Criminal Law: Post-Trial Proceedings

Front 1

What are post-verdict motions?

Back 1

Motions filed only by the defense after a guilty verdict is made. It must be filed prior to sentencing. It provides the defense counsel with an opportunity to re-argue certain alleged mistakes made at trial which resulted in conviction. However, a proper foundation for the motion must have been laid by objecting during the trial to those court rulings which are believed to be in error.

Front 2

Can the prosecution file a post-verdict motion?

Back 2

No. If the defendant prevails at trial by being found not guilty, the case is over. The prosecution cannot file post-verdict motions because it is not permitted to appeal a not guilty verdict. The defendant has a constitutional right against double jeopardy.

Front 3

What is double jeopardy?

Back 3

When a defendant is tried twice for the same offense.

Front 4

What are the two types of post-verdict motions?

Back 4

1) Motion to arrest of judgtment (set aside the verdict)
2) Motion for a new trial

Front 5

What is a motion to arrest of judgment (motion to set aside the verdict)?

Back 5

The purpose of a motion in arrest of judgment is to bring before the trial court errors in the actual trial which require that the case be dismissed and the defendant discharged. IN essence, the counsel is asking that the court reverse the jury decision.

Front 6

What are the grounds to ask for a motion to arrest for judgment?

Back 6

1. court lacks jurisdiction
2. conviction rests upon an unconstitutional statute
3. evidence was insufficient to sustain the charge
4. one or more jurors had an unauthorized view of the scene of the crime
5. the trial was barred become of a former prosecution on the same charges (double jeopardy)

Front 7

What is a motion for new trial?

Back 7

Allows counsel to bring before the trial court serious errors that were made at trial by either the trial judge of the prosecutor which lead to the defendant’s conviction. Counsel is now asking that the verdict be set aside and a new trial be granted.

Front 8

What are some grounds for a motion for new trial?

Back 8

1. after-discovered evidence
2. errors committed at trial or pre-trial hearings

Front 9

What happens if the motion for new trial is granted?

Back 9

The prior judgment is set aside. The case will proceed as if no trial had ever been held. The defendant is not limited to the defenses he used at the first tiral and is not bound by any evidentiary rules that were made at the first trial.

Front 10

Are there any time limitations in which to file post-verdict motions?

Back 10

Yes each jurisdiction has a specific time limitation in which the post-verdict motions must be filed after a defendant is found gilty. If such motions are not filed within the designated period of time, they are deemed to be waived.

Front 11

Does the defense have to file post-verdit motions before he can file an appeal?

Back 11

In many states, post-verdict motions are a pre-requisite to any appellate court review as they preserve any claims of error for appeal. However, in recent years, some jurisdictions have done away with the requirement for post-verdict motions if the error was otherwise preserved by timely objections at trial.

Front 12

What are the four objectives to sentencing?

Back 12

1) deterrence
2) incapacitation
3) retribution
4) rehabilitation

Front 13

What is recidivism?

Back 13

Repeated commission of criminal acts

Front 14

What is deterrence?

Back 14

One of the objectives of sentencing. It is society’s attempt to:
1) deter the criminal from committing additional offenses now or in the future
2) deter society as a whole from violating the law by realizing that there is a swift and certain punishment that will be enforced

Front 15

What is incapacitation?

Back 15

One of the objectives of sentencing. Isolating or preventing the criminal from further endangering society. Incarceration is the most common form of incapacitation.

Front 16

What is retribution?

Back 16

One of the objectives of sentencing. Society’s first response to a crime that is especially vicisou in nature is to inflict punishment on the offender for the wrong that was committed.

Front 17

What is rehabiliation?

Back 17

One of the objectives of sentencing. The hope that punishment will mend his evil ways and make a more productive citizen.

Front 18

What is a pre-sentence report?

Back 18

The pre-sentence reports are designed primarily to assist the court in determining the appropriate sentence for the defendant. It is prepared by the probation officer who will interview the defendant as well as others who know the defendant such as his family, friends and co-workers.

Front 19

What occurs at the sentencing hearing?

