Criminal Trials, Appeals and Other Post-Conviction Remedies

1. Is justice best served by having legislatures assign fixed penalties to each crime? Or should legislatures leave judges more or less free to tailor sentences to the aggravating and mitigating facts of each criminal case within a defined range? Explain your answer and comment on your classmates’ views.

2. The accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime was committed per the Sixth Amendment. However, is it likely that all jurors will be impartial and fair? Should the jurors be allowed to question the defendant during a jury trial or does such an action complicate the process?