...Court History and Purpose Leon White CJA/224 January 6, 2015 David Hernandez Court History and purpose The American court system is a vital part of the criminal justice system. Courts are part of the judicial branch and serves as an instrument of social control. A court must have proper legal authority and are entrusted to make decisions that are binding within the adjudication process. The court system has the task of punishing wrongdoers who commit heinous crimes against society. The courts also have the job of determining which behaviors may or may not be acceptable as well as which sanction to hand down and the severity of the sanction as well as settling disputes in civil case. The U.S. operates on a dual-court system, which consist of a federal branch and a state branch. Each branch operates under it own jurisdiction but work towards a common goal. U.S. District Courts The U.S. district courts are described as federal trial courts, and serves as an entry point into the federal judicial system. This is where federal civil cases are decided and where individuals who are charged with violations of federal laws are put on trial. According the Schmelleger “The district courts are the workhorses in the federal system. As we have indicated, they are the trial courts where most disputes are resolved.”(Schmelleger, 2011) As of today there are 94 district courts a majority of federal cases held and resolved at the district level. However, only a small percentage...
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...Court History and Purpose Leon White CJA/224 January 6, 2015 David Hernandez Court History and purpose The American court system is a vital part of the criminal justice system. Courts are part of the judicial branch and serves as an instrument of social control. A court must have proper legal authority and are entrusted to make decisions that are binding within the adjudication process. The court system has the task of punishing wrongdoers who commit heinous crimes against society. The courts also have the job of determining which behaviors may or may not be acceptable as well as which sanction to hand down and the severity of the sanction as well as settling disputes in civil case. The U.S. operates on a dual-court system, which consist of a federal branch and a state branch. Each branch operates under it own jurisdiction but work towards a common goal. U.S. District Courts The U.S. district courts are described as federal trial courts, and serves as an entry point into the federal judicial system. This is where federal civil cases are decided and where individuals who are charged with violations of federal laws are put on trial. According the Schmelleger “The district courts are the workhorses in the federal system. As we have indicated, they are the trial courts where most disputes are resolved.”(Schmelleger, 2011) As of today there are 94 district courts a majority of federal cases held and resolved at the district level. However, only a small percentage...
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...historical developments of the U.S. courts began in the colonial days. Since then the American courts have taken their own path, and have evolved in order to better suit the social needs of today’s America. Presently, there are two judicial systems. The first one is the state and local courts established under the authority of state governments. The second is the Federal courts system created by Congress under the authority of the U.S. Constitution. Development of the American Courts The origins and foundations of American courts like other social, legal and cultural habits in America descended from Great Britain. The court system in American colonies resolved civil and criminal disputes. However, the court systems within each colony were not exactly the same. The Massachusetts Bay Colony had a General Court that created laws, conducted trials and imposed sentences. Later, county courts were created and the General Court was used for appeal hearings and for some cases that involved serious crimes. The colony in Pennsylvania allowed offenders to be their own lawyers and to plead their cases to a justice of the peace. Ultimately all American colonies had functioning court systems but they were not uniform. After the American Revolution, colonial court systems became state courts; and like colonial court systems, state courts were not uniform. Appellate jurisdiction which is the lawful authority of a court to review a decision made by a lower court existed however, there were some...
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...Courts are critical in the American criminal justice because they determine what should happen to people charged with violating the law. Courts are important beyond criminal justice, too. Disputes that arise between private parties, businesses, government officials, and the like are brought to court in order to ensure that they are heard, ideally, in a neutral forum (Siegel, Schmalleger, and Worrall, (2011). To understand the whole court process there are three distinct elements that have to be consider to become a court, it must have proper legal authority and have all of the guild lines within the constitution. Courts are generally found in the judicial as opposed to legislative and executive branches of government, and ‘courts are empowered to make decisions that are binding. The notion of “deciding upon cases, controversies in law, and disputed matters of fact” is known as adjudication, or “the process by which a court arrives at a decision regarding a case” (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worrall, 2011). The court system I am describing is Juvenile Court. Juvenile court cases are handled different than adult cases. Juvenile courts are designed to handle juvenile cases of delinquency. Juvenile delinquency matters in most states are treated as civil matters or family law matters. Juvenile cases range from drug dependency issues to truancy may be heard in juvenile court. Guardians or parents of the juvenile are required to appear and participate in the disposition of their child’s...
