The Trial Process In My Cousin Vinny

This movie has similarities and differences to our criminal justice system. Billy has his cousin Vinny represent them as their defense attorney. My Cousin Vinny shows the steps in pretrial, arraignment, grand jury, and the overall trial phase. Keywords: voir dire, due

In the film, A Civil Action, Trial Procedure was shown throughout the entire movie. There are many steps that need to be completed before a verdict and judgment can be reached. These steps are the pleadings, methods of discovery, pretrial hearings, jury selection, opening statements, introduction of evidence, cross examinations, closing arguments, instructions to the jury, and the verdict and judgment. The case in this movie was actually called Anderson v. Cryovac. The plaintiffs are the Anderson family, the Gamache family, the Kane family, the Robbins family, the Toomey family, and the Zona family. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are Jan Schlichtmann, Joe Mulligan, Anthony Roisman, Charlie Nesson, and Kevin Conway. The two co- defendants are

I have tapped slightly into some of the similarities and differences in the arrest, booking, bail, arraignment and preliminary trial. Now, let’s take a look at the key actors in the court process. The prosecutor, the most important person in a case. The prosecutor has so much power in a criminal trial. The movie failed to portray the many roles, importance and significance of the prosecutor. According to our text, the prosecutor essentially makes the case and sets many other things into motion. The prosecutor can decide whether to charge a person with a crime and whether to prosecute the case. (Bohm and Haley, p 267) I, honestly, never realized prior to this movie and paper how much control the prosecutor actually has. The prosecutor decides which cases to plea bargain. Prosecutors in many jurisdictions also have the authority, power, or responsibility of recommending the amount of bail. As I stated earlier the movie did not portray the amount of power or clout the prosecutor has when it comes to prosecuting a case, charging a person with a crime, which cases to plea

It was interesting to see the large differences in each juror’s lives. Every jury is eclectic because it is made up of very different people with very different family lives. For example, Juror #3 seems to be a well educated and well off man as he was wearing suspenders and a dress shirt. However, Juror #7 was a young man who seemed fairly uneducated and fairly poor because he dressed in a sweatsuit and used improper language. It was very interesting to see these different personalities clash. In the beginning when the men are all on the same page that the defendant is guilty except one, the men generally more relaxed (except for Juror #3).However, as more of the men start to explain their reasonings for seeing reasonable doubt, tension is prevalent in the room. The men who vote guilty are rallying up against the people who voted not guilty. The feeling of the room switches again as most jurors decide the defendant is guilty. That being said, Juror #3 creates a lot of tension in the room throughout the film due to the the fact that he yells at anyone who disagrees with him because he is unwilling to hear their opinions. For example, while one man is explaining why he thinks there is reasonable doubt, juror #3 decides to start a game of tic tac toe. This is very interesting because he is ready to send the defendant to his deathbed

The trial process begins with the selection of the jury. After the jury is selected the next stage is the opening statements. Since the prosecution has the burden of proof as to the defendant 's guilt, the prosecutor 's opening statement is given first. An

The criminal trial process is an interesting process that takes place in Courtrooms all across the United States and throughout the globe. This study intends to set out the various steps in the criminal trial process in the American justice system. A trial is described as a "legal forum for resolving individual disputes, and in the case of a criminal charge, it is a means for establishing whether an accused person is legally guilty of an offense. The trial process varies with respect to whether the matter at issue is civil in nature or criminal. In either case, a jury acts as a fact-finding body for the court in assessing information and evidence that is presented by the respective parties in a case. A judge presides over the court and addresses all the legal issues that arise during the trial. A judge also instructs the jury how to apply the facts to the laws that will govern in a given case." (3rd Judicial District, 2012)

For those who do make it to trial a crucial step to having a fair trial is to have an unbiased jury, before the trial begins the prosecutor, judge, and defense attorney interview members of the jury pool in a process called voir dire. During voir dire the attorneys are given an unlimited amount of challenges for cause, which helps eliminate people who show a bias for one side or the other, for example the defendant’s sibling would not be allowed to serve on the jury because they are too closely related and would have a

