TRIALINTRODUCTION

PARTICIPANTS

Judges are in charge of trials and make sure that they are fair. They resolve differences between lawyers. They read the law to decide what lawyers can and can't do.

http://www.bls.gov/k12/law04.htm

In May 2009, judges had average yearly wages of $100,450.The Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court earned $217,400 in January 2009.

JudgeA judge is a person who presides over a court of law, either

alone or as part of a bunch of judges

There were 26,900 judges in 2008. Most worked in State and local governments.

Get Paid!!!

Bailiff

A court attendant whose duties vary according to jurisdiction and judge, but often include maintaining order and peace in the courtroom.

A type of law enforcement officer, such as a sheriff, marshal or constable

Bailiff errant or itinerant

Bound bailiffs. Bailiffs of court baron Bailiffs of husbandry Water bailiffs

http://www.lectlaw.com/def/b079.htm

TypesDuties

COURT REPORTER

A prosecuting attorney is responsible for developing and prosecuting cases against individuals that have committed crimes.

Duties:

• Present district attorney or state attorney according to the seniority level• Attend assigned hearings and take care of administrative actions of the court• Take indictment from jury for reducing the charges of criminal and for dropping a particular case• They have to prepare the case file, submit file charges and take the trial on behalf of the people• They collect all the important evidences and write notes about it to present in the court at the time of hearing• A prosecuting attorney has to appear in court to present and argue the case.

Prosecuting Attorney

DEFENSE ATTORNEY

Definition: -A defense attorney is a lawyer representing the defendant in a lawsuit.

-Public defenders are defense attorneys.

texcrime.com/images/fort_worth_court_room5.jpg

Example Case:

OJ Simpson was accused of murdering two people. He hired a high-profile team of several defense attorneys. After a long, drawn out trial, Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges.

floridacriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/oj.jpg

PlaintiffLegal Definition: The person who initiates a lawsuit. The person who initiates a lawsuit by filing a complaint is called the plaintiff. When the document that initiates a lawsuit is called a petition rather than a complaint, the initiating

person is usually referred to as the petitioner rather than the plaintiff. http://www.lectlaw.com/def2/p052.htm

•Dispositions•Tells the truth, whole truth , and nothing but the truth•Appeal court decisions•Burden of proof sets on this person•Brings evidence

Defendant•In criminal cases, it is the person accused of a crime. •They are required to answer a complaint from either the plaintiff or the pursuer in a court of law.•The Defendant can either be given a fine or receive capital punishment or even be found innocent. •James O'Carroll is scheduled to plead guilty April 4 in U.S. District Court to charges he smuggled nearly 4,500 pounds of Jamaican $8 million worth of marijuana into Mississippi waters from Jamaica.

EXPERT WITNESS

• A witness is a person who has eyewitness information about, or was a victim of a criminal act. • A witness may be subpoenaed, which is a court order to show up to court as a witness, or testify by choice. •A witness will take an oath to be completely truthful during the questioning. •You may only tell the court what YOU know, and not testify any information received by an outside source. •You must listen carefully and address your answers to the court.

Witness

The JuryJury Selection• Selected from a jury pool generated by random selection of combined lists of voters and people with drivers licenses, in the judicial district.• Complete questionnaires to help determine whether they are qualified to serve on a jury.• Court randomly selects individuals to be summoned to appear for jury duty• Jurors represent a cross section of the community, without regard to race, gender, national origin, age or political affiliation.

http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/JuryService.aspx

Definition• Law A body of persons sworn to judge and give a

verdict on a given matter, especially a body of persons summoned by law and sworn to hear and hand down a

verdict upon a case presented in

court.http://www.thefreedictionary.com/jury

Responsibilities of a Juror• A Juror must be prompt• A Juror must give his/her undivided attention to the trial.• A Juror must not research the case through broadcast and newspaper accounts.• A juror must not discuss the case with anyone, including relatives, friends, or trail participants/• A Juror must not conduct independent investigations or experiments to varify testimony given in the case.• A Juror must be impartial until she/he hears all evidence and law applicable to the case.

http://www.ogeecheecircuit.org/forms/juryduty_responsibilities.pdf

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://students.ou.edu

PROCEDURES

Direct e

xamination

• Direct Examination is when, in a trial, a witness or suspect is asked questions pertaining to the case in order to elicit further evidence.

• It’s generally not allowed to have leading questions.

• A leading question is a question that suggests the answer or contains the information the examiner is looking for. Such as:• Leading question: You were at the park on June 7th, weren’t you?•Non-Leading: Where were you the night of June 7th?

Opinion TestimonyBy: Brody Borgerson

• Legal Definition- Testimony relaying opinion as opposed to direct knowledge of the facts at issue.

•Opinion testimony may be allowed in evidence when it helps the factfinder understand or determine the facts at issue.

•Such testimony by a lay witness must be rationally based on his or her perception.

• A qualified expert witness may also give opinion testimony. The expert's opinion may be based on facts or data that he

or she perceives directly or of which he or she is made aware other than by direct perception at or before trial.

An opinion testimony is a witnesses’ testimony based on opinion of the case and defendant instead of direct knowledge. It’s

accepted in some cases but it’s generally objected because opinion rarely has

anything to do with a case unless it helps the purpose of understanding or determining

the facts of a case.

Objection to Opinion Testimony

Introduction of Physical Evidence

Examples include: fingerprints, footprints, handprints, cut marks, tool marks, etc.

