Criminal Justice System of the United States - Assignment Example

               In the criminal justice system of the United States, a Courtroom Workgroup is a sort of informal arrangement between judicial officer, prosecutor, and criminal defense attorney. The Courtroom Workgroup normally comprises judges, prosecuting, defense, and public attorneys. Judges are the senior officers in the court and they ensure the appropriateness of the court conduct, settle the questions relating to the evidence, chalk out the rules on procedure and guide cross-questioning of the witnesses in the cases.

The Judges have extensive control over the court and the power to decide as to whether hold the complainant or otherwise. The judges are empowered to sentence the defendants besides instructing the jury on conduct, verdict, and the relevant law. Judges are supposed to be tough on the crimes. They serve the bench for a specific period. ( Aaron, 2006) In whatever capacities they are performing, they are to ensure whether the crime under consideration has actually been committed and the suspect properly been identified.

It is their duty to ensure that the evidence provided in the case is sufficient enough to support the verdict. They can decide to plea bargain, negotiate and recommend the amount of bail. They challenge judicial decisions as and when needed. It is the prosecutor who decides as to when a case is chargeable. It is observed that during the course of proceedings the judges, defense attorneys, police, and the probation officers appear to be performing their specific duties whereas the prosecutors are seen performing during all the phases of the court process.

  Prosecutors challenge judicial decisions at times.  The office of the prosecutor is part of the executive branch of the government.  The public defenders are normally overworked and they are assigned to courtrooms only. It is not their role to decide the guilt or innocence of the clients. (Aaron, 2006) Courtroom Workgroups are supposed to maintain secrecy, healthy working relationship, and processing of the cases efficiently.