No one was ever charged in the murder of rapper Christopher Wallace, aka. Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, but I will show how a suspect would be tried if there were such a suspect. But first I would like to point out that this trial would be a media circus. To begin with the suspect could more than likely end up being one or more LAPD officers, a fact that the FBI has suggested in their report on Wallace that was released in 2011 (Federal Bureauof Investigation , n.d.). Then there is the gang aspect, Biggie had ties to the Crips, which he had reportedly hired to murder rival rapper Tupac Shakur, who was himself a Blood, just six months prior to his own murder. Subsequently, since no one has ever been formally charged in this case,I will try to use vague wording when referring to the suspect, and I will refer to him by of name “Mr. Murder Suspect”. I use the masculine only because there were no female suspects.
After Mr. Murder Suspect was charged in the murder of Cristopher Wallace, arrested, formally charged at the first appearance, with the charges being upheld during the preliminary hearing, and then formally arraigned, where he plead not guilty to all charges. Now the trial is set to begin. (Schmalleger, 2014)
The trial process begins with the selection of the jury. After the jury is selected the next stage is the opening statements. Since the prosecution has the burden of proof as to the defendant 's guilt, the prosecutor 's opening statement is given first. An
I am going to tell you about the life of Theodore Robert Bundy, better known as Ted Bundy. I will explain why he started to commit these murders, and the stories of the few victims that survived. You will read how he committed these murders, and what he did with the victims. You will learn about how he got away with escaping prison twice. Ted Bundy was sentenced to death after confessing to thirty-six murders. He started committing these murders when he was around eighteen years old. He continued these murders until he was twenty-four years old. In one of his last interviews he explains why he blames himself and pornography for his killings.
Hackie was an FBI informant while serving as Tupac’s personal body guard. According to Kevin his security boss Reginald Wright told him before B.I.G was killed. “We were going to those (people) who downed ‘Pace-Biggie and his crew.” Even with Hackie’s testimony they couldn’t conclusively link Death Row to a former rogue Los Angeles police officer at the core of the case. Slowly attorneys for the B.I.G’s family tried to link Mack and both Death Row and to the Mob Piru Blood street gang. According to theory underlying the suit, Mack arranged to have a college roommate driving Mack’s car shoot B.I.G at Knights behest- Knight is the recorder labels leader. Both Mack and the alleged shooter, Amir Muhammad have been dropped from the family’s suit and have never been named as a criminal suspect. (2005)A mistrial was declared after the judge ruled that a detective had purposely hidden interview statements from an informant concerning the murder. To this day the shooting of Christopher George Latore Wallace (B.I.G) has been
After the arraignment, the trial process begins. Both the prosecutor and the defendant had to produce enough evidence to sway the jury to either call the accused guilty or not guilty. The trial in the movie started off as loosely following actual court proceedings because the defendant had never been part of actual court proceedings and did not know the proper etiquette to follow. This was perceived through the actions that he showed in court and not knowing his rights to the evidence that the prosecutor had at his disposal, in which all should have been given to him in the beginning of the case. Although the trial process in My Cousin Vinny was not as formal as that of real proceedings, the way in which the judge made the lawyers act within
Every day people are convicted of crimes or arrested for other reasons. Once they are convicted they are summoned to court, this begins the jury process. Citizens are randomly chosen to serve on jury duty. The citizens on the jury will use the jury system to determine if the person being accused is guilty or innocent. Trials can become very long or they can be short it just depends on the topic and how long it takes to decide on what the consequences will be. The jury system is the main trial and the main decision of whether or not someone is right or wrong.