All the jury must agree on a verdict, if this is not possible then the

This phase is when the defendant appears before a magistrate judge and is informed of the charges against them and the constitutional rights they are afforded. Furthermore, after hearing about the grand jury the movie progresses directly to the trial. This is not an accurate portrayal because it entirely skips the arraignment phase. Arraignment is a very important step in the criminal justice process because it is at this point that the accused will enter a plea. The audience never saw this phase; therefore, we have no idea if Tom formally plead guilty or not guilty to the charge of rape. However, it can be assumed Tom’s plea would’ve been not guilty as he denies the charges during the actual trial.

The novel The Trial identifies a citizen with no constitutional rights. The government of his country was weak and oppressive. Joseph K the protagonist in the novel struggled with depression, loneliness, frustration and anxiety after his arrest and trying to deal with the coming interrogations, court sessions and a lengthy trial. Citizens in the United States of America with a democratic government, constitutional rights are guaranteed under the United States Constitution, which is the Supreme Law of The Land. “US Constitution”.

Several pairs of eyes trail the prosecutor as he puts forth his reasons as to why the defendant should be guilty. Several pairs of ears listen intently in a trance like mode, also cautious of every detail. The prosecutor presents the facts with great gusto, painting a picture of the defendant in a bad light. Once he is done, the defendant’s lawyer takes the stage and he too, with great effort, puts forth reasons as to why his client is innocent. In the end, when everything is said and done and it time for the verdict, only one voice answers to the court clerk out of the 12 men and women. These 12 people are the jurymen and they play an equally important role as the lawyers and judges of a court trial. In fact, a jury is the sole decider, based

Everyone was subjected to security including the lawyers and employees of the court house. Everyone was either in some type of uniform or dressed extremely formal, even if they were just spectators. Few people were in the court room, but not many. The judge, lawyers and people that were being represented had not still entered the building. Moments later the plaintiff, Dawn-Evans Donahue, and the defendant Joseph Donahue with their lawyers Michael Morris and John M. Makowski, entered the court room. They had taken their place on each of the court room to make their cases in front of the judge. The bailiff then told us to all rise for their entrance of Judge Polansky. We all rose and took our seats. The court had now been set in motion for deliberation. The judge was wearing the standard gown that is portrayed in films and in real life, there was no jury because this was not a trial court, this was a family matters case.

“The Jury Selection Process” is a research paper that reviews the jury selection process in detail. First we will review the stages of the criminal trail and go in depth with the jury selection process. The paper will demonstrate why the jury selection process is necessary for the United States as well as its patrons. The paper will also provide a break down of advantages and disadvantages on the jury selection process. In addition to the information listed above, we will review some large profile court cases and its jury selection process. This will determine just how detailed and challenging the process can prove to

The heart of the American Judicial System is the determination of the innocence or guilt of the accused. At the beginning of the play, the jurors all feel that the man is guilty for murdering his father and they all wanted to convict him without carrying out a detailed discussion. The persistence of juror eight, however, plays a significant role in ensuring that the correct and fair verdict is delivered. The judicial system maintains that the defendant does not have an obligation to prove his innocence. The fact is not clear to everyone as Juror 8 reminds Juror 2 about it. The fact is a key element of the judicial system and assists in the process of coming up with a verdict. The defendant is usually innocent until proven guilty. Another element of the judicial system that comes out in the play is for a verdict to stand it must be unanimous. Unanimity ensures that the

During the jury trial, the accused person will be represented either by a paid lawyer of his or her choice or by a court-appointed one. During the trial it is solely upon the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused person, and it is up to the accused person and his representation to rebut the information the prosecution presents. When the jury has heard all of the evidence against the accused person, they will decide on whether the person is guilty or not guilty. If the accused person is found guilty by the jury, he or she will be sentenced according to the law. If the accused person is found not guilty by the jury, he or she will be able to return back into society as a free person.