosen on the basis of merit, is justice inside the courtroom affected by the type of judicial selection?

· Support your positions on the above with references from your library research.

Assignment 2: Weekly Assignment—Criminal Justice Arguments

Several players interact with each other in the courtroom. Of those players, we see two profiles often in popular media: criminal defense lawyers and the prosecution. Both are responsible for taking a case from its preliminary phases to trial and beyond. Both gather evidence, interview witnesses, and develop possible arguments for their cases. Both are responsible for presenting the best outcome, whether they believe in the reasoning or not. In this assignment, you will have the experience of developing an argument for a criminal case.

Activity Details

Step 1: Identify a criminal case that you feel passionately about. Find an article related to a criminal case in the Argosy University online library to use in the summary.

Complete the following tasks.

Write a one-page summary of the case. The summary should include:

· The alleged crime that occurred

· The elements of the crime

· The evidence presented in the case

· The possible defenses

Step 2: Write a one-page argument for the defendant as if you were the defense attorney on the case. In your argument:

· Address the jury by introducing yourself and the client named in the case.

· Highlight the strengths of the case by telling the jury your client’s side.

· Personalize the case by telling the jury about your client.

· Acknowledge the weaknesses that the other side will point out.

· Discuss any defenses you may use during the case.

· Request an outcome from the jury, which is normally a not-guilty verdict for the defendant.

Step 3: Write a one-page argument as if you were the prosecutor on the case. In your argument:

· Address the jury by introducing yourself and the state you represent.

· Highlight the strengths of the case by telling the jury why the defendant is guilty.

· Personalize the case by describing the aftermath of the crime, the victims, and the harm caused to society because of the crime.

· Acknowledge the weaknesses that the other side will point out.

· Request an outcome from the jury, which is normally a guilty verdict for the defendant.