Mark Davis has been charged
with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) for reckless driving, speeding, four
counts of felony assault, and one count of involuntary manslaughter as the
result of a crash that occurred on a night out with his friends. Mark has been
out on bail and pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned. The Judge set a date
for Mark’s trial and his defense team has been working to collect information
about the technology used by the Highway Patrol to reconstruct the crash.
District Attorney O’Malley
offered Mark a plea bargain, but Mark chose to take his chances at trial.
Mark’s attorney, Mr. Chen Long, advised Mark that accepting the plea offer was
completely up to Mark, although Mr. Long advised against accepting it because
the defense planned to highlight mistakes made by law enforcement during the
investigation that could create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors.
The trial begins and during
the voir dire of potential jurors, several individuals are excused because they
have previous knowledge of Mark’s case from the media. Two individuals stated
that they could not be impartial because they had loved ones killed in alcohol
related crashes as well. Eventually, two men and ten women were seated in
Mark’s trial.
District Attorney O’Malley presented
the State’s case clearly and concisely depicting a night on the town full of
heavy drinking, which ultimately resulted in Mark’s actions causing the death
of one individual and injuring four others. Highway Patrolman Green explained
to the jury that he immediately suspected alcohol when he arrived on scene
because Mark appeared to be intoxicated when they spoke. Following the Judge
ruling that it was admissible and not prejudicial, Sergeant Rodney Monroe, from
the Highway Patrol Reconstruction Team presented their reconstruction complete
with a high-tech computer animated reenactment of the crash. During the cross
examination, Defense Attorney Long challenged the reconstruction because the
Defense Crash Reconstruction Expert had discovered errors in the mathematical
calculations for vehicle speed. The jury appeared to have liked the
reconstruction very much regardless of the errors highlighted by the defense.
Mark was convicted of DWI,
four counts of felony assault, and one count of involuntary manslaughter;
however, he was acquitted of reckless driving and speeding. The Jury said they
could not convict Mark of those offenses because of the mistakes made by law
enforcement officers during the investigation.
Because Mark pleads not
guilty, but was convicted during trial and had two prior DWI offenses, he was
sentenced to ten years in the State Prison. Defense Attorney Long immediately
notified the court of an impending appeal that would be filed by the defendant.
In a report, using external sources to support your claims, answer the
following:
1.
Compare and contrast the roles
of the Judge, Jury, District Attorney (Prosecutor), and Defense Attorney. What
are their primary functions and purposes in the courtroom Workgroup?
2.
Discuss the rights of the
defendant in your state during the trial phase of the criminal justice process.
3.
Discuss the rights of the
victims and/or their families in your state during the pre-trial and trial
phase of the criminal justice process. Would it be unusual for the family of a
deceased victim to become angered by a slow criminal justice process or one
where they are not permitted by law to be given information about the facts or
evidence in the case by the District Attorney’s Office before the trial?
4.
Compare and contrast
plea-bargaining versus going to trial. Historically, opponents to plea bargains
have claimed that they are used to alleviate heavy workloads of prosecutors
(district attorneys). Prosecutors argue that plea-bargaining is a necessary
part of the criminal justice process for several reasons. Where is the future
of the criminal justice process headed in this regard?
5.
Analyze how the Highway
Patrol’s computer animated reenactment might have related to the Crime Scene
Investigation (CSI) effect in the courtroom
