Criminal Process From Arrest Through Sentencing And Appeal

The criminal justice system consists of models and theories that often contradict one another. Of these models are the crime control model, the due process, model, the consensus model and the conflict model. In this paper these models are evaluated and defined, as well as each entity in the criminal justice systems role within each model. Policing, corrections and the court system all subscribe to each model in some way and in a hurried manner in cases that dictate such a response. As described by Erik Luna in the Models of Criminal Procedure, the following statement summarizes the aforementioned most appropriately.

The losing party in a judgment by a federal district court, in general has a right to appeal the judgment to the next highest court, which is usually the United States Circuit Court of Appeals. In a federal criminal case, the government may not appeal a not guilty verdict, though they may appeal the sentence imposed on a criminal convict. In a federal criminal case, the defendant may appeal their conviction and the sentence.

The aim of the criminal justice system is to balance the numerous rights and values of society and individuals and to ensure that the application of the law is effective and results in just outcomes. The concept of justice is difficult to define and naturally there are areas where there is conflict between rights of individuals and society. The areas of conflict include police powers and the use of tasers, bail and mandatory sentencing.

The United States has both federal and state laws defining and banning crimes, and in order for society to be a civil environment for everyone, the government expects citizens to follow these laws and principles. The legislative branch of the government drafts laws, the executive branch enforces them, and the judicial branch reviews them (3 Branches of the U.S. Government). The legislative branch can identify the type of punishment that fits individuals committing different forms of crime, and the judicial branch can order punishments. For instance, people that engage in a robbery with violence, murder or steal intellectual property face a variety of different charges after they are arraigned in courts of law. While there are a broad variety

1. Outline and explain the three key goals victims can pursue through the criminal justice system.

It is of great importance to discuss the challenges faced by indeterminate sentence prisoners maintaining factual innocence as it forms many questions revolving around the criminal appeals process and the adequacy of procedures as it pertains to the prison system, the Parole Board and the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC). I will discuss these issues in light of Stefan Kiszko and a comparison of both Canada 's and Australia 's appeal system.

All crimes are not conducted with the exact process and mind behind it, which is why it is essential for a variety of sentencing options presented to court to maintain a just criminal system. The extensive array of sentencing options provides judicial benefits as they ease the selection process as he/she are not limited to one particular sentence but can impose a suitable punishment corresponding to the nature of the crime. When courts have these other options available, they can tailor a cost-effective sentence that suits the crime and offender. Incarceration (imprisonment) is a famously common sentence among the system however this traditional approach can be replaced by many alternatives that could be selected when imposing a sentence.

The modern legal and criminal justice system are, for the most part, based on thousands of years of evolution of the concept of law and the powers granted to men by fellow men. Although there continue to be flaws in the system, there is enough common sense in the contemporary legal system for most people to be treated fairly under the law. The biggest challenges for the future will be the ability for the legal system to be just for everyone, especially in the recent rash of

Sentencing is essentially the final stage of the criminal justice process, aside from the appeals process. It is a dual decision-making process that consists of two significant stages. The first stage reflects the decision to grant incarceration or probation upon the accused, while the second stage involves determining the length of a sentence (Neubauer & Fradella, 2011). As this discussion focuses on the second stage of the sentencing process, it is important to understand key stakeholders involved at this decision-making point.

Once the criminals are tried and convicted of a crime, they have options in regards to their sentencing. In fact, they can sometimes shorten or even possibly get released. How does one do this? Convicted individuals can get acquitted through the process of appeals. An appeal is the process of requesting a higher court to review the lower court’s decision on a case that has been tried; this is done in the hopes that the higher court will change the sentencing of the defendant (Gaines & Miller, 2015, p. 178). That being said, the process of an appeal is only eligible for the defiance, not for the prosecution (Gaines & Miller, 2015, p. 178). Appeals are an outstanding tool, especially when it comes to the wrongful conviction of the defendant.

The processing of a crime and the criminal case can be terribly confusing, especially for those unfamiliar with the criminal justice system scheme. Once a person commits a crime, it is the obligation of the public to enlighten the police. That is where the journey through the justice system of a country or state begins for the offender. There are certain minor variations in the justice process of different states; nonetheless, most of the procedures are similar in all states (Neubauer, 2011). The process of justice can be a dreadfully long journey and similarly extremely short. The case can take shortest time when there is a quick plea of being guilty. Consequently, in case of repeated appeals, the case can be prolonged for decades. The main phases that detailed by law are; pre-arrest, arrest, initial court appearance, grand jury, preliminary hearing, arraignment, plea bargaining, trial, sentencing, appealing and the last is corrections or incarceration.

Sentencing is a complicated, and sometimes extremely harsh set of rules. It has very deterrence, and retribution based set of rules for the most part. Which is indicative of the society we as americans live in. Through this paper i will explain each type of sentencing guideline. They are Intermediate, Determinate, Mandatory, Concurrent, and consecutive. Also we will talk about how in some states mandatory guidelines actually can lower the total prison population. But how in states that are not resource drive, incapacitation is on the rise. Finally i will convey my thoughts on sentencing. How it is a flawed and ,mostly broken system.

In every state, crimes are put into distinct categories. The categories are usually "felony," "misdemeanor," and "infraction." Decisions on crime classification are made by state legislators; the determination focuses on the seriousness of the crime.

The criminal justice system is an essential aspect of American society as well as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. The purpose of laws is to protect society from harm, ensure everyone’s safety, and equally treated. The criminal justice system works to protect the innocent and punish the guilty without violating the rights the criminal suspect to avoid any injustices. As society evolves the criminal justice system needs to evolve so it is important to create new laws to keep up with the evolution and new trends. As new trends and contemporary issues develop in society, they can have a direct impact on the different functions of the criminal justice

This paper is on the Classical School theory that emerged in the eighteenth century; two writes of this period were Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham. Among the major ideas that descend from this theory are the concepts of humans as free-willed, rational beings, utilitarianism (the greatest good for the greatest number), civil rights and due process of law, rules of evidence and testimony, determinate sentencing, and deterrence. The writes during this period examined not only human nature but also social conditions as well. The Classical School, gave us a humanistic conception of how law and criminal justice system should be constructed. Law was to protect the rights of both society and individual, and its chief purpose was to deter criminal behavior, the law emphasized moral responsibility and the duty of citizens to consider full the consequences of behavior before they acted. This thinking required humans possessing free will and a rations nature.