18.5 Plea Bargains, Trial Procedure, Sentencing & Post-Trial Motions

18.5 Plea Bargains, Trial Procedure, Sentencing & Post-Trial Motions

[!NOTE] NALS PP Exam Blueprint Focus: The Part 4 Criminal Procedure list names plea bargains or trial, trial procedure and sentencing, arrest of judgment and motion for new trial, and correction or reduction of sentence as separate topics. The great majority of criminal cases resolve by plea, so the plea material is the operationally important part.

Plea Bargains

The three bargain types

Under the federal framework and most state analogues, a sentence agreement is either a non-binding recommendation, which the court may reject while holding the defendant to the plea, or a binding agreed disposition, which the court may accept or reject but, if rejected, entitles the defendant to withdraw the plea. The distinction is the single most important thing a defendant must understand before pleading.

The colloquy

A guilty plea waives the right to trial, to confront witnesses, and against self-incrimination, so the record must affirmatively show the waiver is knowing and voluntary. The court addresses the defendant personally and establishes:

1. The nature of the charge and its elements.
2. The maximum penalty, any mandatory minimum, and any supervised release or parole consequence.
3. The rights waived — jury trial, confrontation, compulsory process, the privilege against self-incrimination, and in most cases appeal of pre-plea rulings.
4. That the plea is voluntary and not the product of force, threats, or promises outside the agreement.
5. That a factual basis supports each element.
6. Whether the defendant is satisfied with counsel.

Collateral consequences matter too: counsel must advise a non-citizen defendant of the deportation consequences of a plea, and failure to do so can constitute ineffective assistance.

A prosecutor who induces a plea by a promise must keep the bargain; breach entitles the defendant to specific performance or withdrawal. An Alford plea allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining innocence where the record contains a strong factual basis, and a nolo contendere plea accepts punishment without admitting guilt and is generally not usable as an admission in a later civil action.

Withdrawal

Before sentencing, withdrawal is generally allowed for a fair and just reason. After sentencing, relief is far narrower and ordinarily requires direct appeal or collateral attack.

Trial Procedure

Order of proceedings

1. Jury selection (voir dire) — challenges for cause, unlimited in number, and peremptory challenges, limited in number.
2. Preliminary instructions.
3. Opening statements — prosecution, then defense, which may reserve.
4. Prosecution case-in-chief.
5. Motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the prosecution case.
6. Defense case, if any. The defendant need not testify or present evidence.
7. Rebuttal and surrebuttal.
8. Renewed motion for judgment of acquittal.
9. Closing arguments — prosecution, defense, prosecution rebuttal, reflecting the burden of proof.
10. Jury instructions and, in many courts, a charge conference on the record beforehand.
11. Deliberation and verdict.

Jury selection and Batson

A challenge for cause removes a juror who cannot be impartial and is unlimited in number. A peremptory challenge requires no reason but is limited, and it may not be exercised on the basis of race or sex.

A Batson challenge proceeds in three steps:

1. The objecting party makes a prima facie showing of discriminatory exercise.
2. The striking party offers a neutral explanation.
3. The court decides whether purposeful discrimination occurred.

Burden, verdict, and the defendant's rights

The prosecution must prove every element beyond a reasonable doubt; the defendant is presumed innocent and bears no burden except on certain affirmative defenses. A unanimous verdict is required to convict of a serious offense, in state as well as federal court. A deadlocked jury produces a mistrial, and retrial is generally permitted because manifest necessity excuses the double jeopardy bar.

A motion for judgment of acquittal asks whether the evidence, viewed most favorably to the prosecution, is legally sufficient for a rational trier of fact to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Because acquittal is final, an order granting it generally cannot be appealed by the government.

Sentencing

The process

Sentence structures

Federal sentencing operates under guidelines that are advisory rather than mandatory; a court calculates the range, considers the statutory sentencing factors, and may vary from the range with adequate explanation. Any fact other than a prior conviction that increases the statutory maximum must be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, and the same rule applies to facts that increase a mandatory minimum.

Restitution to victims, fines, forfeiture, and special assessments are imposed alongside the term of confinement, and conditions of supervision are set at sentencing.

Post-Trial Motions

[!TIP] The distinction the exam tests: a motion in arrest of judgment does not argue about the evidence at all. It says the indictment or information does not state an offense, or the court had no jurisdiction — defects that make the judgment invalid regardless of how strong the proof was. A motion for new trial and a motion for judgment of acquittal both address the evidence, the first by weight and the second by legal sufficiency.

A timely post-trial motion tolls the time for filing a notice of appeal until the court disposes of it, which makes the calendaring rule identical in structure to the civil one.