Preview

Criminal Justice System Essay

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Criminal Justice System Essay
1. Briefly outline the components of the CJS system and explain their relationship to each other and to the community. The criminal justice system has four main components, law enforcement, prosecution, Judiciary and corrections. The first of the four which is law enforcement has the duty of upholding the law and protecting the rights of those within the community. Many law enforcement officers don’t necessarily see it that way, primarily because municipalities focus more on infractions rather than on the specifics of constitutionality. Law enforcement officers have a very difficult task as they are the only agents within the criminal justice system who are charged with the triple duty of being judge, jury and executioner in certain situations. …show more content…
These situations are often complicated by the fact that these men and women come into contact many times with individuals who can only be described in terms of pure evil. Criminals commit crimes for many different reasons, some out of necessity, and others out of sadistic pleasure. Once their guilt has been established, these individuals must be housed, clothed and fed. The constitution allows for this however, it also prohibits cruel and unusual punishment so that abuses by those in power could be curtailed. The corrections departments charge to the community is maintain its security from those who would seek to damage society and prey upon the innocent.
2. Explain the origin of common law as presented in class and common law used in colonial America.
Common law comes from the Anglo-Saxon tradition, it was derived by judges, courts, as well as tribunals through a series of decisions. These decisions were then used to establish precedents whereby those who followed in subsequent decisions had a basis upon which they could make determinations on a proper course of action in any given situation. Common law developed with colonial America in very different ways and whereas most American states base their laws on common law, Louisiana based its laws on the Napoleonic code.
3. Provide a brief overview of the Constitution and Bill of Rights, concentrating on amendment’s, 1, 4, 5, 8, & 14. (what each one means to you in a few

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    When the English were colonizing North America, they brought with them their laws. Being from the British Common Law system, the settlers understood how that system worked, so they modeled their own government using Common Law.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Chapter One Review

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Common Law- Local law and heritage laws that are written down. Based off historical law or traditions.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Week1 Busn 420

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The American legal system, a direct descendant of the English legal system, began to develop in 1066 and is always evolving. However, the main principles or the “backbone” of this legal system remains the same. The different sources of American law include the Constitution, state constitutions, statutes, common or “case” law, a body of administrative regulations, and court rules. The most important among these various sources of law, other than Constitutional provisions, is common law. The common law process allows judges to hear cases and make decisions, effectively becoming law, based upon these cases. These case decisions become the common law and others must adhere to this “judge-made” law. In the common law process, the judge’s decision or the “holding” of the case binds future courts and creates precedent.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    paralegal

    • 1529 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Common law is found in the decisions of the courts rather than statutes; judge- made law…

    • 1529 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In many ways, I believe the U.S. criminal justice system is extremely corrupt on every level. United States Criminal Justice System has so many flaws and fallacies that I could write an entire novel about it. The Federal Court, the State Courts, and all the Local Courts attempt to make every trial and arrest fair, but the truth is, it will never be fair the way that these courts come off to be. A trial can be seen in the eyes of every single person in that court room as fair, but there is always some type of bias among juries and judges no matter what somebody does or where they go. In many arrests and ticket distributions, it is based on mostly race and gender, which I will touch on in my writing.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This paper discusses what society expects of the police, courts, corrections, and how they are realized and unfulfilled. In addition, the employees of the system, their goals, expectations, and temptations and the differences in their goals from society 's goals. Last, is to discuss the individuals that are charged by the system and their legitimate and non-legitimate needs.…

    • 2207 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Un-Codified Common Law

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page

    The People’s US Constitution Article IV, section 4 guarantees a “Republican” form of government not a democracy, the un-codified common law is the superior law of the people and the codified civil law is the special or inferior law of the government and its agency. Therefore the law and the will of the people outranks the law of the government and access to the common law is guaranteed and protected in law by the U.S. Constitution.…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The power of the President to give pardon to criminals should not be abolished because of the fact that the President did not abuse her powers and abided by what’s written in legal documents.…

    • 1197 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The criminal justice system, like any system designed by human beings, clearly has its flaws” - Ben Whishaw. Case after case after case could prove this statement. The O.J. Simpson Trails, The State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman, the fictional Tom Robinson case from To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Case of Emmett Till are all examples of our flawed Justice system. So yes, our justice system is flawed.…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    References: Koolbreeze III, A. L. (2010, May 19). The Major Components of the Criminal Justice System. Ehow. Retrieved August 6, 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/list_6529571_major-components-criminal-justice-system.html…

    • 1125 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Law enforcement is the first component. Law Enforcement is the first line of action and is…

    • 798 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Business Law

    • 8532 Words
    • 35 Pages

    Common law is the law created through the reported decision of judges (the doctrine of precedent) in the higher courts. It is non-statutory law, as it is law made by…

    • 8532 Words
    • 35 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Legal System was built from Europe. The settlers brought their rules and principles from England to America and established them in the new colonies. It was known as the common law which was formed from historical events that originated from English events. The laws were formed from Norman Conquest of England. The common law was a system used to settle disputes through local customs, which were part of the English traditions.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The term "common" is used because the laws established are just that, common to every jurisdiction and administered through a central court.2 When Innocent III ruled, the term was used in the church as well as in the royal courts to distinguish ordinary law from the law applicable to particular provincial churches.3 The term "common" also stems from the fact that the law was "characterized by processes of categorization and routinization, in particular the routine royal treatment of a wide range of cases."4…

    • 4003 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    After the Norman Conquest in 1066, an organised system of courts was introduced and the idea was to standardize the law. King William set up the Curia Regis which is known as the King’s Court and he appointed his own judges. Over time, judges picked the best customs which were used by judges throughout the country and the result was law which applied to the whole country which became known as the common law because it was common to the whole country. By 1250, a common law had developed from the cases heard in the Curia Regis which was then used to apply to the whole county. However the common law gradually changed from a dynamic and adaptable system to one that was very well formalised, inflexible and inadequate. Among the defects of the common law was the limited writs availability which was also expensive. Another disadvantage of the common law was that the only remedy then was damages. Damages mean monetary compensation and that was often inadequate. Due to the problems of common law hence came the existence of the principles of equity.…

    • 618 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays