Right to a speedy trial

[RandomPoster]

I have an idea that would help with the right to a speedy trial. The prosecution builds a case against you. When they are ready to go to trial, you are arrested and brought to the courtroom. You are given a chance to call a lawyer and have him travel immediately to the courthouse. Otherwise, you are given a public defendant. As the trial starts, you and your lawyer are informed as to what you are being charged when they ask for a plea of guilty or innocent. The trial then proceeds at an extremely rapid pace and the defendant doesn't have to sit in a waiting for cell for an extended period of time.

 

[WinterBorn]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

 

[RandomPoster]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

The police already interview people and the defendant already has a chance to flee.

Your lawyer would be provided a copy of every piece of evidence as it is being presented in court at the same time the judge and the jury sees it.

Additionally, if someone pleads innocent and is found guilty, the court is determining that they are lying and they would be automatically convicted of perjury on top of any other convictions.

 

[WinterBorn]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

The police already interview people and the defendant already has a chance to flee.

Your lawyer would be provided a copy of every piece of evidence as it is being presented in court at the same time the judge and the jury sees it.

Additionally, if someone pleads innocent and is found guilty, the court is determining that they are lying and they would be automatically convicted of perjury on top of any other convictions.

Your defense lawyer gets to see every piece of evidence at the same time the judge and jury do? How the hell can your lawyer build a defense? This is just railroading people and calling it speeding up the trials.

Yes, the police interview people. But when they have the evidence, they make an arrest. What happens if, while the prosecution is building and airtight case, the criminals do it again and again? You want to let a murderer go free until the prosecution has their case built? Or a rapist?

And as for the perjury charge, unless you can actually prove they are lying, the fact that they were found guilty is not grounds for a perjury charge.


What you want is a very authoritarian gov't, with the odds stacked in favor of the prosecution by a mile. The prosecution gets as long as they want to build a case, but the defense shows up and see all the evidence at the time he has to defend you. No chance to investigate, bring in witnesses to refute the prosecution, or even verify the evidence is 100% accurate.

No. Not in this country, anyway.

 

[hadit]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

The police already interview people and the defendant already has a chance to flee.

Your lawyer would be provided a copy of every piece of evidence as it is being presented in court at the same time the judge and the jury sees it.

Additionally, if someone pleads innocent and is found guilty, the court is determining that they are lying and they would be automatically convicted of perjury on top of any other convictions.

Your defense lawyer gets to see every piece of evidence at the same time the judge and jury do? How the hell can your lawyer build a defense? This is just railroading people and calling it speeding up the trials.

Yes, the police interview people. But when they have the evidence, they make an arrest. What happens if, while the prosecution is building and airtight case, the criminals do it again and again? You want to let a murderer go free until the prosecution has their case built? Or a rapist?

And as for the perjury charge, unless you can actually prove they are lying, the fact that they were found guilty is not grounds for a perjury charge.


What you want is a very authoritarian gov't, with the odds stacked in favor of the prosecution by a mile. The prosecution gets as long as they want to build a case, but the defense shows up and see all the evidence at the time he has to defend you. No chance to investigate, bring in witnesses to refute the prosecution, or even verify the evidence is 100% accurate.

No. Not in this country, anyway.

Seriously, the defense does a lot of work to get evidence that had been illegally obtained suppressed. Do it this way and there's no protection at all.

 

[WinterBorn]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

The police already interview people and the defendant already has a chance to flee.

Your lawyer would be provided a copy of every piece of evidence as it is being presented in court at the same time the judge and the jury sees it.

Additionally, if someone pleads innocent and is found guilty, the court is determining that they are lying and they would be automatically convicted of perjury on top of any other convictions.

Your defense lawyer gets to see every piece of evidence at the same time the judge and jury do? How the hell can your lawyer build a defense? This is just railroading people and calling it speeding up the trials.

Yes, the police interview people. But when they have the evidence, they make an arrest. What happens if, while the prosecution is building and airtight case, the criminals do it again and again? You want to let a murderer go free until the prosecution has their case built? Or a rapist?

And as for the perjury charge, unless you can actually prove they are lying, the fact that they were found guilty is not grounds for a perjury charge.


What you want is a very authoritarian gov't, with the odds stacked in favor of the prosecution by a mile. The prosecution gets as long as they want to build a case, but the defense shows up and see all the evidence at the time he has to defend you. No chance to investigate, bring in witnesses to refute the prosecution, or even verify the evidence is 100% accurate.

No. Not in this country, anyway.

Seriously, the defense does a lot of work to get evidence that had been illegally obtained suppressed. Do it this way and there's no protection at all.

