Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream: Imagery

Sociology 461 Criminal Justice Systems Edward M. Stern No Heroes, No Villains; by Steven Phillips In the book No Heroes, No Villains the author Steve Phillips describes a story of a single dramatic trial of murder it offers a thoughtful and balanced presentation of the problems besetting our criminal courts, lays bare the mechanics of justice, and explains in graphic detail just what is wrong and right about our criminal justice system.

Amy Bach, author of Ordinary Injustice: How America Holds Court describes the flaws of the criminal justice system. She elaborates from research and her own personal experience as a lawyer. In the final chapter, Show Trial, Bach discusses a story about the wrongful conviction of two innocent boys. Thomas Breen helped convict Michael and Paul, two seventeen year old teens, one of them with special needs. They were sentenced to 200 and 400 years in prison (193). Sam Adam, Michael’s defense attorney, was not able to let the case go, and constantly reminded Breen of the case. Shockingly, after nineteen years, Breen decided to take another look at the cause, because he questioned their guilt (219). Although the competitive nature of prosecutors

The writer makes excellent use of statistics and graphs numerous times throughout the article. “One N.F.L. player in 40 is arrested in a given year.” (Irwin 181) Neil Irwin starts off in his body paragraphs by giving the reader a sense of scale upon which the rest of the essay is built. His statistics also have a strong credibility to them, since they come from USA Today a well known and respected newspaper. “Some 28 percent of the arrests in the database were for driving under the influence, with 202 incidents. Other frequent categories of charges include assault and battery (88 cases) and drug-related offenses (82).” (Irwin 182) Here the writer also covers the amount of players arrested by crime, placing strong emphasis on the number of driving while intoxicated charges. In doing this, he breaks it down in a way which shows not all of these arrest are as serious as others. “The number of arrests by team range from a low of 11 (tie between the

The book Courtroom 302 by Steve Bogira is about one year in one courtroom in Chicago’s Cook County Criminal Courthouse. The Cook County Courthouse is the busiest felony courthouse in the country. In the book, we are given a behind-the-scenes look into the daily cases that are dealt with every day and into the highest profile case of the year. Bogira gives great insight into how the ethics of the criminal justice system are compromised and often ignored as justice is handed out swiftly and mindlessly.

“ The Santa Ana” by Joan Didion and “Brush Fire” by Linda Thomas offer complete separate views to a similar topic, the winds of Southern California. In a first person narration the authors write of the wind from her own experience of living in California and from her own perspective, shedding light on two very different aspects of the Santa Ana winds.

The O. J. Simpson double murder case, also titled “People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson was a trial in which James O.J Simpson, a former National Football League player was convicted at the Los Angeles County Superior Court of two murder offenses on June 12, 1994. He was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, a restaurant waiter at Mezzaluna. The trial spans for a period of eight months. The opening statements were read on January 23, 1995, whereas the verdict, which left Simpson a free man, was declared on October 3, 1995. “The Trial of The Century,” as it is commonly known, has been described as the most publicized trial in history. However, before Simpson could be arrested and prosecuted, they had to go through an investigation process with the implementation of some techniques used by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) as this essay illustrates.

The author’s use of imagery also leaves the listeners crying at their misfortunes. To fully illustrate the burning, agony of Hell, the author frequently uses the phrases “glowing flames” and “Hell’s wide gaping mouth open”. This depict that Hell is very “hot” to endure

Valley.  It is "where the hot wind blows and the old ways do not seem relevant,

The criminal trial process is an interesting process that takes place in Courtrooms all across the United States and throughout the globe. This study intends to set out the various steps in the criminal trial process in the American justice system. A trial is described as a "legal forum for resolving individual disputes, and in the case of a criminal charge, it is a means for establishing whether an accused person is legally guilty of an offense. The trial process varies with respect to whether the matter at issue is civil in nature or criminal. In either case, a jury acts as a fact-finding body for the court in assessing information and evidence that is presented by the respective parties in a case. A judge presides over the court and addresses all the legal issues that arise during the trial. A judge also instructs the jury how to apply the facts to the laws that will govern in a given case." (3rd Judicial District, 2012)

As we constantly hear of professional athletes being involved in domestic violence and other violent crimes, it is important to notice a trend. There is always some athlete being accused of some form of domestic violence. True sociological issues need to be addressed when violent issues such as the O.J. Simpson case arises. Simpson was influenced by a variety of sociological factors that created him into a violent person, such as the way in which African Americans are portrayed by the media, racial socioeconomic disparities, and racial labeling, that are all still evident in our society today.

are ideals used to define the American Dream. The American Dream promises immigrants and citizens a chance to pursue a better life, which is portrayed throughout the novel Behold the Dreamers . Behold the Dreamers , by Imbolo Mbue, follows the lives of Jende and Neni Jonga, an immigrant couple from Cameroon, who live in Harlem in hopes of providing a better life for their family. Throughout the Jonga’s journey, Imbolo Mbue proves that the essentials of hard work, education, and strong families are not enough for achieving the American Dream. Jende and Neni came to America in hopes of a brighter future for their family, but come to face with reality and are forced to make an impossible choice.

Titania is uncertain whether her vision is a dream or reality, because dreams are soon

Many years ago, before courts existed matters was handled in a privately or informally. This often led to violence and unjust treatment of innocent people. During the rise of the Greek City States and the Roman Empire law enforcement became a public affair instead of private. (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). Along with this movement became formalized courts and other criminal justice institutions. This allowed for law enforcement matters to be handled in a more civilized manner for resolving human conflict.

One question raised when analyzing reasons for the rising number of crimes being committed by athletes

During this documentary, the viewers get an inside look at how criminal proceedings work. In the courtroom, the most important players are the prosecution, defense, and judge. The judge is in the room to make sure the proceeding runs smoothly and to settle any arguments that arise. The prosecution is there to accuse the defendant for whatever crime he or she has been convicted of. The defense is there to defend the person being convicted of the crime. There is also a bailiff who is there to oversee the court and make sure everyone there is safe. The bailiff will bring evidence form the defense or prosecution to the judge, as nobody is to approach the bench without the judge calling attorneys to the