Summary Of The Criminal Justice System

In the beginning of chapter one, the Supreme Court ruled in the case Florida v. J.L, a police officer may not search individuals based merely on an anonymous tip. The anonymous tip received was that a black man standing at a bus stop was carrying a concealed firearm. Out of the three black men at the bus stop, they searched the man wearing the plaid shirt, as described in the tip. Although public safety issues were recognized, the conviction was overturned. This unlawful search violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, which states, in simpler terms, that the police cannot search an individual or take their property without probable cause.

The technological advancement era that has marred the 21st century has seen heightened increased surveillance and proactive crime investigations. Such growth has seen positive legislative moves that have allowed the use of telecommunication gadgets in monitoring trends of criminal activities and criminal gangs[footnoteRef:1]. Most commonwealth nation which United Kingdom is a member have since passed and enacted laws that provide some sort of immunities and exemptions for officers that may violate laws in the process of administering their works. [1: G. Marx, Undercover—Police Surveillance in America (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1988); and C. Fijnaut and G. Marx (eds.), Undercover—Police Surveillance

The criminal justice system is a gratifying, yet often unfair ruling process. Having said that, a first-rate example of a disapproving situation is when a person(s) of African American decent receives severe punishment for a particular offense, as opposed to what a person of Caucasian decent might acquire for the same offense. My topic of choice is from the ACLU's web page via an article entitled "Race and Criminal Justice", certainly peaked my curiosity. Being a young man with a group of friends consisting predominantly of minorities, this article stuck to my brain by bringing back tons of déjà vu. An acquaintance of mine left for court, accused stealing headphones at a local Walmart with a friend. One of the court hearings was for stolen

In the criminal justice system there is very rarely a single linchpin that can be pointed to and held responsible for the failure to convict a seemingly guilty person. This reigns true for the very public prosecutions of both Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman. In the eyes of a vast majority of the public, fueled by media spectacle and opinion, Anthony and Zimmerman were guilty even before they ever saw the inside of a courtroom. There simply could be no other answer. The public was subsequently outraged when, after what seemed to be trials of certainty, juries acquitted each. The public sought to find someone, or something to blame. The verdict could not be accepted and many turned their focus to condemn the workings of the criminal

In the United States the criminal justice system does not always create policies that affect everyone equally. There are many policies that seem to target a specific group of people, whether this is intentional or not is beside the point. The important thing is to change the criminal justice system in order to stop race disparities. Marc Mauer in his lecture speaks of the reason for the disparity between races when it comes to the incarceration rate, as well as steps that can be taken in order to elevate, and or stop the disparity in the criminal justice system. Other topics that Mauer covers are the impact that policies can have on a specific group in the United States, and the overwhelming disproportion when it comes to drug arrest, and the people who get arrested.

The judicial processes that have been adopted by the current criminal justice system of the United States of America include mandatory minimums that diminish the importance of certain factors in a case such as the context of the situation and the power of judges to decide on an appropriate sentence; furthermore, they result in more serious, yet overlooked, implications of racial bias and unfair plea bargaining. Mandatory minimums are strict sentences that a judge must abide by when determining how much prison time the accused is to receive as punishment. Although the majority of offenses to which mandatory minimums apply to are drug offenses, there are a variety of offenses including immigration, firearms, and fraud that are linked to a minimum sentence. The concept of enacting mandatory minimum sentences to particular offenses has such a great influence on court verdicts that in the fiscal year of 2010 alone, “27.2% of cases involved a conviction of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum [and] 53.4%...remained subject to the mandatory minimum penalty at sentencing” (USSC, 121). When the government first instituted mandatory minimums for drug offenses with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, it was meant to resolve the problems of drug distribution and abuse, but these sentences bring about more problems than resolutions. As the time approaches to impose a sentence for a case involving a mandatory minimum, the judge has no choice but to assign the accused at least that amount

The United States Criminal Justice System is an extremely complex, but yet extremely important part of the United States. The criminal justice system is defined as “the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws). Although there are many different groups of people that make up the criminal justice system, the two main and most discussed the state division or the federal division. The state division of the criminal justice system deals with crimes that are committed within any given states boundaries. The federal division of the criminal justice system deals with crimes that are committed on property owned by the government, or if a crime is committed in multiple states.

