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My Cousin Vinny as It Relates to Criminal Jusice Essays

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My Cousin Vinny is a hilarious rendition of the American criminal justice system. It taps into various elements of the system as a whole. Most people probably never realize the formality that goes into actually being convicted of a crime. My Cousin Vinny explores many of the steps such as pretrial stages, key actors in the court process, and the criminal trial. There are some difference and similarities between what the movie portrayed and the actual criminal justice process which will be explored.
In the movie, My Cousin Vinny, when Bill and Stan went to Alabama, they thought they were getting pulled over because Bill stole some tuna fish. The county Sherriff pulled them over with his gun drawn. Now to me, the fact the Sheriff had his …show more content…

The judge, in the movie, actually listened to the prosecutor’s witnesses and decided there was enough probable cause to move forward to a trial. Many judges are often too busy to examine the facts of the case before making a probable cause determination as stated in our text. I have tapped slightly into some of the similarities and differences in the arrest, booking, bail, arraignment and preliminary trial. Now, let’s take a look at the key actors in the court process. The prosecutor, the most important person in a case. The prosecutor has so much power in a criminal trial. The movie failed to portray the many roles, importance and significance of the prosecutor. According to our text, the prosecutor essentially makes the case and sets many other things into motion. The prosecutor can decide whether to charge a person with a crime and whether to prosecute the case. (Bohm and Haley, p 267) I, honestly, never realized prior to this movie and paper how much control the prosecutor actually has. The prosecutor decides which cases to plea bargain. Prosecutors in many jurisdictions also have the authority, power, or responsibility of recommending the amount of bail. As I stated earlier the movie did not portray the amount of power or clout the prosecutor has when it comes to prosecuting a case, charging a person with a crime, which cases to plea

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