Discovery process can be described as, a process where both parties of the case learn the evidence that the opposition will present. There are three types of discovery those are, discovery by the defense, discovery by the prosecution, and the nonreciprocal discovery. When it comes to discovery by the defense, the defense should benefit more than the prosecution. Prosecution always seem to have more information, due to the point that they need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant did in fact commit the crime. An example is how the Supreme Court has held that prosecution must provide a list to the defense of particularly witnesses. Next, is discovery by the prosecution, this type of discovery is limited due to the constitutional
Because the defense has no burden of proof, they have the easier side of the case. The prosecution has to prove the defendant guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The jury can have no thoughts that the defendant could be innocent in any way. On the other hand, the defense side is supposed to find pieces of evidence that could show that the defendant wasn't doing anything illegal. The defense tries to point out
The influx of huge amounts of information, evolving technology had challenged criminal investigation systems and for that matter, the investigators. Any violations in Law lead to involvement of criminal investigation. The court bears all the expenses of the procedures in investigating the case, except the defence lawyer hired by the accused. In situations where the accused cannot afford, the state is liable to pay for his lawyer. It is a must that all the witnesses of the prosecution and the defence appear to the trial.
During a trial the plaintiff will attempt to prove their case by the presentation of evidence to the trier of fact. The evidence usually includes testimony of persons involved; witnesses as well as physical things such as pictures, documentation/records, recordings etc…
Even after a defendant has been convicted, prosecutors have an ethical, sometimes legal, duty to preserve a copy of discovery material as well as physical evidence. The prosecutor has an ethical duty to make reasonable efforts to assure that the accused has been advised of their right to have an attorney present in court. They also have an ethical, legal and constitutional duty to disclose most of the evidence they possess to the defendant once the defendant has been charged with a crime. However, the individual rights of the defendant must be upheld, even if this means that the prosecutor does not obtain a conviction.
I think the most interesting part of the stages of a criminal trial is going to Trail. It is when things actually begin to take place in count and that is when the real judgment takes place. Nothing really matters until it is proven in court. By going to trail, it is basically the conclusion to the case, once it is over. Being found guilty or not guilty by the jury and/or the judge is where this happens.
When evidence is found that can secure the suspect that committed the crime, the evidence must go to court to share the information. In addition, if and when the evidence connected to the crime is found, it is then decided by the judge whether or not the suspect is innocent or guilty. On the other hand,
The criminal trial process aims to provide justice for all those involved, while it succeeds in the majority of cases, it effectiveness is influenced and reduced by certain factors. These include the legal representation involved in a case and the availability of legal aid, the capacity of the jury assessing the trial, the credibility of scientific evidence and the impact of social media on the trial process. Due to such flaws the criminal trial process is not always an effective means of achieving justice.
Hey, Larry, did you know a defendant who elects to proceed pro se embarks on the investigation of both the facts and law pertinent to the prosecution's case against him or her; therefore, the pro se defendant's work, such as legal and research documents, protected by the work product privilege from the prosecutors will attempt to obtain disclosure. (Aprile, 2016) A work product doctrine rules safeguard materials prepared in anticipation of litigation from discovery by opposing counsel. (Reuters, 2017) In a criminal case, a defendant who files an appeal for a new trial after being convicted and sentence proceeds to pro se; the prosecutors can secure a search warrant to seize the papers and computer files of from the defendant albeit in an apparently
In explaining what is means to require the prosecution to disclose exculpatory evidence. Do to the due process the prosecution has a constitutional duty to reveal exculpatory evidence to the defense. According to Worrall If the prosecution obtain evidence suggesting that the defense is not guilty, it needs to inform the defense of the facts. The requirement is an ongoing duty both during and before trial. If evidence is clearly established factual innocence it should be disclosed before the trial. The prosecutions is also constitutionally bound to preserve evidence. The prosecution cannot destroy exculpatory evidence to gain conviction on a defendant. If it is done it would violate the due process. If the prosecution fail to disclose exculpatory
There are several cases that have gone through the United States Supreme Court where prosecutors have not disclosed evidence to the defense, that could in turn help the defense’s case such as in the case of
Secondly, Inevitable Discovery Doctrine. With this exception, two modes of seizing evidence are considered but only one is physical. Illegal means are used in the securing of the evidence physically. The other seizure of evidence is hypothetical and is seized illegally.
to its discovery by Europeans. As legal justification for the removing of Indian Tribes from their ancestral lands, Pope Francis V’s Doctrine of Discovery was applied. There are many elements to this doctrine and as time wore on, more and more of them were used by the government of the United States as legal justification for what at its base can be seen as both theft and ethnic cleansing. Each of the ten elements plays an important role in what transpired on this continent and shall be discussed to further clarify the actions taken by the U.S. government.
The Criminal Justice process involves the gathering of evidence by the proper authorities, witness testimonies, expert testimonies, psychological examinations, forensics reports,
The pretrial process is a multi-step process that begins when the suspect is arrested and ends when the criminal trial begins. “At many of these points in the process, the defendant has the opportunity to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence against him or her, but the prosecution is not required to demonstrate proof of the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—that standard applies only at trial” (Hemmens, Brody, & Spohn, 2013, p. 282). Therefore, in order to continue in the pretrial and trial process, there must be sufficient evidence to create a “probable cause” that the defendant committed the said crime. Another highlight of the pretrial process is that the prosecution’s burden is not as heavy as it is in the trial portion. Also, discovery, or the manner in which the defendant is
It is no secret that technology has changed the way that many things are done in our culture today. The legal world is no exception. When lawyers work on cases, there is usually a lot of reading involved. This takes a lot of time and a team of lawyers that is expensive to employ. Electronic Discovery (e-discovery) is technology that has cut down on this time and cost, and has significantly changed the legal world. It is software that can analyze documents and extract key words or phrases. In a case concerning CBS, lawyers and paralegals examined 6 million documents at a cost of $2.2 million. With the use of e-discovery, one company was able to examine 1.5 million documents for $100,000. E-discovery can help lawyers pick out words, phrases and it can even detect patterns in behaviors. This software is essential for the legal world because it could prove guiltiness through uncovering hidden activity of criminals who may otherwise not have been caught.