Exactly! And often the prosecution had hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of interviews, forensic evidence and crime data. He wants the defense to have to sort thru it all while the trial is starting? I'm glad my life would never depend on this sort of system. Every defendent is screwed. And the public is left in real danger while the prosecution builds a solid case.

RandomPoster, you have never been involved in an actual criminal case, have you?

 

[RandomPoster]

So the prosecution has months to prepare their case, and you (with your lawyer) are informed of the charges the day you show up in court? Kinda hard to build a defense on the spur of the moment.

And if the prosecution takes weeks or months to prepare their case, they will, undoubtedly, interview a lot of people. People the defendant knows. And when the defendant hears a case is being built, do you think he will just hang around and wait for the cops?

And the defendant can post bail. They don't have to sit and wait.

The police already interview people and the defendant already has a chance to flee.

Your lawyer would be provided a copy of every piece of evidence as it is being presented in court at the same time the judge and the jury sees it.

Additionally, if someone pleads innocent and is found guilty, the court is determining that they are lying and they would be automatically convicted of perjury on top of any other convictions.

Your defense lawyer gets to see every piece of evidence at the same time the judge and jury do? How the hell can your lawyer build a defense? This is just railroading people and calling it speeding up the trials.

Yes, the police interview people. But when they have the evidence, they make an arrest. What happens if, while the prosecution is building and airtight case, the criminals do it again and again? You want to let a murderer go free until the prosecution has their case built? Or a rapist?

And as for the perjury charge, unless you can actually prove they are lying, the fact that they were found guilty is not grounds for a perjury charge.


What you want is a very authoritarian gov't, with the odds stacked in favor of the prosecution by a mile. The prosecution gets as long as they want to build a case, but the defense shows up and see all the evidence at the time he has to defend you. No chance to investigate, bring in witnesses to refute the prosecution, or even verify the evidence is 100% accurate.

No. Not in this country, anyway.

Seriously, the defense does a lot of work to get evidence that had been illegally obtained suppressed. Do it this way and there's no protection at all.

They should not throw out evidence that was illegally obtained. They should use the evidence at trial and then criminally prosecute the police officer who broke the law obtaining the evidence illegally in a separate trial afterwards. Both the defendant and the police officer could potentially wind up as cellmates afterwards.

 

[RandomPoster]

"What happens if, while the prosecution is building and airtight case, the criminals do it again and again? You want to let a murderer go free until the prosecution has their case built? Or a rapist?"

If he walks away free, he could commit countless crimes, so it is better to focus on getting the conviction. Also, the situation of multiple crimes could be solved in a completely different manner. They arrest him and bring him to the courthouse. They start the trial by asking him if there is anything he would like to plead guilty to. If the list of things he chooses to plead guilty to does not contain the incident he is about to be put on trial for, it is considered a plea of innocence and the trial begins. Any guilty pleas he did make would be regarded as separate convictions afterwards at half the sentence even if they had the goods on him and he would have been convicted anyhow. Alternatively, if he is found guilty of any crime he was actually being accused of after pleading innocent, that is to say the jury is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that he is lying in regards to his guilt or innocence, which is the entire point of the trial, he is by definition guilty of perjury as well and that conviction is tacked on at the end.

We could even keep people in line with a random lottery that would run on fairly rare occasions. An individual who is not suspected of a crime is arrested and brought before the court. He has no idea what, if anything, they might suspect him of. However, given the rarity of random lottery arrests, they most probably have something on him. He is given an opportunity to plead guilty to whatever he has done wrong at half sentence that can not exceed 15 years and a guarantee of no death penalty for ANYTHING he pleads guilty to before the trial starts. Afterwards, if has plead guilty to nothing, the trial either starts with an innocent plea or he is let go because it was simply a test. Imagine your babysitter was dealing in child pornography and no one had any idea, yet he offered a preemptive plea for a half sentence because he thought they might have proof. Is it better that he gets a half sentence instead of no sentence and you not even knowing?

It would even apply to smaller crimes. If you suspect they might have evidence of your speeding, you can plead guilty for a half fine and a legal assurance of it being exempt from your driving record in regards to insurance companies.

 

[fncceo]

I have an idea that would help with the right to a speedy trial. The prosecution builds a case against you. When they are ready to go to trial, you are arrested and brought to the courtroom. You are given a chance to call a lawyer and have him travel immediately to the courthouse. Otherwise, you are given a public defendant. As the trial starts, you and your lawyer are informed as to what you are being charged when they ask for a plea of guilty or innocent. The trial then proceeds at an extremely rapid pace and the defendant doesn't have to sit in a waiting for cell for an extended period of time.

It’s been done ...