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... one against the defense attorney becomes evident. The attorneys should have at least a token belief that their subject is in the right. A criminal defense attorney may proclaim himself a fighter for truth and justice, and he may be precisely that, but once a case is accepted, his only responsibility is to his client, regardless of belief. Even defense attorneys who are convinced that their client is guilty are still exhorted to offer the best possible defense and to counsel their client as effectively as possible. The prosecutor, too, may claim to seek truth and justice, and is probably already convinced he knows the truth and believes in the defendants guilt.
However, if he finds he no longer believes the defendant is guilty, he has a legal responsibility to stop the proceedings. The first actions in court are the opening statements by both attorneys. The opening statements show the jury what the attorneys plan to do to prove their cases and how the proof will be offered. After the opening statements, witnesses are called, generally by the prosecution first. In most cases, witness testimony is the chief means by which evidence is introduced at trial.
Among others, witnesses may include victims, police officers, specialists, and the defendant, although the defendant has the right to not testify under the 5 th Amendment. Some witnesses may have been present during the commission of the alleged offense, while most will have had only a later opportunity to investigate the situation or to analyze evidence. Traditionally, witnesses must face the court and defendant while testifying, although there have been exceptions. Most states allow children to testify remotely so as not to be traumatized. There are three types of witnesses. Eyewitnesses are used more often by the prosecution, and claim to have been at the scene of the crime.
Character witnesses tell about the character of the defendant, and may be used by both sides. Alibi witnesses are only used by the defense, and try to convince the jury that the defendant was elsewhere at the time of the offense. When a witness is called, he undergoes a line of questioning by the friendly attorney. This is called direct examination. When the attorney is finished, the opposing attorney steps forth to interrogate the same witness. This is called cross-examination.
Usually, cross- examination may only contest material covered during the direct examination. The witness will have gone over the questions and answers for both examinations with both attorneys beforehand. Some witnesses give untrue testimony to protect the defendant. If demonstrated to be false during examinations, witnesses can be impeached by the court and charged with perjury, a crime in itself. There are several types of testimony that are inadmissible as evidence.
Hearsay evidence is described as what a witness heard from another person, rather than what he saw or experienced firsthand. Allowances, however, can be given under certain circumstances. One is the dying declaration, which is a statement made by a person who is about to die. A second instance is that of the spontaneous statement, which is made by a person in the heat of excitement without time for fabrication. Irrelevant or immaterial evidence is testimony that goes beyond or misses the point of the question asked, and statements of opinion show only what a witness thinks, rather than what he knows. Physical evidence, if any, is brought forth during witness testimony.
There are two classes of evidence: direct and circumstantial. Direct evidence, if believed, proves a fact without opinion ation. It can be testimonial, which is the aforementioned witness testimony, or it can be physical. There are three kinds of physical evidence. Documents are anything written or typed, objects are weapons, clothing, and the like, and copies and reproductions include photographs and recordings. Physical evidence is only subject to challenge on grounds of authenticity or manner in which it was obtained.
Circumstantial evidence, however, requires inference and drawn conclusions. It is often enough to convict anyway. After all witnesses and evidence have been shown, the attorneys give closing arguments, also called summations. Closing arguments are direct attacks on the opposing sides weaknesses.
They provide review and analysis of evidence. Testimony, exhibits, and inconsistencies in the opposition will be pointed out. Many good defense attorneys are effective showmen. They try to play on the feelings of the jurors during this crucial point of the trial. The argument is often emotional and poetry or verse is sometimes used.
The prosecution, however, is only likely to use one emotion: outrage at the defendant. The situation during summations is favorable to the prosecution, who, in the vast majority of instances, opens the argument. After a rebuttal by the defense, the prosecution then has an opportunity for counter-rebuttal. In any case, the prosecution is always given the last word in closing arguments. After summations, the judge gives his charge to the jury.
He calls on the jury to retire and select one of their number as the foreman, and deliberate upon the evidence that has been presented until a verdict has been reached. He also summarizes all testimony, makes comments, and gives guidance. It is often considered the single most important statement made during a trial. Once the jury leaves the courtroom for deliberations, they immediately choose a foreman, whose job it will be to deliver the final verdict. The jury may deliberate for hours, days, or weeks, and may examine evidence, review testimony, analyze the judges charge, discuss, argue, and negotiate. Disagreements emerge early, but the majority almost always wins.
Surprisingly, immediate unanimous decisions are not uncommon they account for about 31 percent of all verdicts. Most jurisdictions require a unanimous decision, although the United States Supreme Court has ruled that only capital cases must warrant a unanimous verdict. Jurors are not allowed to discuss the case with relatives, friends, or each other until the proper time, because it is known that thinking is affected by the influence of others. Scientific studies have shown that people instinctively and subconsciously want to be with the majority, and because of this, are not likely to hold out in an argument against the rest of the jury. During deliberations, if the case is important enough and the judge believes there is risk of the jury being influenced by outside sources, he may sequester jurors, putting them in a hotel with little contact with the outside world. Even newspapers and television may be censored.
Telephone calls are short and monitored, and windows are usually covered over so as not to let the jurors see anything that may influence their thoughts. Deliberations will ultimately end in either a verdict or a hung jury. In a hung jury, the members debate, argue, plead, and finally admit defeat, not being able to agree on a verdict. Hung juries are usually just replaced, but sometimes the trial is stopped, and the time and money involved, which is sometimes quite substantial, is wasted. But a verdict is reached successfully 99 percent of the time.
The jury, led by the foreman, gives the verdict to the judge in open court. If the verdict is guilty, the defense attorney may choose to poll the jury. He asks each juror his personal opinion, and in a few cases, a jurors doubts re-emerge to cancel the verdict. This rarely happens, but if it does the result is a victory for the defense. A criminal trial is a complicated but closely choreographed event.
Almost nothing happens without proper precedent, and even the most factually guilty defendant can be sure of having at least a small chance of getting off the hook. The unbiased trial is a constitutional institution that may not always make sense to the average person, but that reflects the value of justice in American society.
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Research essay sample on Truth And Justice Defense Attorney
