NCJ Number
78022
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
Focusing on Missouri's circuit court system, this public interest film discusses how court procedures work in breaking and entering cases and how all the constraints affect the system.
Abstract
It describes the duties of judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors in such cases and mentions such hindrances to court performance as excessive case backlogs which may serve to deny the defendant a speedy trial. The compressed version of an actual breaking and entering case is depicted to illustrate the problem of heavy caseloads and certain rules of evidence. Summations given by the defense and prosecuting attorneys illustrate the plea bargaining process and are followed by the judge's instructions to the jury.