* The author will determine courtroom groups, how the groups interact daily, and recommend changes to the groups. The author will also describe prosecutor roles and the cases he pursues. Finally, the author will elaborate on the funnel of criminal justice with the backlog among the courtroom group, the court system, give an example, and explain how to eliminate backlog cases.…
The Shelby County Victims Crime Center originally opened in 1995 under the name of Victims Assistance Center. The Center was located at 600 Adams in the heart of downtown Memphis. The agency was created for those who were a victim of domestic violence. The agency began to increase services in 1996 when The State of Tennessee Criminal Injuries Fund also known as, Victims Compensation were added to the services offered. In 1998, the Homicide Response Program (HRP) was created for families and friends whose loved ones were victims of this horrible crime. In 1999, the VAC added a Bilingual Victim Advocate to help serve the growing population of Hispanics and Spanish speaking individuals in the mid-south area. In 2005, the VAC changed its name…
One of my witnessing encounters was last week and it involved a clerk at a retail store. I was walking through the store to find the items I needed. I met Regina, a store clerk and I proceeded to communicate with her concerning items in the store and her day. She replied that she was having a bad week due to some unfortunate set of circumstances. I listened and we talked for a while as she restocked items in the store. She was very depressed about the way things were happening in her life. Which led me to ask Regina if she had any kind of spiritual beliefs? Regina communicated with me that she did not believe that there is a God or is not a God. Therefore, I ask Regina to read some scriptures out loud and she read Romans 3:23 and it said: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; then I asked her does this say to you. She replied that everyone has done something wrong at some point in time in his or her life. At first, she thought that no one else has made as many mistakes as she did. She was very receptive in reading and sharing her thoughts on the scriptures I asked her to read. The next scripture was Romans 6:23 it says: 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord; then I asked her what does this say to you? She responded by saying sin leads to death but, God gives me life through Jesus. I replied yes and because sin can send a person to hell. God allows us another chance through his son Jesus and he wants a relationship with each one of us.…
There are many forms and definitions of the concept victim found throughout the criminal justice system, and it important to both understand the notion for which it is applied along with the proper analysis for how it is used. The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, defines crime victims as people who had a criminal offense committed against them (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2010). The Federal Bureau of Prison (BOP) classifies a victim as someone who has experienced direct or threatened physical, emotional, or financial harm as the result of a crime (Schmalleger,…
The agencies under the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) are in place to investigate abuse and neglect of the most vulnerable people in our society children, people with disabilities, and elderly citizens safe. I foresee two challenges if chosen to work with DFPS. The first challenge would be advocating for defenseless children and elderly citizens who are over looked and voiceless. The second challenge would be working with parents and caregivers at a difficult time with high emotional involvement. One challenge is that DFPS workers meet families and caregivers after a crisis has occurred and their emotions are high. The last challenge I foresee is getting parents or caregivers to understand you are there to advocate…
The forensic technique eyewitnesses is a term meaning a person who has witnesses an event that is important to a criminal investigation or criminal justice trial. The eyewitness will at first tell a police officer what he or she have witnessed, but after telling the police officer the eyewitness may be required to do other things to help the investigation or trial as well. Nowadays the most normal thing a eyewitness will do is to point a person out in a line-up, but a eyewitness can also be required to witness at court and tell their story about what he or she witnessed. (http://www.simplypsychology.org/eyewitness-testimony.html). Eyewitnesses has always been used to help investigations and in the criminal justice system.…
References: The White House, Office of the Press Secretary. (2013, January 21). Inaugural Address by President Barack Obama. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/21/inaugural-address-president-barack-obama…
Frank Bertollini at the age of 58 would be classified as an older amputee. Prior to his amputation he was playing golf during the summer months and racquetball once a week during the…
"Special victims" include law enforcement, emergency medical personnel, public transportation employees, a licensed security officer, an employee or visitor at a correctional facility if the defendant was an inmate, employees of Children & Family Services (provided the offender was aware of their position), an elderly person (65 and older), a school employee, or an elected official, provided the defendant knew the official's employment…
The abuse, especially occurring in early age, can affect child’s physical and psychological maturity and lead to attachment disorder, delayed development, impulsive behavior and dissocializing problems. The dose of abuse, the frequency, the relation with the abuser are factors to determine the child’s reaction to the abuse and the outcome of the child life. Jenny, as a child she need unconditional love, security, protection, etc. In this case Jenny, may feel disorientated, lose the sense of life and existence, overwhelmed, has to face the impossible, drained, empty, fair, terror, afraid, rejected, abandonment, etc. However, her isolation from her peers may also set unusual constitution of the appropriate family and how life should be.…
This article has a lot going on within it. It first explains how social workers work regularly with sexual assault victims, both in the hospital setting and in the community. They are able to connect with the victims of sexual assault. As social workers are trusted, they tend to learn about a sexual assault before the victim has spoken with the police or even medical providers. This article also explains how the earlier a victim arrives for evaluation in the emergency room, the greater the chance of obtaining very critical forensic evidence such as DNA samples. When a victim delays in going to the emergency room or to the police and they shower and change their clothes, they lose very critical evidence.…
Historically, eyewitnesses have played a crucial role in arrests and convictions in New York, and elsewhere. Law enforcement, judges and juries have relied heavily on the statements and identifications of witnesses because they were actually present for, or otherwise a part of, a criminal offense. Recent studies have shown, however, that eyewitness testimony may not be as reliable as it was long thought to be.…
Trauma survivors are susceptible to many types of psychological, behavioral, emotional and physical issues especially during crisis times. Maslow’s theory suggests that human needs are arranged in a hierarchy and that individuals must to have each system satisfied in order to progress to fulfilling the next level of need (McLeod, 2014). The five levels of need that Maslow identified are listed below and recognized in order;…
In domestic violence situations, blows to the head or body can result in traumatic brain injury, or TBI. To raise public awareness, a domestic violence lawyer with the law firm Stewart MacNichols Harmell Inc., PS, in Kent, WA, discusses various aspects of this serious condition. The firm’s criminal defense lawyers have represented clients successfully in thousands of domestic violence cases.…
On the night of June 4, 2008, Jodi Arias killed Travis Alexander inside his house, leaving much evidence behind as she fled the bloody scene. During Jodi’s subsequent trial, the prosecution painted her as a psychotic stalker, an obsessive ex-girlfriend who murdered Travis out of rage for leaving her. The defensive council, on the other hand, attempted to communicate the Jodi’s claim of domestic abuse at the hand of Travis Alexander, and thus argued that she killed him out of self-defense. The defendant was, undoubtedly, guilty of killing Travis. The jury in the trial then had to decide not between guilty and innocent, but between premediated first degree murder and death as a result of self-defense. Complicating the case, however, were Arias’ many lies, which included her changing the story of Travis’ death three different times.…