The Pros And Cons Of A Fair Trial

Decent Essays
“A fair trial is one in which the rules of evidence are honored, the accused has competent counsel, and the judge enforces the proper courtroom procedures - a trial in which every assumption can be challenged,” said Harry Browne. In the courtroom, there can only be a fair trial when the different pieces in the courtroom work together in an honest, legal and fair matter. The judge acts as the mediator in the courts and decides what evidence is admissible. The jury helps to decide the verdict of cases. The prosecutor presents evidence to prove the accused guilty. The defense attorney tries to find flaws in the prosecutor 's evidence to show their client cannot be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Alongside the main players in the court, …show more content…
The overseeing of a trial process, which includes controlling how the other players in the court conduct themselves, settling disputes about evidence and the procedures, and helping in the process of questioning a witness, is the main job of judges across the country at any level they serve (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p.164). On a trial to trial basis, when working alongside a jury, the judge’s job is to notify jurors on what evidence is proper and what evidence alongside laws must be brought into consideration when reaching a verdict (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p.164). During bench trials, where there is no jury, the judge 's job is to not only keep order in the court, settle disputes on evidence and procedure, and participate in the questioning of witnesses, but also must act as the jury in that they must decide if the offender is innocent or guilty, and what their sentencing will be (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p.164). At the federal level, judges help to “serve the public, directly shape the law, and develop the minds of subsequent generations of attorneys through the …show more content…
You are an advocate for one client, just as the prosecutor is the advocate for one client, the state” (Susteren, 1996, p.127). The responsibility of a criminal defense attorney, within the guidelines of the Constitution, the law, and the “codes of professional responsibility,“is to do all that they can for their client to defeat the prosecution 's case no matter how guilty their client is, what their client has done, or how well the prosecutor has presented a case against their client (Susteren, 1996, p.127). While in court, defence attorneys are the main motivators in the adversarial procedure, which is the procedure for the determination of truth in the pronouncement of guilt, where the prosecutor and the defense attorney are against each other and the judge as the mediator between the two with the use of legal rules (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p.173). The defense attorney, in this debate, must repudiate the evidence of the prosecutor in a way that shows their case cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a way that is legal, ethical, and constitutional (Siegel & Worrall, 2016, p.173). Attorneys tend to do this through looking for flaws in the prosecutor 's evidence and procedures, and then informing the jury of these flaws (Susteren, 1996, p.128). Criminal defense attorneys, like every other citizen,

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Under the Crime Control Model, as Packer described it, defense counsel was considered a luxury, or worse, an impediment to efficient processing of the guilty. By contrast, under the Due Process Model, as we have seen, defense counsel was the key to asserting and protecting the defendant‘s rights” (Keith p.43). The techniques of extending…

    • 1518 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Democratic societies like Canada and the United States follow the unwritten and underlying principle of “rule of law”. The rule of law ensure that a certain level of procedural justice are achieved in trials, as they provide the court with a basic grid of evaluation. However, such procedural processes were not respected in the Bryant-Milam trial, as the the two social categories of race and social class tarnished the processes of the trial, fostering impartial judicial proceedings and ultimately disallowing justice. The trials ability in achieving justice was deterred as occupational status and race contaminated and fostered impartiality amongst the jury, the witnesses and the provided evidence; three of the fundamental components of a judicial proceedings.…

    • 777 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Avery And Dassey's Trial

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages

    and he was seething with anger having to even provide this vindication to essentially clear two officer’s names. The eighth principle is the right of the defendant to be brought before a court. This was proven throughout the documentary; Avery and Dassey’s rights to a public trial by jury were upheld. This is corresponded with our seventh amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which is the right of the accused to a trial by jury, these are due process rights.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It’s a basic requirement in the judicial system for judges to prevent the probability of unfairness. In Tumey v. Ohio, (1927), a judge sat on the judge-grand jury listening to witnesses testify and presided over the hearing over those witness. This created an unconstitutional bias in the court and ruled that no man can sit as a judge in a case where he also has an interest in the outcome (Oram & Gleckker, 2006; Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 1927). Using this case to define a judge’s role, the court ruled that a judge can’t balance between the state and the accused for it denies the latter the due process of law (Tumey v. Ohio, 273 U.S. 510, 1927). Therefore, when a judge is involved heavily in a case, the bias shows and concerns should be raised.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ethical Dilemmas of Defense Attorneys Defense attorneys have to face the ethical dilemma every day of whether or not to defend their client as well as whether or not to maintain that lawyer-client privilege. The lawyer-client privilege provides a security blanket for the client. Under this privilege, the client can almost tell the lawyer just about anything in confidence and not have to worry about the possible fear of being judged or incriminating themselves. A defense attorney serves as a guide that you can basically tell all your deepest darkest secrets to. However, some of those secrets may not always be able to be kept confidential, so be careful about what secrets you share.…

