Exam 5: The Dynamics of Courthouse Justice

Although a prosecutor may believe that a given defendant violated the law, s/he may decide against moving forward with prosecution based on a belief that no jury would come back with a guilty verdict. This represents a discretionary decision based on

The courtroom workgroup includes all who appear in the courtroom at any trial.

The same differences of opinion about crime that characterize society as a whole likewise divide courthouse actors.

Plea bargaining predates any of the "modern" problems of the courthouse.

Who is the record keeper for the court, often responsible for summoning potential jurors?

Compare and contrast the law on the books and the law in action approaches to court delay.Which approach do you think is the most effective at addressing the problem of delay in courts? Why?

In Barker v.Wingo, the Court held that the right to a speedy trial

Legal ethics seek to ensure clients that their lawyers are working in their best interests.

The court case Barker v.Wingo is concerned with what constitutional guarantee?

Which of the following is a law in action approach to court delay?

Which of the following are negative consequences of delay in the courts?

Assistant prosecutors are often judged not on how many cases they win, but on how few they ____.

What factors often influence discretionary decision making by members of the courtroom work group?

Newcomers to a job learn the formal and informal rules of behavior through ____.

Speedy-trial laws are limited because they do not deal with discretion.

Law in action approaches to solving the problem of delay can prove effective because

What 13ᵗʰ Century document attempted to address the problem of delay in justice?

A discretionary decision based on decision makers' values and attitudes reflects

One of the often-noted problems of courts is that it take too long for cases to reach disposition.What are the three reasons that delay is seen as a problem for the courts? Which one do you think is the biggest problem? Why?

According to the _____ Trial Act of 1974 (amended in 1979), certain time periods, such as those associated with hearings or pretrial motions and the mental competency of the defendant, are considered excludable time.