The criminal justice system ensures the safety and protection of society from criminal offenders. The process of the criminal justice system begins when a criminal offense is reported to law enforcement officials. If required, an investigation begins, leading to a warrant and arrest. Following the arrest, bail is set and a preliminary hearing is scheduled. If the defendant is indicted, a trial date is set. Providing the defendant does not waive the right to a jury trial, a jury is selected and the trial begins. If the defendant is found guilty, a sentence is imposed, usually within a few days of the jury’s verdict. If the defendant wishes, he or she can then appeal the guilty verdict and sentencing, thus beginning the trial process again. Police officers, detectives, prosecutors, and defense attorneys make great efforts to ensure justice is served swiftly and fairly, thus creating a strong and effective criminal justice system.…
Someone can be affected by their surroundings, whether it is the community, they live in or peer pressure. In addition, someone’s genetics can have an influence on his or her behaviors. That person could suffer from a mental illness that causes irrational behaviors. There are also the individuals that just want to do it on their own free will (Schmalleger, 2011, p.…
The police have to asses whether a crime has been committed and if so proceed with an Investigation.…
The Court process begins once an investigation is under way, a search and/or an arrest warrant; signed by a judge is issued. The offender will be arrested, booked and placed into custody. The prosecutor typically has 48 hours (barring mandated court closures, legal holidays and weekends), file charges and bring the accused before judge. At the pretrial the offender is advised by the judge the charges against him/her, their rights and the defendant will enter a plea of guilty or not guilty and may or may not be afforded the opportunity for bail (How Criminal…
In the investigation stage evidence is collected from the scene of the crime. In the warrant stage the judge issues a warrant for the police officer to make an arrest it also covers the police officer from any damages. In the arrest stage an arrest is made to either an adult or a juvenile and they are taken into custody. In the booking stage there are photos taken, fingerprints are taken, and other personal information about the person who was arrested. In the first appearance stage they are notified of the charges, told their rights, given the opportunity to retain a lawyer or have one appointed to them. In the preliminary hearing stage this occurs before a judge, allows the defense to assess the strength of prosecution's case. In the information/indictment stage a formal written accusation is submitted to the court from the prosecutor. In the arraignment stage a hearing before the court having jurisdiction in a criminal case in which the identity of the defendant is established, said defendant is informed of the charges against him or her, the defendant is informed of his/her rights and requested to enter a plea bargain. In the adjudication stage examination of the issues of fact and law for the purpose of reaching a judgement of conviction…
In the United States different groups of people think differently of the drunk driving recidivism in the criminal justice system. One of the groups of criminal justice system indentifies the different problem of DUI recidivism as a lack of using “close monitoring”. According to AAA DUI Justice Link, the close monitoring include: “formal intensive supervision programs, home confinement with electronic monitoring, dedicated detention facilities and individual oversight by judges and continuous alcohol monitoring.” All the criminal justice stakeholders, such as prosecutors, defense attorneys, probation, law enforcement, and many others, is a group of people whose uses a team-oriented approach to systematically change participant behavior. They…
Reform is a necessary part of criminal justice system due to the fact that certain problems still exist in the courts. For instance, in the month of January 2006, a US judge sentenced a defendant based on racial inclinations. According to this judge, it was necessary to teach the defendant a lesson because he was embarrassing Martin Luther King. While this was more of an extreme case, there are still numerous scenarios within the criminal justice system that demonstrate a need for reform. Many juries, judges, police administrators are not blind to race and this severely obstructs the administration of justice.…
There are three components of the system and they are all valuable in the criminal justice system. The primary component would be the police force. The police officers are given the responsibility to capture criminals, investigate, and testify in court about the actions that were witnessed. In some instances, police officers are given the obligation to jail the criminals directly from the street while they wait for their trial dates. The second component is the court system. The court system is usually composed of a prosecutor, judge, and a suspect who is generally referred to as the defendant while in the court. The prosecutor is known as the officer that is assigned by the government in order to prosecute all offenses brought to court. The prosecutor’s responsibility is to present the accusations that would justify that the defendant is guilty. On the down side, if the prosecutor cannot provide enough evidence or if they struggle to prove the…
