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Justice System

Consists of the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct.
1. Courtroom work group - Prosecution, defence, judges working together to resolve criminal cases quickly and efficiently through plea bargaining.
FACT: It now costs federal, state, and local governments more than $215 billion per year to administer civil and criminal justice,
FACT: There are now almost 18,000 U.S. law enforcement agencies employing more than 1 million people.
FACT: Even though the crime rate has been in decline for most of the past decade, the correctional population continues to grow, and the number of people in the correctional system has trended upward.
Police
1. Federal - FBI, Secret service.
2. Duties involve - peacekeeping, deterring potential criminals, and apprehending law violators. maintaining order through patrolling public streets and highways, responding to calls for assistance, investigating crimes, and identifying criminal suspects, preventing youth crime and diverting juvenile offenders from the criminal justice system and resolving family conflicts.
3. An estimated 2 percent of people stopped by police had force used or threatened against them during their most recent contact.
4. Blacks and Hispanics experienced police use of force at higher rates than whites.
5. Community policing (COP) and problem-oriented policing - Proactive rather than reactive to prevent crimes occurring.
  1. Reduced crime rate.
  2. It is difficult to change the traditional values and attitudes of police officers involved in the programs.
Criminal Court System
1. Lower courts try misdemeanors and conduct the preliminary processing of felony offenses. Superior trial courts try felony cases. Appellate courts review the criminal procedures of trial courts to determine whether offenders were treated fairly. Superior appellate courts or state supreme courts, used in about half the states, review lower appellate court decisions.
2. The independent federal court system has three tiers. The U.S. district courts are the trial courts of the system; they have jurisdiction over cases involving violations of federal law, such as interstate transportation of stolen vehicles and racketeering. Appeals from the district court are heard in one of the intermediate federal courts of appeal. The highest federal appeals court, the U.S. Supreme Court, is the court of last resort for all cases tried in the various federal and state courts.
  1. Landmark decisions - Serves as a precedent for similar legal issues.
3. Adversary system - The prosecution (state) and the defence (accused).
  1. Prosecutor/District Attorney (local), attorney general (state), United States attorney (federal).
4. A case must have convict ability to proceed- It must stand a good chance of resulting in a conviction.
5. Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gives the accused the right to have the assistance of defense counsel. The Supreme Court has ruled that in addition to having an attorney, every defendant is entitled to a legally competent defense
  1. Public defender - Employed by the state to provide free legal counsel to the indignant. Pro bono - Free legal services conducted by private defenders.
FACT: Although most people convicted on sexual assault and rape charges are incarcerated, about 20 percent get probation only; about 5 percent of people convicted on murder charges receive probation as a sole sentence.
Corrections
1. Probation - Allows the convicted offender to remain in the community, subject to conditions imposed by court order, under the supervision of a probation officer.
2. Jail - Criminal defendants who are sentenced to a year or less for misdemeanors are typically held in jails.
3. Prisons/penitentiaries - They may be minimum-, medium-, or maximum-security institutions for felony offenders.
4. Parole - Conditional early release from prison, with the offender serving the remainder of the sentence under supervision of a parole officer in the community.
  1. The risks they present to the community include increases in child abuse, family violence, the spread of infectious diseases, homelessness, and community disorganization.
  2. Most people leave prison with no savings, no immediate entitlement to unemployment benefits, and few employment prospects.
  3. Recidivism may be a by-product of the disruptive effect a prison experience has on personal relationships.
  4. More than 60% of parolees return to prison within 3 years of release.
FACT: Each year about 500,000 inmates are released on parole.
FACT: They are five times more likely to serve time in prison than children whose parents were never incarcerated.
Criminal Process
1. 1. Initial contact - Police officers observe a criminal act, receive a complaint from a citizen or victim, or by an informer.
2. 2. Investigation - Gather sufficient facts or evidence, to identify the perpetrator, justify an arrest, and bring the offender to trial.
3. 3. Arrest - Police take into custody a person who is alleged to have committed a criminal act. An arrest is legal when all of the following conditions exist: (a) the officer believes there is sufficient evidence (probable cause) that a crime is being or has been committed and that the suspect committed the crime; (b) the officer deprives the individual of freedom; and (c) the suspect believes that he or she is in the custody of a police officer and cannot voluntarily leave.
4. 4. Custody - The person may be taken to the police station to be fingerprinted and photographed and to have personal information recorded (booking).
5. 5. Complaint/charging - Prosecutor decides whether the accused will be charged. If not, it issues a nolle prosequi declaration, which signifies its decision to drop the case from further prosecution.
6. 6. Preliminary Hearing/grand jury - if the prosecution's evidence is found to be factual and sufficient, the suspect will be summoned to stand trial for the crime, also for Federal crimes.
7. 7. Arraignment - the accused is brought before the court that will actually try the case. At this hearing, the formal charges are read, and defendants are informed of their constitutional rights (such as the right to legal counsel). Bail is considered, and a trial date is set.
8. 8. Bail/Detention - Bail is intended to ensure the presence of suspects at trial, while allowing them their freedom until that time.
9. 9. Plea bargaining - Plea bargaining reflects a degree of cooperation between prosecutors and defense attorneys; they work together in the vast majority of cases to achieve a favorable outcome. Pleas bargains end the trial process in upwards of 90 percent of all cases, including serious felonies
10. 10. Adjudication - If a plea bargain cannot be arranged, a criminal trial takes place.
11. 11. Disposition - Sentencing after a guilty verdict. Usually involves a fine, probation or incarceration.
12. 12. Post conviction remedies - After conviction, if the defendant believes he or she was not treated fairly by the justice system, the individual may appeal the conviction.
13. 13. Correctional treatment- Community supervision order, correctional centre or jail.
14. 14. Release - Most prisoners are released on parole before the end of their sentence.
Law of criminal procedure - Judicial precedents that define the rights of criminal defendants.
1. Bill of rights - First 10 amendments to the US constitution. Included within these amendments are the right of people to be secure in their homes from unwarranted intrusion by government agents, to be free from self-incrimination, right to a fair trial and assisted counsel (6th) and to be protected against cruel punishments, such as torture.
  1. Only applied to Federal initially.
2. Exclusionary Law - illegally seized evidence cannot be used during a trial.
Miranda rights - Rights of criminal defendants including the right the remain silent and right to counsel.
Crime control model - View that the purpose of the justice system is to protect the public, deter people from engaging in criminal behavior, and incapacitate known criminals. (choice theory). Most common.
Due process model - Individualized justice, legal protections, and civil rights. If discretion exists in the criminal justice system, it should be used to evaluate the treatment of offenders by police. Most important, the civil rights of the accused should be protected at all costs.
Rehabilitation model - Given the proper care and treatment, criminals can be changed into productive, law-abiding citizens. Influenced by positivist criminology, the rehabilitation school suggests that people commit crimes through no fault of their own. Instead they are the victims of social injustice, poverty, and racism.
Equal Justice model - it is futile to rehabilitate criminals, both because treatment programs are ineffective and because they deny people equal protection under the law. Determinate sentencing - Equal sentencing for all. Most common.
Non intervention model - limiting government intrusion into the lives of people (especially minors) who run afoul of the law.
Restorative Justice Model - Restorative justice is guided by three essential principles: (1) community "ownership" of conflict (including crime), (2) material and symbolic reparation for crime victims, and (3) social reintegration of the offender.

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Justice System

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	Created by Wendy Frogley almost 11 years ago