California Grand Jury Analysis

However, the jury system is still very important to the justice system. The role of the jury in NSW A jury is a group of people from the community with all sorts of backgrounds, beliefs, religions, education levels and ages, who listens to the evidence of the cases and helps the court to decide the outcome of the cases. Jury duty in NSW is a very important responsibility, providing a link between the justice system and the community.

In America’s justice system, a grand jury is a group of citizens called to decide whether probable cause exists to believe that a suspect committed the crime with which she or he has been charged (Gaines G-4). In the Central District of California, prospective jurors who report and are not excused or postponed, the Jury Clerk will use a computer program to randomly select 23 members and ten alternates for each grand jury. A grand jury designated “investigatory” meet for a 12-month term, while a grand jury designated “accusatory” meets for a 6-month term. A grand jury has 23 members and meets once a week, always on the same weekday. Grand juries do not meet on weekends or Mondays. The average workday is 5 hours. Absences for medical appointments, vacations, graduations, etc. may be accommodated, but 16 members must be present for the grand jury to conduct business. The grand jury serves the United States District Court, Central District of California. In contrast, a trial jury is asked to reach a verdict based on the evidence presented during a civil or criminal trial; a grand jury meets in secret to consider whether there is sufficient evidence to justify a formal criminal charge against someone. That formal criminal charge is called an “indictment” (Central).

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court is an appellate court composed by five judges without jury, except in the case of the 2nd Judicial Department that it is composed by four judges without jury. This court hears and decides civil and criminal appeals from the Court of Claims, Supreme Court, Surrogate’s Court and Family Court of the Four Judicial Departments. The Appellate Term Court reviews just questions of law.

Rule Six of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure governs federal grand jury proceedings. Rule Six provides that the federal grand jury must consist of 16 to 23 members and that 12 members must concur in order for an indictment to be issued. The federal grand jury is instructed to return an indictment (true bill) if probable cause standard has been met or no true bill if probable cause standards have not been met (Fed. R. Crim. P. 6).

Recent challenges to police power have raised public interest in the secretive grand jury process and the prosecutor’s role in that process around the United States. Grand jury proceedings often remain a mystery to the average American, until he or she is actually involved in the indictment process. These private court room investigations employ no judge and usually no attorneys except the prosecutor. (Find Law, 2014, pg.1) Current state law prevents prosecutorial misconduct by both case law

Directly underneath the Supreme Court we have the Courts of Appeals, which consist of 13 appellate courts. 94 federal judicial districts are divided into 12 regional circuits, each circuit having their own Court of Appeals. The 13th appellate court is in the Federal Circuit, which has a national authority to hear particular cases such as patent laws, and cases determined by the United States Courts of International Trade and

A regular court trial grand jury usually consist of 6 to 12 people, but a grand jury for the federal court can be anywhere from 16 to 23 people. The grand jury plays an important role in the criminal process, the purpose of a grand jury is to help the prosecutor decide on criminal charges or an indictment against the defendant. From my understanding the jury selection comes from people who are registered voters and people who has a driver’s license within each judicial district. There is a questionnaire process which help determine a selection which eliminates convicted felons, the list helps ensure that the jury is a broad cross section from the community in regards to sex, race, and religion. Then begin the voir dire selection process in which the attorney for the case questions the juror’s background and during this process potential jurors can be rejected if they can relate to closely to the case that they’re being called for. Once selected for the grand jury it will be a process that will take place

Grand juries serve the purpose of reviewing evidence to establish whether or not the defendant should be criminally charged (Mallory, 2012). This type of jury can be used for investigative purposes because they have the authority to pass down orders and awarding immunity for witnesses (Mallory, 2012). There are two type of immunity, including derivative use immunity and transactional immunity (Mallory, 2012). A grand jury that is used for investigating is definitely in the prosecutor’s favor because there is a likely chance the defendant, who is a part of organized, will be prosecuted for some criminal charge (Mallory, 2012).