The next step in the system is initial appearance. Here they are given formal notice of the charges against them and advised of their rights.(Bohm & Haley, 2008, p. 13) The movie included this in their depiction of the criminal justice system. In the movie they called it the arraignment. The arraignment is where the defendant either pleads guilty or not guilty. During this stage the bail is also set which was also done in the movie. In the movie the set the preliminary hearing for the next morning in which the witnesses testified to what they saw and heard. This allows the judge to decide if there is probable cause to make and indictment. Based upon the information we have learned it seems that the arraignment should have happened after the preliminary hearing and that the
There are six steps in the trial process; these steps include jury selection, opening statements, evidence presentation, closing arguments, charging of the jury and deliberation of jury. Throughout this six step process, it is vital that the rights of all parties involved and respected and protected by
The first phase of a criminal jury trial is focused on selecting specific jurors, which is accomplished through a process referred to as 'voir dire' which is a screening of potential jurors. In the criminal trial involving an offense categorized as a felony "12 jurors and up to six alternate jurors may be chosen." (3rd Judicial District, ) Voir dire of the jury involves the prosecuting and defense attorneys questioning the potential jurors and
The shooting of sparked a nation-wide movement not only demanding justice for Mike Brown, but also protesting the racial discrimination deeply embedded in the criminal justice system as well as various institutions in the larger American society. Furthermore, jfdkjfjdakljk something about international recognition. Similar protests and riots have been springing up in other cities since 1960s, and police killings of unarmed black men happen once every 28 hours (Kahle, 2014). However, Michael Brown’s killing has led to the most sustained uprising against police violence in at least two decades, centered among the African American residents of Ferguson, and has rallied significant nationwide support as well as international attention (Kahle, 2014; Taylor, 2014). The killing of Michael Brown is by no means an isolated event, and presence of racial tensions, especially in the St. Louis area, was already present long before. The large-scale pushback that the killing of Michael Brown has set in motion, then, seems to have been the last straw, prompting the eruption of decades of pent up frustration at a racist and oppressive system. That being said, what are the previous straws that have slowly pushed the black community in Ferguson to the breaking point? What are the factors that have caused these tensions to boil over and erupt into such a large-scale upheaval? This paper will explore some of the
In the summer of 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. After the shooting, there had been conflicting reports by police and eyewitnesses about what exactly happened. Officer Wilson insist Brown was confrontational throughout the encounter, while eyewitnesses say Brown has his hands up trying to surrender before he was shot and killed. Following the Grand jury’s decision not to indict officer Wilson over the shooting of Michael Brown and similar cases of officer-involved shootings and brutality such as the death of Eric Garden in Staten Island, New York, politicians, family advocates, civil rights activists, and law enforcement officials have called for police across the country to adopt the use of body-worm cameras. Although there are many who feel police body cameras present a challenge to privacy and safety issues for both cops and civilians, by recording police-citizen encounters, it increases transparency and accountability of officers and the video recorded by body cams protect any false accusations, police misconduct, officials can get clear evidence of what happened instead of relying on hearsay.
The steps involved in the selection of the jury involve; Computer generated random selection, determination of liability, summons, selection of a panel from jury pool and finally the selection of jury from the panel.
All the jury must agree on a verdict, if this is not possible then the
The preliminary hearing is then held which determines if the prosecution obtained enough evidence and has enough probable cause to hold a trial (Schmalleger, 2008). Discovery, which refers to the first time the defense is allowed to view the evidence against the accused occurs at this stage (Schmalleger, 2008). The next step is arraignment; this is the first time the defendant is seen by a judge with enough authority to hold a trial (Schmalleger, 2008). At arraignment, the indictment against the accused is read; the accused enters a plea of either guilty, not guilty or no contest (Schmalleger, 2008). The last step involving the court is adjudication, which plainly means a trial by jury (Schmalleger, 2008). The trial then proceeds until both sides have presented their case and the jury reaches a decision (Schmalleger, 2008). If the jury cannot reach a decision the judge can declare a mistrial and the case can be retried (Schmalleger, 2008). If the accused waives the right to a trial by jury, the court will hold a bench trial which is a trial conducted and decided upon by the judge (Schmalleger, 2008).
Next is the preliminary hearing. This is where the judge hears the evidence and from the
During the jury trial, the accused person will be represented either by a paid lawyer of his or her choice or by a court-appointed one. During the trial it is solely upon the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused person, and it is up to the accused person and his representation to rebut the information the prosecution presents. When the jury has heard all of the evidence against the accused person, they will decide on whether the person is guilty or not guilty. If the accused person is found guilty by the jury, he or she will be sentenced according to the law. If the accused person is found not guilty by the jury, he or she will be able to return back into society as a free person.
The jury system of a trial is an essential element of the democratic process. It attempts to secure fairness in the justice system. Traditionally, the jury system has been viewed as a cornerstone of common law procedure. However, the use of the system of trial by jury is on the decline. Today, its use differs, depending on whether (a) it is a civil or criminal matter, and (b) in criminal matters, whether it is a summary or an indictable offence.