The American Criminal Justice System is one of the best in the world, as it works relentlessly to find a balance between Herbert Packer’s suggested crime control model and due process model. Throughout the course, we have analyzed the different levels of the criminal justice system and have broken down where the criminal justice excels, such as the different courts for juveniles that work to meet the needs of children, and other areas that need improvement. Though the Criminal Justice System is a fundamental part of our nation and was created to protect society, while ensuring that certain rights are given to prisoners, defendants, and other actors, there are flaws within the system that need to be fixed. If appointed Czar of the Criminal Justice

A number of people do not know how the criminal justice system functions. Their assumptions of how it may, how it may work is shaped by the way that the media along with reality-based television shows portray the justice system and the crimes involved in the episodes. These programs show real events that have or had happened during the arrests of crimes or the first step that an individual takes when entering the criminal justice system. A number of different programs focus on one type of crime while others show quite a variety of different ones, but they are all tied into an individual being inducted into the justice system.

The criminal justice system, in the United States, is fragmented with regards to the many different courts which exist, and the roles that they play in the administration of justice. Before any police officer can make an arrest, or any court try a case, there must be laws to enforce. Law on the books refers to the written law and rules society must live by in order to be acceptable members of that society (Neubauer & Fradella, 2008). This differs from the law in action, which is how those laws are actually enacted, and enforced with regards to the real people of any given society.

Governments or leaders do not issue human rights. These rights are ingrained in the majority of cultures throughout the world. For instance, the majority of humans believe that killing is wrong and that human life matters, the right to life. Legal rights protect people that stand in contact or under the supervision of the criminal justice system. Having an attorney present during a trial or being treated in a humane manner act as legal rights. Moral rights relate closely in context to human rights. These remain as rights an individual possesses as a result of being human. These three genres of rights hold prevalent in the everyday function of the criminal justice system. They often overlap each other, creating ethical debate. Gay marriage was

The United States criminal justice system has an extensive history that can be traced as far as the colonial period. Our founding forefathers placed great emphasis in creating laws that would safeguard the protection of people in the free world resulting in the development of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Although the Constitution and Bill of Rights remain as the standing living document of how laws are fundamentally interpreted and applied, the procedures from which justice is carried out has drastically changed over the past 200 years. The justice system through state and federal levels as it stands today is held to the highest standards for imposing justice on those who commit criminal acts or break the law while simultaneously

The 18th century was the beginning of the age of enlightenment. Because of this new way of thinking, changes were made in the penal system. Before the age of enlightenment, physical punishment was the main form of deterrence for current and potential offenders. During the age of enlightenment, the influential leaders of the criminal justice system began to gravitate towards methods of reforming the offender. These influential people include Cesare Beccaria, Jeremy Bentham, and John Howard.

The Criminal Court system is made up of four main components, each with its distinct aim. Each part works independently to achieve its goals. The four components are: law enforcement, prosecution, the judiciary, and the corrections. Law enforcement is the most visible element of the criminal court system. It is the part that has the first contact with crime offenders and victims. The functions of this component are: receive and document crime reports, carry investigations on reported crimes, collect evidence, and arrest offenders. The prosecution ensures criminals are brought to justice. This element represents state interests. The defense part of this component represents the interest of the accused (Neubauer and Fradella 66). The judiciary has the duty of overseeing the proceedings of the court and ensures that the law is not broken at any stage of the criminal justice system. The final say on law matters comes from this element. The final component is the corrections stage and its duty is to imprison

Criminal law is the foundation of our Criminal Justice System. It establishes what actions are deemed illegal. Criminal law applies to areas of law enforcement through three main components: Police, Courts and Corrections. To ensure that everyone is treated equally, constitutional amendments are set in place in to protect the defendant.