Trial Observation

Observe three of following proceedings: Arraignment, Defense opening statements, sentencing. Identify the court, judges (if possible), defendant(s), charges, the application of court procedures and your impressions. Include your findings with corresponding citations. I have also included a template to follow, template is included to help with how the essay should be formatted and not be copied. Also, if you do not understand the proceeding or the cases. you may look it up on the internet and include findings. Links bellow to be used on what proceedings to observe.  – https://wildabouttrial.com/news/criminal-justice-news/kevin-spacey-arraignment-video-archive/ (arraignment) – https://www.courttv.com/title/ca-v-winslow-defense-opening-statement/  (defense opening statement) – https://wildabouttrial.com/archives/jeffrey-zeigler-sentencing-video-archive/  (sentencing)Joe StudentAJS 115 Criminal ProcedureProfessor Dean C. Anderson, JDNovember 12, 2020Criminal Trial Observation Paper (Template)Synopsis of Crime and CourtThe case I chose to observe is “State v. ____”. The trial was held in __________court in ______ county, state of _____. The judge was ______. The prosecutor was _____ and the defense counsel was _______.The State charged defendant ______________ with the crimes of ______________. The story behind the alleged crime is that the defendant _______________ to victim ___________.I decided to observe and comment on 1) the opening statements of the prosecutor and defense counsel, 2) the prosecutor’s direct examination and defense counsel’s cross-examination of prosecution witness _______; and 3) the closing statements of the prosecutor and defense counsel.Opening StatementsProsecutor __________ presented the opening statement for the State. The prosecutor explained _________, identified ___________, claimed that ___________.I learned in class that prosecutors were supposed to __________________. I observed that the prosecutor in this case did/did not follow these procedures. I think that __________.Defense Counsel present the opening statement for the defense. Defense Counsel explained __________, identified _____________, claimed that __________.I learned in class that the defense counsel was supposed to __________________. I observed that the defense counsel in this case did/did not follow these procedures. I think that __________.Direct and Cross-ExaminationThe prosecutor called witness _________ to the stand. Witness _________ is a witness because ___________. The prosecutor asked qualifying questions such as “___________________”“___________________”“___________________”and then asked open-ended/closed-ended/leading questions of the witness in order to convey to the jury the following story: ___________. Examples of the questions that the prosecutor asked this witness are:“___________________”“___________________”“___________________”The prosecutor asked a specific question that caught my attention. It was “________”. I feel that the prosecutor should have/have not asked that question of this witness because _____________.The prosecutor displayed evidence ___________ to the jury while examining this witness. If I were in the jury, I would have been/not have been swayed by the presentation of evidence because ________.The defense attorney cross-examined witness ___________. The defense attorney asked leading/closed-ended/open-ended questions of the prosecution witness in an effort to _______________. Examples of the question include: “___________________”“___________________”“___________________”If I were a member of the jury, I would have considered the defense attorney to be cruel/ disrespectful/clever, polite, etc. The defense attorney’s questioning of prosecution witness ______ swayed me (or didn’t sway me) because ______________.From class, I learned that the prosecutor should ___________ I observed that the prosecutor actually ____________.From class, I learned that the defense counsel should ________. I observed that the defense counsel actually _______________.Closing StatementThe prosecutor presented the State’s closing argument, followed by the defense counsel. The prosecutor chose to (or not to) provide a rebuttal.In closing, the prosecutor made the following points: “___________________”“___________________”“___________________”I learned in class that the prosecutor should _______________. I fell the prosecutor did/did not do an adequate job in his/her closing argument. Had I been a member of the jury, I would have believed __________ based on the prosecutor’s argument.In closing, the defense counsel made the following points:“___________________”“___________________”“___________________”In class, I learned that the defense counsel could _______________. In fact, the defense counsel said ___________.Final Impressions