serious crimes punishable by more than 1 year in prison
Examples
Robbery
Kidnapping
Rape
Burglary
murder aka homicide
misdemeanors
less serious crimes
punishable by less than 1
year in prison
District Courts
Superior Court
NC Court of Appeals
NC Supreme Court
1 Chief Justice + 6
Associate Justices Total
=7
They are elected & serve for 8 year terms
Steps IN a Criminal Case
A crime is committed
Police investigate
Arrest a suspect
Booking. Suspect is fingerprinted & their mug shot taken
Preliminary hearing !st time suspect before a judge
arraignment. Suspect is asked to enter a plea guilty or not guilty
Plea bargain-suspect pleads guilty to a
lesser charge in exchange for a lighter
sentence
If the suspect pleads guilty then the judge sentences him/her.
If the suspect pleads not guilty then a trial date is set
trial
defendant
the accused
defense lawyer
the lawyer for the defendant
prosecutor
works for the state; they represent the victim
Verdict
Civil Law
the plaintiff files a lawsuit (a complaint) over damages & money
Constitutional law
cases involving the Constitution
District Courts (lowest level of the Federal Court System
Courts of Appeals
US Supreme Court
Gideon v. Wainwright
guarantees EVERY defendant a lawyer
Miranda v. Arizona
Police must inform a suspect of his/her rights
Mapp v. Ohio
exclusionary rule says evidence the police gather WITHOUT a search warrant or probable
cause is "inadmissible" in court and must be "excluded"
Furman vs. Georgia (1972) suspended the use of the
death penalty. The Supreme Court ruled the way the
death penalty was being used was "arbitrarily" ,
"freakish". The ban on the death penalty would last 4
years
Gregg v. Georgia (1976) reinstated the death penalty; it divided a death
penalty case into phases 1) Trial 2) Sentencing The same jury that
found the defendant guilty was also responsible for assigning the
death penalty.