Examinations include: impressions, taking images, removing fingerprints from evidence.

Value of Evidence: Connecting suspect with a

weapon, connecting crime scene areas, etc.

-May be objects found at the scene of crime or evidence in a case

http://www.science.marshall.edu/murraye/2008%20Forensics%20Lectures/Introduction%20to%20Forensic%20Science%20Lecture%204%20Physical%20Evidence%20BW.pdf

Relevance of Evidence

Relevant Evidence - evidence that makes a fact more or less likely to be true than it would be without the evidence. There are two types of evidence:1) Direct- evidence relating to the question of fact.2) Circumstantial-

LEADING QUESTIONS

Objection based on no personal knowledgeObjection based on no personal knowledge

Definition:

-This objection is made when witnesses are asked a question for which they have no way of knowing the answer or have no knowledge of the matter at hand.

-The witness must have directly observed the event to testify about it.

-The witness cannot make inferences or assume something from what he or she saw.

-To make the objection, you would say: “Objection, your honor. Witness has no personal knowledge to answer that question.”

Example Scenario: There was a fight in a restaurant, and someone was badly injured. During the court hearing for this case, a witness was asked what time the people involved entered the restaurant. An objection based on no personal knowledge was made.

Law evidence based on what has been reported to a witness by others rather than what he has

himself observed or experienced

Hearsay Evidence

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://thepqnation.com/livingwicked/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/whisper.jpg&imgrefurl=http://thepqnation.com/livingwicked/category/this-thing-called-marriage/&usg=__JFOxhm28uW8GS3ARaAgC0UL5LDo=&h=345&w=440&sz=16&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=1UBm8GVETuGZFM:&tbnh=177&tbnw=211&ei=5beQTaDQI-i20QGWj9nDCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwhisper%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dstrict%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1259%26bih%3D848%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=289&vpy=291&dur=2055&hovh=199&hovw=254&tx=159&ty=98&oei=5beQTaDQI-i20QGWj9nDCw&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hearsay+evidence

John in a murder trial claimed on the stand: “Clyde told me that the defendant killed the

victim.”

Example

•Hearsay evidence is also referred to as second-hand evidence or as rumor or even gossip. http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/H/Hearsay.aspx

Definition

http://criminal.findlaw.com/crimes/more-criminal-topics/evidence-witnesses/hearsay-evidence.html

Objection Based on HearsayDefinition- Unverified, unofficial

information gained or acquired from another and not part of one's direct knowledge. An item of idle or unverified information or gossip.Generally in common law courts the "hearsay rule" applies, which says that a trier of fact (judge or jury) cannot be informed of a hearsay statement unless it meets certain strict requirements. However, the rules are more relaxed in court systems based on the civil law system. In the civil law system, the courts, their very lenient to appreciate the evidence brought before them.

Objection To Improper Character Testimony

The objection is based on a lawyer trying to discredit a witness based on

his/her character.

“Objection Your Honor: Character is not an issue in this case.”

Objection based on Beyond the Scope

Used during cross-examination – witness can only be cross examined on what they testified to during direct

examination, and issues relating to their credibility.*Questions going to the credibility of the witness is

not beyond the scope.

EXAMPLE: If a witness has only been asked about his interaction with the defendant on the night of the alleged crime, after that, the attorneys cannot suddenly start asking the witness about his interaction with the defendant in the period after the crime

OBJECTION BASED ON LEADING

Definition: An objection based on leading applies to an attorney asking questions of witnesses which suggest the answer within the question, leading the witness to the answer the attorney wants to hear. Generally leading questions are presented in the form of yes or no questions.

Example: The prosecution attorney is questioning a witness and presents the question, “You were at [this particular location] on [this particular night], is that correct?”

trial.laws.com/objection/leading-questions

Tori Liston

OBJECTION BASED ON RELEVANCE

Definition: An objection based on relevance concerns the inadmissibility of evidence not relevant to the case. Evidence that adds nothing to the case of the defense or the prosecution and has nothing to do with the case is inadmissible.

http://www.abc.net.au/mocktrial/resources/grounds.htm

Example: The prosecution attorney is questioning a witness in a case concerning an automobile accident. What speed the two cars were traveling at or the blood alcohol level of each driver is admissible evidence, while the opinion that driver 1 has always been a really nice guy or that driver 2 had a hearty breakfast that morning would not be admissible.

Tori Liston

PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE

Reasonable Doubt• It is the standard proof required in most criminal cases within an

adversarial system. (adversarial system is a legal system where two advocates represent their party's positions before an impartial person or group of people usually a jury or judge, who attempts to determine the truth of the case.)

• It is the highest standard of proof in the court.

• Not used in every stage of a criminal prosecution.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://rlv.zcache.com/lawyer_reasonable_doubt_for_areasonable_tshirt-d235811684302291874trdy_210.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bigicetees.com/search.php%3Fkeywords%3Dreasonable&usg=__crPRGUWw4pJ0J78IP13mlU5512s=&h=210&w=210&sz=10&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=q9Py4AaReHwm3M:&tbnh=159&tbnw=168&ei=tbeQTenbKYq_0QGyhdW3Cw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DReasonable%2Bdoubt%2Blaw%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dstrict%26biw%3D1276%26bih%3D848%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=172&oei=tbeQTenbKYq_0QGyhdW3Cw&page=1&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0&tx=96&ty=114

BURDEN OF PROOF