CJA 204

Courtroom Workgroup

Courtroom Workgroup
Prosecuting those who commit crimes is very important to the overall wellbeing of society and the citizens within society. Prosecuting and convicting criminals not only prevents them from committing another crime, it also serves as a deterrent to others that may be considering breaking the law. Many courts make up the judicial branch and these courts are responsible for applying laws made by the government. The courts are made up of courtroom workgroups that are the basis of the courts proceedings.
The courtroom workgroup consists of the participants that work for the court. The workgroup is composed of the judge, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and others …show more content…

There is a fine line between the two and the prosecutor has the responsibility of keeping the balance between more stringent and less stringent criteria.
The effects of the criminal justice funnel and the backlog of cases on the court system and the courtroom workgroup are detrimental to the pursuit of justice. The University of Phoenix, Criminal Justice Funnel simulation (2011), explains that out of 1000 serious crimes known by police only 200 of them are cleared by arrest (this is caused by a lack of police and funding to actively pursue criminal cases), 70 are accepted by the prosecution, 60 cases go to trial. Out of those cases that are prosecuted, 50 suspects plea or are found guilty and only 30 criminals are incarcerated. The funnel lives up to its name in this instance resulting in a stagnation of all proceedings until the previous case is resolved. This interpretation of the criminal justice system reveals that all criminals do not end up receiving correctional application because of multiple factors occurring between point A and point B. Point A being when the individual is processed ad it becomes necessary to try them in the justice system, point B being when the accused appears in court for trial and is found guilty.
The court system feels the stress from the funnel’s effect in two ways: affectivity and speed. An effective trial of individuals is key because evidence may become null and void, persons may become hesitant to