The United States criminal justice system is essential to the functioning of American society. A central component to the criminal justice system in our country is the U.S. courts. The U.S. courts uphold those rights guaranteed to U.S. citizens under the Constitution while also enforcing the laws and precedents set forth by the United States government. Over the course of the last several months I have been given the opportunity to sit in and observe the workings and proceedings that take place in The Dutchess County Courthouse. The Judge whose courtroom I observed in over the course my internship was Justice Stephen Greller. Justice Greller was elected to the bench in 1985 and is currently serving his 30th year as a Judge. Needless …show more content…
The majority of my observation involved Justice Greller and his adjudication duties, which included hearing plea bargains, hearing motions, sentencing defendants, and conducting the various types of court hearings. The next category is negotiation, in which the judge attempts to resolve cases without formal adjudication by encouraging the parties to reach settlements. The courtroom workgroup consists of the Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, Judge and Probation officer. During my internship I was able to sit in on the court conferences between the courtroom work group and observe how they come to agreements through negotiation. A great number of cases are decided through settlements before they even reach trial. In criminal cases this often means that the case will be resolved by a plea bargain before it has to go to trial. The third category is the administration aspect of the job. In trial courtrooms as was the one I observed in, the individual judges and their staffs largely run their own courtroom. This administrative work entails the paperwork and scheduling of the cases brought before the court.” (Baum, 2013). The criminal calendar dictates what cases are on the docket for the day and what court proceedings will be taking place. The majority of my internship entailed the observation of court proceedings and different parts of the trial process. Through my observation I was able to further build
The speaker argues that the criminal justice system in America treats you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. Do you agree? Why or why not?
Courts are established social, political, and judicial institutions necessary for the manifestation of justice and the maintenance of law and order. The courts are part of the judicial branch of government, as outlined in Article III of the United States Constitution. Courts are the arenas in which the law is tried and applied. Judges are the presiding officers of the court. The United States Supreme Court is the most fundamental court because has "the authority to decide the constitutionality of federal laws and resolve other disputes over them," (United States Courts, 2012). This is true even though even though the court does not expressly enforce that law; enforcement is the province of the executive branch.
Myths are stories telling a part of the world view of a society or give an explanation of a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon. It is a popular viewpoint, embodying the ideals and institutions of a society or segment of society. Although myths are regarded as fictional representations, they often reveal underlying ideals. Myths often tell us more about our social and cultural values than they do about any particular circumstance. While myths seem to explain events, often times they instruct us on integrating an event an individual’s belief system and worldviews. The phrase crime myths does not stray too far from these definitions. These types of myths are
Crime takes place all the time and it is America’s duty to ensure that these criminals are properly punished for their wrongdoings. With rehabilitation, one can not ensure that if given a second chance the criminal will not offend again. We need to confront crime with a proper punishment and that is where retribution comes in. With retribution society appears more secure and crimes of violence decrease. Since it is essential to control violence in society, retribution is essential. Retribution should undoubtedly be favored over rehabilitation in America’s criminal justice system because it enforces the law and ensures justice. Newman as a punishment for crime , “poor results Foundation work for other agencies to tackle crime.” Death leads to the front. Murder they are . Also open to allow them to better everyday in addition, the complex moral crime.
America’s Criminal Justice system, it keeps America safe and the criminals at bay. Without any sort of criminal justice system America would be complete chaos. People would commit crimes because there would be no consequences for their actions. However, our laws didn’t just appear out of nowhere, they were created and molded to colonial America.
The U.S. criminal justice system is responsible for those who violate the law and to be punished according to the crime committed. The controversial issue between the extreme cases and justice served is whether or not capital punishment violates the 8th amendment. For the extreme cases that result in the death penalty punishment is brought upon by a 3 drug protocol also known as, lethal injection. Until 2009, majority of the states used a 3 drug protocol, including sodium thiopental used for anesthetic, pancuronium bromide for a paralytic agent, and potassium chloride to stop the heart (DPIC, 2016). The combination of the lethal drugs varies state by state, however the doses administrated depend on the person and in which takes an expert
The American Criminal Justice system is arguably one of the most fair systems in the world. However, like anything it has its flaws. There are many flaws but the largest three, in my opinion, would be the fact that we have the highest incarceration rate of any other country, the high penalties for drug users, as well as the jury system. The high incarceration rates and the penalties for drug users affect each other but they are still issues on their own. In fact, many of issues within our system coincide within each other.
Also while interning, I have become familiar with transcription software and formatting the information into a formal report and how to utilize the chain of command. In addition, I have become familiar with high-end photography equipment used in surveillance operations.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Many failed policies have led us to the issues we have today. Policies such as America’s “get tough on crime” failed us and put us into a bigger hole than we already were in. Our criminal justice system needs to be evaluated and failed policies and procedures must be thrown out. It is a time for a reform for our criminal justice system. However, we must first address these policies and procedures that led us to where we are today. By learning of our mistakes it will hopefully allow us to move forward and have a successful criminal justice system.
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 criminal justice systems in Bolivia and the United States have different structures with some similarities. I was born in La Paz Bolivia and we will be taking a look into Bolivia and the U.S’s governmental and criminal justice systems. Bolivia is a republic with a democratic government. The U.S. also has a democratic government. The Napoleonic code (civil code) and Spanish law compose Bolivia’s legal system, whereas the US is based on common law. The U.S. and Bolivia may have their similarities and differences, but one key difference is the instability of the Bolivian nation throughout its history, while the US has shown to be more stable as a nation (except for the civil war). Throughout this paper, we will be comparing and
Garland argues that a new predicament has occurred over the last 30 years within the criminal justice system that encompasses one of the six adaptive responses. One of the six is believed to effect the various implications for administrative and political actions.
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 Criminal Justice System consists of three main components; police, corrections, and the courts, which play a role in maintaining a proper and functional system. These three core functions have their own limitations and use of discretion. At times discrimination occurs within each individual function. Policing is law enforcement, which obtains the backbone and gatekeepers to The Criminal Justice System. This is where discretion takes place the most. Indeed, discrimination can start with policing, and that is what stands out to the eye of the public. To understand the community, our obligation, is to be aware of how minorities, policing, and society interact. It is important to realize what the community thinks and feels, for the sake
Courtrooms and lawyers played a significant and meaningful part of my life. I come from a family in which many have encountered the criminal justice system. It is one of the many reasons why I have a desire to attend law school and become a defense attorney. Although, my desire to practice law came from a difficult experience, an experience that resulted in my father doing time in a Federal Facility, I knew that law would always be a part of my life. My dad spent more than a year battling charges and going to trial for his case. Lawyers, courtrooms, judges, trials and verdicts not only became a part of my dad’s life but mine as well. His actions led him to prison; however, through his actions I found my passion for law. Although an extremely difficult time I came in contact with lawyers and judges who inspired me with their hard work and dedication. Their determination to fight for my dad and his freedom made me