Back 19

The court will hear both sides as to why a particular sentence should or should not be imposed. The prosecution will try to make the sentence longer, while the defense will try to present any beneficial factors that may mitigate the sentence.

Front 20

What is the right of allocution?

Back 20

This is the right the defendant has to speak on his own behalf during sentencing.

Front 21

What are the Federal sentencing guidelines?

Back 21

Sentencing guidelines that apply to all federal offenses pursuant of the Sentencing Table. Under this system, judges will no longer have unfettered discretion in the sentencing of a defendant. Rather, these guidelines structure the judges determination as they treat all offenders with similar characteristics in a similar fashion.

Front 22

What factors into whether the judge decides on a light or serious sentence?

Back 22

1) gravity of offense
2) defendant’s role in offense
3) prior criminal record
4) is the defendant employed?
5) The community attitude toward the crime
6) Is a severe sentence necessary to deter others
7) Were there any substantial grounds to excuse or justify the defendant’s criminal conduct?

Front 23

What is probation?

Back 23

The most common form of punishment. It is the placing of a convicted person into the community under supervised control without first having served any time in prison. It is felt that neither the circumstances of the offense nor the defendant’s background require punishment and rehabiliation in a prison setting.

Front 24

Why are fines not used more often in the Untied States?

Back 24

As opposed to Europe where fines are the dominant form of punishment, the majority of the crimes in the Untied States are commited by indigent people so fines wouldn’e be a a good deterent. Instead fines are only used for minor offenses.

Front 25

What must the jury find in order to convict the accused with capital punishment?

Back 25

The jury must consider a list of aggravating circumstances, as well as any mitigating circumstances, in deciding whether the death penalty applies. The jury cannot return the death penalty unless it is conviced beyond a reasonable doubt that one or more of the aggrevating circumstances is present.

Front 26

What is parole?

Back 26

Placing the convicted person under supervised community control AFTER he has initially served a period of incarceration.

Front 27

What is “good time”

Back 27

An award given prisioners’ good behavior or partiipation in various treatment or educationap programs while in prision. As a reward the prisioner gets days off their minimum or maximum prision terms.

Front 28

What is determinate sentencing?

Back 28

A definite sentencing term that provides a specific term of incarceration provided by the legislature. The judge has the authority to sentence to any number of years up to the maximum provided by law.

Front 29

What is indeterminate sentencing?

Back 29

The judge has no authority to decide the length of time the accused will servei n prision. The parole board determines how long the accused will serve his sentence within the minimum and maximum limits.

Front 30

What is consecutive sentencing?

Back 30

If a defendant is convicted for more than one criminal offense, and he is given consecutive sentencing that means that the sentences must be served in sequence, one right after the other.

Front 31

What is concurrent sentencing?

Back 31

If a defendant is convicted for more than one criminal offense, he is given the same sentences to run concurrently, then they will be served all at the same time.

Front 32

What if the judge does not expressly state whether the sentences are to run concurrent or consecutive where two or more sentences are imposed on separate charges?

Back 32

Then they are deemed to run concurrent.

Front 33

What is a “shock camp” or “boot camp”?

Back 33

A military style boot camp or shock camp in order to pull young criminals away from the path toward prision, drug addiction, or even early death. The idea is to take young, nonviolent offenders who otherwise might spend years in a conventional prision and sign them up for at least 6 months in a shock camp.

Front 34

What are mandatory drug sentencing?

Back 34

A mandatory drug sentencing law swept through Congress during the Regan administrations’ “war on drugs” era. It required federal judges to order mandatory minimum prision sentences based on the weight of drugs involved in a criminal offense for any and every convicted defendant regardless of circumstances. This law does not permit exceptions based on a defendant’s character, background, or prospects for rehabilitation.

Front 35

What are the criticism against the mandatory drug sentencing?

Back 35

1) it overcrowds the prisions with drug offenders
2) It has not proven to be effective in abated the drug epidemic
3) Federal judges criticized it because it prevented them from tailoring penalities to the circumstances of each case.