Are Modern Prosecutors & Defense Attorneys Even Paying Attention?

Today's prosecutors and Defense Attorneys seem to be less and less engaged in actually analyzing evidence, and more and more focused on verifying if warrants as referred by the arresting law enforcement agency seem to be valid on their face. WHAT DO I MEAN? Well to speak in simplistic terms, there is a steady process that is followed (varies by jurisdiction) when prosecutors have a file placed on their desk for review. What is included in that file? Well for starters, the warrants that placed the defendant in jail to begin with. Followed by the police report, information related to if there was an emergency call, witness statements, and in 2023, bodycam and dash cam video. All of these things are supposed to be reviewed thoroughly before the prosecutor makes his/her "Charging Decision". What is a "Charging Decision", you might ask? A Charging Decision is "a check against the arbitrary exercise of police power". Prosecutors may file charges on all crimes for which the police arrested a suspect (i.e. the referred warrants), file charges that are more or less severe than the charges leveled by the police (add or subtract charges as they see fit), or decide not to file any charges at all. The process that is supposed to go into the decision making is the actual evidence that is present in the file. However, with DA's offices around the country so backed up with cases, are Prosecutors actually engaging in this process and analysis when they receive a case file? Likely not so much. If every prosecutor spent 1 hour reading a police report, 3 hours watching body-cam footage, and 2 hours reading witness statements and then reaching out to those witnesses, then there would be no time to reach and analyze the other 200 cases on their caseload. So is this why it is rare for cases to go to trial? Is this why the country is seeing less and less jury trials? The answer? Prosecutors are hoping Defense Lawyers won't take them all the way through a jury trial; therefore, they spend less time preparing the cases on their caseload. The vast majority of criminal cases resolve with a plea bargain prior to trial. It is rare that a criminal case goes to trial. Typically, less than ten percent, maybe five percent of cases actually go to trial. These trends vary by jurisdiction, however they are similar across the board. With fewer than 10% of cases actually going to a jury trial, why would prosecutors have an incentive to spend the time and/or effort preparing for one on the front end? That ends up posing a problem for the entire criminal justice system. When prosecutors do not have trial experience, they will be less likely to not know how to try a criminal case, meaning they will be less likely to take the time to prepare the case and charge it correctly, meaning they will likely offer a plea before a trial arrives. The same is true for Defense Lawyers, if they do not have the trial experience, they will be less likely to advocate for their clients by demanding a jury trial, because they are likely afraid of going to trial due to a lack of experience in trying a case. However, contrarily, when a prosecutor or defense lawyer is experienced and knows how to try a case, then the effort and/or analysis that should go into every case, is likely occurring properly and the system becomes more balanced. Trials are an important part of the justice system, and the amount of practice that goes into Trial procedure should be mandatory for all new lawyers who are going into a field of law that requires courtroom participation. Bottom Line, new attorneys who want to practice criminal law, whether as a prosecutor or a defense lawyer, should be looking for a mentor or supervisor who can help them become trial lawyers.