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Definition
| those who cannot afford representation. |
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Term
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work in offices that exist solely to provide
indigent representation. Public defenders face many challenges, including responsibility
for large caseloads and limited resources. Their offices are primarily located in
large urban cities where large volumes of criminal cases require their services.
Minorities are more likely than Whites to receive state-issued counsel upon
entering court. |
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Term
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Definition
can be secured monetarily, as in the case of bail, or nonfinancially, such as release on recognizance.
Judges typically determine whether or not the accused will be released prior to trial and the nature of the release. Among the considerations related to the nature of one’s
pretrial release are ensuring that the defendant will stay out of trouble while released and that he or she will return to court for further processing. |
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| involve a prosecutor demonstrating to a judge why charges have been filed and giving justification for continued processing. The prosecutor must bear the burden of demonstrating guilt. |
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Definition
are also used to determine if continued case processing may be necessary. Grand jurors are laypersons selected to serve on the jury. In
grand jury hearings , jurors basically replace the judge used in a preliminary hearing. The grand jury’s task is to determine if the prosecutor’s case is strong enough
to warrant an indictment. An indictment is the charging document used by grand juries to suggest enough evidence exists to continue with case processing. Grand juries are also permitted to engage in evidence collection of their own, should they
choose to do so. Some states rely on preliminary hearings; others use grand juries or both types of hearings. |
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Definition
is the step in criminal case processing when defendants are formally
notified of the charges against them and they enter a plea. At an arraignment, after the
defendant enters a plea, pretrial motions are offered and “discovery” may occur. |
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is the sharing of information among the attorneys with the goal of helping
attorneys adequately prepare their cases. |
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| Defendants typically enter one of three pleas during the arraignment: |
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Definition
| guilty, not guilty, or nolo contendere (no contest). |
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Term
| nolo contendere , or “no contest,” |
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| has the legal effect of a guilty plea. Defendants may choose to enter a plea of nolo contendere instead of admitting guilt in an attempt to cooperate with the court (through essentially pleading guilty), but they do not wish to directly admit guilt. |
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Term
pretrial motions
Motion to dismiss |
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Definition
typically filed by the defense in hopes that the case
will be dismissed, for example, based on due process violations or
insufficient evidence. |
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