    • 3179 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Plea Bargaining Process

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What is the role of the prosecutor in the plea bargaining process? The role of the prosecutor in a Plea-bargaining process is to get the defendant to come to an agreement to where the defendant pleads guilty to some or many of the charges filed against them therefore bypassing a costly trial preceding. The prosecutor usually offers a reduced punishment if the defendants agrees to their terms. In some jurisdictions prosecutors and the defendant can work with the judges to help them determine what the sentence they will get if they accept the plea bargain. As prosecutor, what would you recommend in an attempt to resolve the case and why?…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    We all have the privilege to be attempted by our associates, and it is a thoughtful approach to include the group in regulating equity. There are circumstances in which the law is unjust, and it is the duty of a member of the jury to speak to the supposition of the general population. Serving as a Jury was a reasonable way for me to maintain an individual liberty and just to watch out for the government: making sure it doesn 't push unjust laws on fellow citizens. These reasons drove me to participate in the American University mock trial that was held at the Montgomery County judicial center in Rockville.…

    • 831 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The failure of overworked lawyers to investigate, call witnesses or prepare for trial has led to the conviction of innocent people. When a defense lawyer doesn't do his or her job, the defendant suffers. Shrinking funding and access to resources for public defenders and court-appointed attorneys is only making the problem…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The founding fathers of the United States feared the development of an oppressive government. To counter this, the founding fathers developed a system of checks and balances that directly includes the people. The right to a jury trial has a central role in the American justice system that prevents unlawful acts from being continued. Thus, juries have a political significance outside the judicial branch. The jury system acts as a check on government power preventing government officials from making laws that are morally wrong.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In a criminal trial, a jury is a group usually comprised of twelve randomly chosen adults, whose role is to hear evidence, apply the law as directed by the judge, and then collectively decide if the defendant is guilty or not guilty of the crime they have been accused of, based only on the facts given. Juries have played a significant role in Australia’s justice system for quite some time, though in more recent years the role of juries has been reduced. In 2011, the NSW government changed the law so that accused persons could apply for judge alone trials and, with consent from the Director of Public, avoid juries entirely (Whitbourn 2013). Currently there is much debate as to whether or not the jury system should be scrapped entirely for criminal trials in NSW.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Balancing the tension between community interest and individual rights and freedoms are a significant component of the criminal trial process and is relatively successful in that retrospect. In order to be effective and efficient the criminal trial process should reflect the moral and ethical standards of society, ensure the community is sufficiently protected and respects the rights of the individual. However, despite efforts to achieve justice for all members of society, the criminal trial process does fail to provide adequate success in some areas of the law such as the jury system, Legal Aid and the provocation defence. All these areas to an extent highlight the lack of success the criminal trial process serves in balancing community interests…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    | | | |No enquiry allowed into jury deliberations after verdict, even if juror | |Section 51 Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994 creates offence |alleges racial or any other type of bias or wrongdoing by the jury. | |to intimidate or threaten to harm a juror. | | |Prosecution and defence "challenges" correct the problems caused by |Jury vetting is against the principle of random selection. | |random selection.…

    • 2129 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    You watch the news on the T.V. You hear that someone got arrested for the same reason they got arrested for before. Your mom says that you learn nothing from going to jail. Do you agree with your mom? The American justice system is not fair because not all citizens are treated equally, people do not change when they go to jail, and judges and juries are not always honest.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For Gould this was the most surprising result of his research because he and his team expected strong prosecutorial cases to result in wrongful convictions since the evidence was compelling for the prosecutor to seek conviction but instead the study revealed the contrary. This led the team to look at weak defense counsel, poor explanation/presentation of forensic evidence, and police practices that could trigger the course of events spiraling out of control to a wrongful conviction because the weak prosecution case in turn is not adequately challenged by the defense attorney and the prosecution for one reason or the other may fail to disclose exculpatory evidence- a Brady violation (NIJ…

    • 2703 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    EXPLAIN THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE LEGAL SYSTEM OF ENGLAND AND WALES AND THOSE OF CIVIL LAW COUNTRIES AND EXPLAIN THE MERITS AND PROBLEMS OF THESE LEGAL SYSTEMS A HISTORY OF TWO TYPES OF LAW The two main systems of law in the world today are common law and civil law. The system used in England and Wales is common law which has an evolving history dating from the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and the local customs of the Anglo-Saxons. English common law spread throughout the world during the growth of the British empire between the 16th and 18th centuries.…

    • 1466 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays