The Sentencing Phase Of A Criminal Case

On Wednesday, 17 August 2016 a hearing took place at the Cairns District Court in Sheridan Street, Cairns. The hearing was held in room 6, level 3 at 9:40am. The hearing was for a criminal sentencing of Mr Bradford Jules Thomas, the accused, and was proceeded by Judge Harrison.

When a defendant is found guilty of a crime, it is the court’s role to decide upon a sentence that should be given to the offender. Typically, Magistrates and Judges are the main people that decide on sentences in the legal system. During the sentencing phase, there are specific rules by government that have to be followed when deciding on penalties and sentences. Every crime is given a maximum sentence, which is set based upon the type of crime committed. The four categories of sentencing are: custodial sentences, community sentences, fines and probation. There are also noncustodial sentences set in place as well. Furthermore, I will go into depth about the different sentencing that is used by the

goes that far. Sentencing is determined after the judgment. A convicted person may have the right to appeal the decision by a higher court and if finds a mistake that has taken place, then the court may reverse the conviction or go through the case once more.

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)

We believe that our judicial system does not support the rights guaranteed in Canadian charter rights and freedom and focus on legal guilt over factual guilt. The Canadian court system sentencing procedure see’ over both sides of the story carefully but court focus on proving suspect guilt rather then innocence. Our judicial systems currently have many flaws and it’s clearly noticeable in some situations. There have been a lot of cases where our judicial system failed to provide justice to the victim or guaranteed rights to society. Our main law that has been compromised in years is the privacy law. Fifteen years ago privacy was not as important as it today, the main reason for that is technology. As science advance it came up with all these new gadgets such as cell, computer and tables and with all technology came the rise social media. We now have Facebook, Twitter, Istagram, and many more online social media sites that people uses. Our law says that all of our private information cannot be disclosed to government unless someone is a threat but these rights have been violated multiple times. The first time it was an issue was in G20 summit, June 2010. Lately is have also been an issue in Canadian spy companies. Also government recently passed the bill c-150, which clearly violates our charter rights.

When a person has been found guilty of a crime a judge must determine a sentence that they must receive and then sentencing is given out by a judge. Each year there are thousands of criminals that appear before a judge or judges to be sentenced for their crimes committed. Sentencing descriptions are primarily for felony offenses, or those that are punishable by less than one year of incarceration. Obligatory minimum sentences, three strikes laws and sentencing recommendations commonly involve specific sentences, with little to no thought of personal factors regarding offenders, their crimes, and victims.

Once an individual has been found guilty of a crime, sentencing will take place within thirty to sixty days. The sentencing hearing is set far enough in advance that a presentence investigation can be held by the probation department (Aberle, 2014). During the presentencing investigation the probation department will assign members to look at the defendant’s prior criminal history, military history, work history, summary of the charges including mitigating and aggravating circumstances, and statements from the victim or victim’s family (Aberle, 2014). All information is gathered and a report is written providing a recommendation to the judge of what sentence should be imposed. Sentencing can be handled in several different ways including jail time, prison time, probation, fines, or any combination of the aforementioned (Aberle, 2014).

The lawyers of Thompson Law Office in Lexington, KY handle a number of criminal and civil cases in the community. Their team of defense attorneys is experienced in providing assistance in DUI cases, drug possession and trafficking, wrongful death cases, and even divorces. This brother/sister law firm understands how family is affected by criminal and civil law and ensures success in the courtroom with appropriate representation.

Today there are several options a judge can grant an offender in regards to the punishment they shall fulfill before or after trial. This refers to any way ranging to non imprisonment yet supervised ways used to deal with criminal offenders who are facing conviction or who has been convicted.. There are punishment an offender may receive such as fines, community service, electronic surveillance also know as house arrest, shock probation, intensive supervision, residential community supervision etc. The most common punishment used by the justice system is probation as well as parole. Probation is the release of an offender from detention , subject to a period of good behavior under supervision. An individual may be granted probation as an

Most stages of the criminal justice system revolve around the sentencing process, in that the primary focus is determining the guilt or innocence of the accused (Neubauer & Pradella, 2011). As a result, numerous laws, policies, and practices have been implemented throughout the system as a means to make sentencing procedures less complex. However, most of these sentencing laws have produced an adverse effect, and generated barriers during this stage of the justice process. Therefore, the purpose of this analysis is to provide further insight on challenges within the sentencing process in regard to sentencing laws. More specifically, three strikes laws are discussed in-detail as a means to present the positive and negative impacts they have

When it comes to being convicted of a crime, the sentence given differs depending on the crimes the person who committed the crime, and the statues in place. One possible sentence is probation. Placing someone convicted on a crime on probation can serve a specific purpose and be administered in different ways, can come with a number of restrictions, and can also be taken away as an option to who request it. Incarceration is not the only option when it comes to sentencing. There is always an alternative.

QUESTION 4 (4 points): After a plea bargain, Joe Smith pleads guilty to a burglary charge. In the bargain the prosecutor promised that Joe would get probation only as a sentence in exchange for the guilty plea. The judge sentenced Joe to a year in jail. Can Joe withdraw his guilty plea? State the reasons for your answer. Joe Smith does have the right to withdraw his plea of guilty as long as it is part of the plea bargain that he only receive probation. When a defendant agrees to a plea bargain with a prosecutor then he or she has the right to assume that the said prosecutor will keep his or her word and that they would be obliged to keep his or her promise. Santobello v. New York is a case that is similar to Mr. Smith’s. Mr. Santobello

The fundamentals of court administration did not until the middle 1900s, which was “decades after police administration and even centuries after corrections” (Cronkhite, 2013, p. 124). The courts were not as complex and did not appear to need specific administrators until they had to “conform to social, political, and economic trends” (Cronkhite, 2013, p.124). Sentencing remained simple until the courts had to “focus on probation, parole, and indeterminate sentences during the Community-Based Era of the 1970s and determinate, mandatory, and three strikes and you’re out during the Just Deserts Era of the 1990s to the present” (Cronkhite, 2013, p.125). These complex trends require even more duties of court administrators and many colleges

The pretrial process is basically a meeting that takes place prior to trial. It is held before a trial judge or a judicial officer or someone that possess less power than a judge. In both criminal and civil cases a pretrial conference may be held. This is usually ordered by the courts. This is usually conducted because this may help expedite disposition of the case, help the court manage the case better, get rid of and wasteful information, and help prepare the quality of the trial.

The opening sentence starts with twenty is the age when one can be ordained. This is very important because it shows the need of grown, and mature men to be a monk. It is also important because it shows that since the life span was significantly shorter back then that being an ordained minister is a short but rewarding process. In this same sentence the bowl is very important to the process because it keeps the sacred food in it and must be cleansed and perfected at all times in order for one to be ordained. The religious robes are also very important because it represents the dharma and has to be worn at all times during the ordination process. In the next couple of sentences the monk must be requested because it is a sign of respect to ones