Criminal Justice and Society

. Discuss the purpose of an arraignment. How is different from a preliminary hearing.

  The purpose of an arraignment is the process by which an accused person is officially be informed about the offence he or she committed before a judge. a) In General. An arraignment must be conducted in open court and must consist of:

(1) Ensuring that the defendant has a copy of the indictment or information;

(2) Reading the indictment or information to the defendant or stating to the defendant the substance of the charge; and then

(3) Asking the defendant to plead to the indictment or information.(Legal Information Institute,2012).

Under the sixth amendment an accused person must be granted constitutional right of court hearing without any kind of delay in court proceeding. The Sixth Amendment to U.S. Constitution guarantees that defendants shall "be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against them." But the Sixth Amendment does not guarantee defendants the right to be informed of the charged offence at an arraignment.(Farlex,2013).The preliminary hearing  is a great opportunity for the accused person to hear and see all the evidences against him or her and it is a way that crown or prosecutor determines if there is enough evidence to proceed to trial or drop all charges.

2. What was the purpose of the Bail Reform Act of 1984? Briefly discuss case law that has helped shape the process of deciding bail amounts.

        The Bail Reform Act of 1984 has given people   the constitutional right to offer resources such as money, property, personal recognition or personal bond to obtain court bail for an offence presume committed by an alleged offender. “a court must be able to induce a

Defendant to go to great lengths to raise the funds without violating the condition insection3142(c).”8 Even if the defendant cannot afford the bail amount, the condition may not run afoul of the statute.9 Courts have held that section 3142(c)(2) prevents only the“ ‘sub rosa use of money bond’ to detain defendants whom the court considers dangerous.”10 Thus, although a court cannot intentionally detain the defendant by setting bail at an unaffordable level, it may set bail at whatever level it finds reasonably necessary to secure appearance; if the defendant cannot afford that amount, the defendant is detained not because he or she “cannot raise the money, but because without the money the risk of flight is too great. (Federal Judicial Center,1993).  The case law of Szott versus state the bail amount was posted and upheld at $1million and the great concern is the accused be able to afford the bail amount. United States v. Szott, 768 F.2d 159, 160 (7 th Cir. 1985) (per curiam) (defendant’s bare assertion that he could not post $1 million bail did not rebut government’s assertion that the defendant may be able to raise the money.(Federal Judicial Center,1993,p.6).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Farlex.(2013). Thefreedictionary. Retrieved on June 15,2013 from                                http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/arraignment

Federal Judicial Center.(1993). The Bail Reform Act of 1984.Retrieved on June 15,2013 from       www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/bailref.pdf/$file/bailref.pd

Legal Information Institute.(2012).Rule 10 Arraignment.Retrieved on June15,2013 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcrmp/rule_10