The case involves a 23-year-old active Marine arrested for carrying firearms without a permit. If the defendant carried concealed weapons with a permit, the prosecutor would file no charges under the LEOSA. This act allows for issuing permits for carrying concealed weapons to active and retired law enforcement officers (Touchstone, 2018). However, since the defendant had no permit, charges may be filed. According to the case, the defendant had no prior criminal records, which makes him a first-time offender. The punishment for first-time offenders in such cases can be “a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail” (Colorado Legal Defense Group, 2020, para. 2).
It was also mentioned that the defendant’s brother wanted the defendant to get a counselor. According to Del Carmen and Hemmens (2017), the right to a counselor is given to individuals under arrest only if they are interrogated. Defendants also can get a counselor during lineups, initial appearance, and other stages of a criminal case (Del Carmen & Hemmens, 2017). Since the defendant is still at the arrest stage, the counselor should be granted to him if he is interrogated.
The case involves a 23-year-old African American accused of murder. Since the attorneys are prepared to select the jury for the case, it means that the plea bargain could not be reached (FindLawThomson, 2009). The jurors are questioned during a process called voir dire to select impartial and unbiased jurors. This process should determine whether there are grounds for challenge for cause and peremptory challenge (Del Carmen & Hemmens, 2017).
To select appropriate jurors for this case, it would be necessary to make inquiries that would eliminate grounds for challenge for cause. These would include inquiries about jurors’ eligibility to vote, criminal records, and mental state (Del Carmen & Hemmens, 2017). Jurors should also have no bias for or against the defendant, have no opinion about the case, and be no potential witnesses in the case (Del Carmen & Hemmens, 2017). Peremptory challenge means that a certain number of jurors may be rejected without stating the reason (Del Carmen & Hemmens, 2017). In this case, attorneys can use this right to resolve the issue of underrepresented African American jurors who may be less biased toward the African American defendant.
References
Colorado Legal Defense Group. (2020). Colorado’s concealed weapon law. Web.
Del Carmen, R. V., & Hemmens, C. (2017). Criminal procedure: Law and practice (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.
FindLawThomson. (2009). Criminal arrest: Stages of criminal case – FindLaw [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Touchstone, J. R. (2018). A review of the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act and recent case developments. California Peace Officers Association. Web.