The Criminal Justice System is the system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing and punishes those who is suspected or convicted of criminal offenses. The two main systems are the State and Federal: The state criminal justice systems handles crime committed within their state boundaries while the Federal criminal justice system handles crimes committed on federal property or in several states; Federal crimes compared to state crimes are more severe and the jail times are longer. The Jury plays a central role in the justice system,in a trial the jury hears evidence, testimonies, and determines whether it satisfies the crime. (Burns, Ronald G. The Criminal Justice System. Upper Saddle…
Clinton increased funding for prions to be built, more money given to law enforcement. The number of people arrested spiked. By ninety-ninety, there was over one million, one hundred thousand, one hundred, seventy-nine thousand, two hundred prisoners. Federal law’s set a trend that was overdone; he was wrong for his ninety-ninety-four criminal bill.…
After the initial contact investigators investigate the crime scene. Following the crime that was committed, investigators gather evidence at the scene where possible (Schmalleger 2011 pg.18). Once the investigators gather the evidence, they will conduct a follow up investigation and attempt to reconstruct the sequence of activities (Schmalleger 2011 pg.18). The investigation could take years to complete and involve numerous investigators. At the conclusion of the investigation an arrest can be made and warrants are issued for those suspects who were not apprehended at the scene of the…
“The first five Criminal Justice Acts of the century were spaced out over nearly 50 years, from 1925 to 1972, whereas the last five have come in less than 20 years since 1972 and the current Act is the third in only five years” (Davies, et al., 2010:29). There have been many important legislative changes affecting the criminal justice system since the 1990s. Many of these provided numerous reforms to sentencing, creating a systematic process. There are three legislative changes that could be considered the most significant to the criminal justice system today: the Criminal Justice Act 1991, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the Criminal Justice Act 2003.…
The criminal justice system was made to enforce the laws in this country. There are different laws in each state but they all follow federal laws too. There are three main components of the criminal justice system which are law enforcement, courts, and corrections. Law enforcement is there to make sure the laws are not broken and they are responsible for bringing in anyone that breaks the law. They also make charges against those who break the law and make sure the cases are strong enough to hold up in court. Law enforcement is made up of police officers and detectives. The courts are there to make sure the defendant is given a fair trial and they carry out the sentencing. The court is made up of lawyers, judges, and juries each does a specific job during a court hearing. Mainly the judge is the one who gives the sentence but the jury also gives their opinion on the case. Corrections are there to administer the sentence given to the person by the judge. They make sure that their punishment for the crimes committed is carried out. Corrections are made up of correctional officers, parole officers, and probation officers. The government is also divide up into three branches which are the legislative branch, judicial branch, and executive branch. They each have their own job just like the criminal justice system. The legislative branch is in charge of making laws and changing already existing laws if they see it necessary. The judicial branch carries out the laws made by the legislative branch and also hears cases that challenge those laws. The executive branch enforces the laws that are passed. Both the government and the criminal justice system have to do with making sure laws are carried out and have a similar set…
Generally speaking, the concept of the legal system can often seem very complex, confusing, and intimidating. However, to assist in comprehending the system, the state of Kansas has defined a sequence of events in processing criminal cases where each action encompasses a specific function. Whether it is the police officer who investigates the crime, the prosecutor who must gather the facts for action, the defendant who must obtain a lawyer and prove their case, or the judge and jury who determine the fate of the offender; having a basic understanding of the law is imperative in protecting individual rights. Within this paper I will discuss the Kansas state criminal justice process and the multifaceted decisions that ensure justice is provided to all.…
Johnson, K. (2011, April 12). Study: Prisons failing to deter repeat criminals in 41 states. USA…