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...Desegregation Desegregation was crucial part of American history which effected the lives of thousands of African Americans. The Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education in 1954 was one of the most revolutionary court ordered decision that pushed forward the process of desegregation. Segregation can be defined as; “to cause or force the separation of or to separate or set apart from others or from the general mass.” ( Merriam-Webster) This very unfortunate series of events happened across the United States mainly because of a court ruling in 1896 of Plessy v. Ferguson. Desegregation of school across the United States was certainly a task, that was not in its complete phase until the 1970s. The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson involved Homer Plessy, who was 1/8 African American and 7/8 Caucasian which meant in the state of Louisiana he was considered Black. Plessy bought a first class ticket to ride on the railway in Louisiana, and took a seat in the all white rail road cart. He was then asked to leave his seat and sit in the “colored” cart because he was consider African American. Plessy refused and was immediately arrested. His case ended up in the US Supreme Court which ultimately proclaimed that Plessy's rights were not discredited because, the separate location provided to blacks were just as equal to those provided to the whites. This event adopted the “separate but equal” doctrine in the constitutional law. It was determined that all public...
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...Court History and Purpose Paper Nerissa N. Lee CJA/224 Nov. 29, 2012 Ashley Kintzer Court History and Purpose Paper The Court is where disputes are settled, law is born, and where individuals accused of criminal crimes go. Courts are simply the civilized way to handle issue in a legal, organized civilized manner. It is a critical component of American justice system. Courts is defined by the book as, “An agency or unit of the judicial branch of government, authorized or established by statute or constitution, and consisting of one or more judicial officers, which has authority to decide upon cases, controversies in law, and disputed matters of fact brought before it.” (Siegel, Schmalleger, & Worral, 2011). The purpose or the function of the courts can be narrowed down to four important things: 1. Courts are to uphold the law; 2. Protect individuals; 3.Resolve disputes; 4. reinforcing the social norms. However in the United States we have what is referred to as a dual court system. A dual court system can be defined as a judicial system comprising federal- and state- level judicial systems. A dual court system separates federal and state courts. According to the book a dual court system is advantageous and desirable because it is parallel to federalism. Federalism is a system of government where power is constitutionally divided between central governing body and various constituent units. In the United States, the federal government makes laws, but federalism also...
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...Scott wanted his freedom, but his slave owner did not agree with him so the debate ended up in the Supreme Court. Jurisdiction In the beginning, the Supreme Court Justices held that the case had no jurisdiction because Scott was not a considered a citizen. The court was limited to cases between citizens of the states therefore...
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...Writ of Habeas Corpus: A Right or Not? Shelly Shelton POL 201 American National Government Instructor: Amy Lyons August 4, 2014 The words war, terrorism, and death strike fear, anger, and pain in to the hearts of many. We want to retaliate against those who have caused us to feel this way. To somehow make them pay for the wrongs they have committed against us. In order to do this we kill, capture and or detain them. This is a fact of war, even an undeclared one. When these persons are taken prisoner do they lose their right to fair treatment, trial by constitutional standards and civilized means of interrogation? To answer these questions and others let us look at our history as well as review how our courts have viewed cases and situations that have arisen from actual war and the war on terrorism. Looking at the history of the United States it can be seen that the framers of the Constitution took civil liberties and civil rights into consideration when writing the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Article I Section 9 of the Constitution states “The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.” This writ is issued to determine if a person has been afforded due process of the law and to prevent unlawful imprisonment. It literally means “you should have the body.” (Unknown, 2013). The writ has been mentioned as early as the fourteenth century in England. The English people lived...
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...the country. That controversial institution which caused so much debate became known as the Bank of the United States. This bank and the question about its constitutionality not only influenced the people connected to the bank, but it also brought up uncertainty about how the national government should govern the country. In March of 1819, the United States Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, ruled that the United States Constitution supported the establishment of a national bank and that federal laws supersede state laws in every situation....
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...point in the history of the United States. This major case was actually several cases that were decided by the Supreme Court as one. These cases were argued by the NAACP and their expert team of lawyers led by Thurgood Marshall and his team the Legal Defense and Educational Fund. All the cases were filed by African American parents on behalf of their children. The parents of these children wished it to be brought before the courts that “separate but equal” was not fair. In the South though, Plessy v. Ferguson, “separate but equal” and Jim Crow laws reigned, they had a tough battle ahead. Leading up to Brown v. Board of Education The Jim Crow Laws were enacted in mostly the Southern and some of the border states of the United States and enforced between 1876 and 1965, slightly less than a hundred years (wikipedia). These laws mandated "separate but equal" status for black Americans. “In reality, this led to treatment and accommodations that were almost always inferior to those provided to white Americans. The most important laws required that public schools, public places and public transportation, like trains and buses, have separate facilities for whites and blacks” (wikipedia). In the Progressive Era the restrictions were formalized, and segregation was extended to the federal government by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913 (wikipedia). To discuss the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, a brief history of the major case that had to be overturned to achieve the desired...
