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Unit 4 Assignment Essay

Satisfactory Essays

Codie Davis

Unit 4 Assignment

CJ 227

Criminal Procedure

John Doe is an individual that left his country in an effort to make a better life. However, he does not have legal status in America and was recently arrested for shoplifting merchandise, which was valued over $1,000. At the time of his arrest, John voluntarily began to make incriminating statements to the arresting officers. At the police station, detectives conducted an interview of John asking him about the theft. John Doe has had no prior arrests, is 35 years old, and most of John Doe’s family still resides in his home country. Due to the amount of money involved, the crime is deemed a felony and John was arrested and placed in the county jail in Toms River, NJ. He is …show more content…

If there was no warrant for John's arrest this hearing will also determine if there is probable cause (Gerstein v. Pugh). Probable cause means that a reasonable ground exists for belief in the facts.

The court can either choose to do a preliminary hearing or grand jury for John's first appearance.. In a preliminary hearing is conducted with no jury and the judge is the fact finder. A grand jury hearing is where the prosecution presents the case to a group of citizens outside the presence of the defendant and they (the grand jurors) are asked to determine whether probable cause exists based on the evidence presented to them by the prosecution.

Some issues that the judge would have to take into consideration when setting bail for John is that he does not have legal status in this country, and most of his family still resides in his home country. Per the eighth amendment the judge must set a reasonable and fair amount of bail.

An arraignment is a formal reading of a criminal charge document in the presence of the defendant to inform him of the charges against him. In response to an arraignment the accused is expected to enter a plea. Acceptable pleas vary among jurisdictions, but they usually include “guilty”, “not guilty”, and “nolo contendere”
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