Criminal Verdicts Essay

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Criminal Cases and Their Resolutions

Discuss one (1) real-life criminal case, taken from current events, and identify the court that took jurisdiction. Explain why the court that took the case was the appropriate one for the particular circumstances. (Jodie Arias)

The Jodi Arias case is being tried in Maricopa County by the Maricopa Superior Court. The reason why that court took jurisdiction is because the crime was allegedly committed in Mesa Arizona. Mesa is located in Maricopa County. Part of the reason that the court was tried by the Superior Court was connected to the fact that the Arias was charged with murder in the first and because the state sought the death penalty. Thus, the stakes are high enough to warrant the use of the superior court. "The case has not yet been sent to the jury for their determination on whether Petitioner is not guilty or guilty of first degree murder, however, the State has completed presentation of its case-in-chief. Should the jury convict Petitioner of First Degree Murder, then the Aggravation Trial will start immediately. Petitioner is requesting that this Court stay the aggravation trial on the sole capital aggravator until the legal issues raised in the Petition are resolved" (Nurmi, 2012). Furthermore, as Nurmi explains, there is an issue connected with perjury to support a probably cause determination on the single capital aggravator: thus there is no time or other opportunity to assess whether or not Judge Stephens' denial of the petitioner's motion was or was not correct (Nurmi, 2012).

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Essentially the case was being tried in the Maricopa Superior court as a result of the Arias' attorney's swift actions. Arias' attorney argued that "The trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion to dismiss causes overwhelming prejudice to Petitioner as she is forced to suffer the jeopardy of a potential death sentence in a case where a death sentence should not be available. Such actions violate Petitioner's right to Due Process and a fair trial under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, under Article 2, Section 4 of the Arizona Constitution, and under the case law cited in the Petition" (Nurmi, 2012). Also, it's worth mentioning that in spring of 2010, the motion to disqualify the Maricopa County Attorney's office was denied. Maricopa County and the court system present in this arena was absolutely always going to be the court system used to try this case on the basis of the fact that it has jurisdiction over this region.

2. Discuss the real-life case that you have selected, in which the defendant accepted a plea bargain as an alternative to trial. Give your opinion on whether or not justice was served in the case in question. Provide a rationale for the response.

Another case which is almost comparable to the Jodie Arias case is the one concerning the former Ms. Washington, Peggy Thomas who was also charged with first degree murder. Thomas, aged 47, accepted a plea bargain before she was scheduled to go through trial. Thomas claims that she accepted.....

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