Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to teach you what a trial is, what the components and steps in a trial are and how it is run.
The criminal trial process has many components. In this assignment, you explore real-life examples of the criminal trial process in two different types of criminal trials. This assignment is designed to teach you how a criminal trial works. The paper should be less concerned with how the case came to trial and much more concerned with what happened in court during the trial.
Search the Internet for criminal trials using parameters such as but not limited to “watch criminal trials online,” or visit the Wild About Trial website. Be aware that these sources do not always have sufficient information to answer all the questions this assignment calls for. If this is the case, you must do additional research so that all questions are fully answered. Or use trials that you are familiar with due to being in the news. But please be aware that, just because a case appears in these websites doesn’t mean it is appropriate for this assignment. It must be a criminal case that went to trial and verdict. Make sure the trial used dealt with guilt or non-guilt. Cases like the Jeffrey Dahmer trial– which dealt only with sanity– cannot be used. Cases that ended in a plea bargain where the defendant pled guilty before a jury reached a verdict are also not permitted. If you have any questions or concerns about the cases you want to use, please ask me first!
Compare two criminal trials that occurred in the United States. A criminal trial is a case that, after arrest, had a judge and jury decide the outcome. There was testimony and a final verdict by the jury. If possible, compare a murder trial with one involving another major felony. Include the parties represented in each trial (i.e., victim and defendant) by name. Who was the prosecutor? Who was the defense attorney? Etc.
CAUTIONS: 1. This is a class in criminal courts in the United States. Make sure your cases are both criminal cases which were tried in the United States.
2. These cases you use must involve criminal charges and that the cases went all the way to trial and a verdict. No plea bargaining, no arrests that have not yet gone to trial, no civil cases. (Using these types of cases are the biggest mistakes I see in this assignment.) If you write, “the defendant pled guilty” then the case is no good.
3. A trial is what happens from the time a group of citizens are brought into the courtroom to begin jury selection and goes through the jury returning with a verdict. That is all this paper is concerned about. Discuss the facts only for a better understanding of what happened during the trial. You are to detail how a trial is conducted.
4. These cases must deal with an actual criminal trial that occurred in the United States and that had a jury render a verdict of either guilty or not guilty. Please do not select a case that you find was a miscarriage of justice just so you can express your outrage. The paper is concerned only with the facts of what happened during the trial and to help teach you about the workings of a trial.
5. Please refer to Chapter 13 for the steps in a trial. It is from this list you are to describe what happened in your trials.
6. If you have any questions or concerns about the cases you want to use, ask me first. If you want, please run your choices by me before beginning. Points will be deducted for trials that do not meet these requirements.
Write 350- to 700-word comparison in which you:
- Summarize what each trial was about.
- Identify the type of court the trials were held in (refer to Ch. 1 for types of courts in the United States).
- Describe as many of the steps of each trial as you can (refer to Ch. 13 for the steps/process).
- Explain the similarities and differences between the two trials you selected.
- Identify as many of the actors of each trial as you can who played a role in the steps of the trial process. What were their names? What were their roles?
Cite in the body of the paper a minimum of 2 sources (one source for each trial) for each piece of information you learn from an outside source, whether or not you used a quotation.
Format your paper according to APA guidelines.
Submit your assignment as a Microsoft document.
