Blanca Sisniega

BEFORE AND DURING THE TRIAL

1. Why does the law give a defendant the option to skip the preliminary
hearing? Why might a defendant choose to do this?

Law gives the defendant the option to a preliminary hearing because it might help himself
to have a better trial. Defendant might choose to do this because in that way they can avoid
preserving witness testimony or new charges being added, so skipping it sometimes really
helps the defendant.

2. Choose one case from the news article you read regarding a motion for
change of venue. Do you believe a change of venue was needed in this
particular case to have a fair trial? Here is the article (it is also attached
below): Click Here

I don’t think that in the case of Boston’s marathon a change of venue was needed, because
even if the jury was influenced by the media, obviously other states are going to be
influenced by media as well. So I don’t think a change of venue is needed what I believe is
that the selection of the jury has to be very objective so a fair trial is made.

3. Of the 5 steps in the trial process (jury selection, opening statements,

witness examination, closing arguments, and jury deliberation), which do you
believe is MOST important to ensuring a fair trial for the defendant?

I believe that the most important of a trial is the jury selection, because they are the ones that
will decide the verdict based on all the evidence which is presented to them. They really have
an important role, because the persons that will be in the jury are the ones that can do a fir or
unfair trial.