The U.S. court system consist of two types of court, federal courts and state courts. Each of the 50 state and the federal courts all have their own rules and procedures. However, both the states and federal courts follow the same structure. First a case is brought to the lowest level, district or trial court. After a case is heard and a decision is made the defendant and /or plaintiff can appeal the decision to an Appellate Court or Court of Appeals. After Appellate comes the highest level of court, the Supreme Court. Both the states and the government have some form of a Supreme Court. There is no court higher than the Supreme Court, meaning that the Supreme Court's decisions if final. Basically, either the defendant or plaintiff can appeal

This number comprises local jails with a nominal capacity of 866,782 inmates occupied at 86.4% (June 6, 2010), state prisons with a nominal capacity of approximately 1,140,500 occupied at approximately 115% (December 31, 2010), and federal prisons with a nominal capacity of 126,863 occupied at 136.0% (December 31, 2010). Of this number, 21.5% are pretrial detainees (December 31, 2010), 8.7% are female prisoners (December 31, 2010), 0.4% are juveniles (June 6, 2009), and 5.9% are foreign prisoners (June 30, 2007).[10]

Representatives from the County Department of Social Services, Mental Health, and/or Alcohol and Substance Abuse Programs, as appointed by the County Board of Supervisors

I. The State of California Supreme Court gains authority and jurisdiction through the Constitution of California, Article 6 Section 1. The authority of dividing the state into division creating the Court of Appeals jurisdictions is giving to the legislature through the Constitution of California, Article 6, Section 3. The legislature has set up six districts for the Court of Appeals based on geography. Within the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals are the Superior Courts of California. The Superior Courts have been created by the authority of the Constitution of California, Article 6, Section 4. The authority of the Supreme Court is given via the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution and is subdivided into the different circuits and districts by authority of the United States Code Title 28, Part 1. In this Code are the needed statutes giving power and jurisdiction to the various federal courts. The court of appeals are comprised of thirteen separate judicial circuits as stated in United States Code Title 28, Part 1, Chapter 3, § 41. This same statute covers the area of California, placing California into the Ninth Circuit

The hierarchal structure for each of the types of court systems in the United States ascends from local courts, to state courts, to federal courts. The court system, in general, has a role that gives everyone access to settle legal issues fairly, to interpret laws, protect rights, and decide the fate of an accused criminal (The California court system, n.d.). The federal courts have three tiers which include, district courts, the court of appeals, and the Supreme Court. The primary role of federal courts is to hear cases involving the constitutionality of laws, other disputes of federal laws, and treaties (Court role and structure, n.d.). Each state court differs depending on how many tiers are included and how many specialized courts there are. California’s state courts have three different tiers just like the federal court system. California is known for having a simplified court system unlike the majority of states in the United States, which include superior courts, courts of appeal and the California Supreme Court. The primary role of state courts is the uphold state laws and handle other cases

In the world, the united states have the highest incarceration rate. Out of the entire 50 states, the state California has the most overcrowded prison. With more than two-hundred thousand people confined in prison in California, it is easy to understand why California state prison and federal prisons have the highest rate of prison overcrowding. According to the California department of corrections and rehabilitation, The design bed capacity of CDCR institutions and camps on December 31, 2010, was 83,981. Which is twice as high as it should be. Overcrowded prisons have negative effects on inmates from physical to psychological. To resolve the problem of overcrowded prisons, the state of California needs to build more prisons, create alternative programs and place more inmates on probation.

The first tier of the American federal court system is the U.S. District Court. The U.S. District Court acts as a trial court, norm enforcement, and makes policies. Everyone is entitled to a trial via the Sixth and Seventh Amendment for criminal and civil cases. Therefore, the U.S. District Court sees numerous cases. This court hears criminal and civil cases per the trial courts where attorneys are able to examine and cross-examine witness before a jury of their peers. All federal cases go before the U.S. District Courts including criminal cases, civil cases, bankruptcy cases, etc.