Running Head: UNIT #9 PROJECT

UNIT #9 PROJECT

2 UNIT #9 PROJECT UNIT #9 PROJECT Explain the steps a criminal defendant may go through in the American C.J. system The path of the criminal defendant in the American Criminal Justice system is a rather rigid progression. Criminal charges are brought by the state for violations of a criminal law or an ordinance. Criminal violations are divided into misdemeanors and felonies with codified penalties. An arrest starts the CJ process. Arrest is defined as "the taking of a person into custody when and in the manner authorized by law, including restraint of the person or the person's submission to custody." (Iowa Code 804.5, 2012). The 1st step in the CJ system is the Initial Appearance. Ideally, a person arrested will appear before a Judge within twenty four (24) hours. In reality, depending on judicial scheduling and the unenviable consequence being arrested on a Friday or a Saturday, the 24 hour time ideal may be reasonably extended without punitive consequences. For these individuals, their appearance could be delayed until Monday. When the Initial Appearance occurs, the Intake Judge will inform the arrested individual of the charges which triggered his/her arrest. The defendant will be given a written copy of criminal complaint. Additionally, it is within the Intake Judges discretion to consider bail or ROR for the defendant. For minor offenses, the Judge may allow the defendant to plea at the initial appearance. (Peterson, 2012) The 2nd step is the Preliminary Hearing. Although the criminal defendant is entitled to a preliminary hearing, in most cases the Prelim is waived by the defendant. In terms of the patchwork of steps, the preliminary hearing is an informal probable cause determination by the Court that a crime had been committed and the defendant is responsible for it. Under the law, the preliminary hearing is to be held no later than 10 days after the initial appearance if the defendant

3 UNIT #9 PROJECT is in custody or no later than 20 days if the defendant is out of custody. As with the caveat with the appearance, these are soft limits and can be extended for good cause. Occasionally, a defendant can be released at preliminary hearing if the Court determines a lack of probable cause. Possible reasons for a dismissal would a viable defense or the paperwork is flawed. The 3rd Step is the indictment. Indictment must occur within forty-five (45) days after arrest. If the Indictment is filed after the 45 days without a good explanation by the County Attorney, the charge will be dismissed with prejudice which means it cannot be filed again. This is hard / absolute deadline that is required of the County Attorney charging the defendant with a crime. The Judge on the Criminal rotation determines if the evidence contained in the indictment and attached minutes of testimony would warrant a conviction by a jury. Along with the indictment, minutes of testimony aka minutes of evidence must be attached. These minutes include a full and fair statement of expected witness testimony and must be sufficient to alert the defendants attorney as to the source and nature of evidence against his / her client. Failure to file the minutes of testimony with the indictment can be the cause of a dismissal upon a motion of the defendants attorney. (Gourley, 2012) If additional witnesses are needed by the State and are not in the minutes of evidence, these witnesses must be provided to the Defendant and his legal team no later than 10 days prior to trial. If the witnesses are listed on the minutes of evidence but the testimony is being amended, this can be amended before or during trial provided the defendant's rights are protected and not overlooked. After a criminal indictment is properly filed, an arraignment, the 4th Step, occurs. Per State v. Lyles, 225 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 1975), an arraignment is a statutory pre-requisite to trial for all offenses other than simple misdemeanor. The Code of Iowa provides no specific timing

4 UNIT #9 PROJECT requirements of arraignment but it must be conducted as soon as practicable and reasonable. The elements of an arraignment consist of the following:
a. b. c. d. e. f. If the defendant does not have counsel, he is advised of the right to counsel and one appointed if he qualifies as indigent. The trial information (or indictment) is either read to the defendant or the defendant waives the reading, indicating that he has been provided a copy of the trial information and has read the trial information. The defendant will state whether or not he is charged in his true and correct name. The defendant is allowed to enter a plea. If the defendant does not enter a plea, a not guilty plea is entered by the court. Bond conditions, if applicable, are requested to be continued. Trial and pretrial dates are requested to be set.

In Polk County, the criminal defendant must appear in person for the arraignment. In some outer Iowa counties, the criminal defendant, if represented by counsel, may waive formal arraignment and plead not guilty by submitting a written arraignment form. (I.R.Cr.P. 2.8(1)), 2012) If the defendant enters a non-guilty plea at the arraignment, there must be a trial date within ninety (90) days from the day of the indictment. This is predicated upon the Constitutional right of a speedy trial. Of course, as we have learned over and over in CJ, criminal defendants always have the opportunity to waive their rights, if they so desire. Such wavier can apply to their right of a speedy trial. (Guide to the Iowa Court System, 2012.)

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REFERENCES

Gourley, Rehkemper & Lindholm PLC - Attorneys at Law retrieved from www.grllaw.com/CM/Custom/Criminal-Procedure-Timeline.asp Guide to Iowas Court System (2012) Retrieved from www.iowacourts.gov Iowa Code 804.5 (2012). Iowa Rules of Criminal Procedure. 2.8(1)) (2012) The Code of Iowa Robert Peterson Law Firm website retrieved from www.robertpetersonlaw.com State v. Lyles, 225 N.W.2d 124 (Iowa 1975).