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...suitable for their actions. In today’s society the justice system does not condone to hangings and blood baths, the justice system today relies on a dual court system, the state court and the federal court. These courts decide guilt or innocence and impose sentences on the convicted. There are different levels in the United States court system and they all dispense justice and help ensure that officials in the justice system work within the law when carrying out their duties (Schmalleger, 2011). The dual court system is a result of a general agreement among the nation’s founders about the need for individual states to retain significant legislative authority and judicial autonomy separate from federal control (Schmalleger, 2011). The original American colonies each had its own system for resolving disputes. In 1629, Massachusetts Bay Colony created a General court, a governor, deputy, 18 assistants and 118 elected officials. The laws were made by legislature and the court. As the colonies grew throughout time so did the court system and by 1776 the colonies established a full functioning court system. The state court systems developed by following several models. One was the New York State Field Code of 1848, which clarified jurisdictional claims and specified matters of court procedure (Schmalleger, 2011). The federal Judiciary Act of 1789 and later the federal Reorganization Act of 1801 provided other models for state court systems. The federal model is a three-tiered...
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...Court History and Purpose CJA/224 Court History and Purpose The court system in America has been around since the middle of the 1600’s and has played a crucial role in the development of how things are done when it comes to the criminal justice side. From today’s federal court and our typical state court, these dual court systems came about from a mutual agreement presented from our nation’s founders. In the last 200 years, states’ rights have gradually waned relative to the power of the federal government, but the dual-court system still exists. Even today, state courts do not hear cases involving alleged violations of federal law, nor do federal courts get involved in deciding issues of state law unless there is a conflict between local or state statutes (Schmalleger, p. 311, 2009). The first state court system for the American colonies was established as early as 1629 in Massachusetts. They created what was known by as a general court system. This court was comprised of 118 elected officials, and 18 assistants. This in fact set off a chain reaction and a decade later county courts were developed and the general court took on the role of a higher court. As time progressed, so did the courts. By 1776, all of the American colonies had established fully functional court systems (Schmalleger, p. 313, 2009). In wasn’t until 1789 when congress gathered to discuss a judicial power for the United States. So on March 4th of that same year the Supreme Court was established...
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...Rios, Victor M. (2009). The Consequences of the Criminal Justice Pipeline on Black and Latino Masculinity. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 623: 150. DOI: 10.1177/0002716208330489 Masculinity, Crime, and Crime Control Individuals shape their behavior according to gendered expectations and are subject to a system of accountability that is gendered, raced, and classed (Fenstemaker and West 2002; West and Fenstemaker 1995). Youth of color are inculcated into a set of hypermasculine expectations that often lead them to behaviors that conflict with the structures of dominant institutions. For example, Ferguson (2000) demonstrated that schools participate in the making of black masculinity in children as young as ten years old. Masculinity-making is heavily responsible for the deviance and punishment that takes place in the classroom and later in the criminal justice system. To be assigned “real man” status by relevant others and institutions, young men must pass multiple litmus tests among peers, family, and other institutions. These masculinity tests, or codes, were identified by sociologists as early as the 1920s. In 1924, Edwin Sutherland discussed how boys are taught to be rough and tough, rendering them more likely than girls to become delinquent (cited in Sutherland and Cressey 1955). In 1947, Parsons noted that at the very core of American adolescence an aggressive masculinity is at play: Western men are peculiarly...
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...Litigation in India: A Renaissance in Social Justice By Mamta Rao Contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. introduction……………………………………………………..3 description………………………………………………………6 narration………………………………………………………...7 exposition……………………….………………………………8 summary………………………………………………………...17 2 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1627065 Book review: Public Interest Litigation in India: A Renaissance in Social Justice by Mamta Rao Copyright@ EASTERN BOOK COMPANY, LUCKNOW, 2002 ISBN: 81-7012-725-4 Price: Rs.155 Introduction This book gives a brief description on the past, present and future of the public interest cases in India and abroad. It proves to be an excellent guide to the law students especially at beginning of their studies. Author Dr. Mamta Rao is currently a lecturer of Durgawati University, Jabalpur. She is eminent author who has written a number of law related books for basic and advanced studies in law. Public interest litigation appeared in the Indian judicial scene in the mid-seventies when the rigid concept of standing proved to be an obstacle in achieving the great ideals of soceconomic justice. To disarm the strong and arm the weak was essential to change the social order. The judiciary such circumstances had to innovate new methods and devices, new strategies for providing access to justice to a large section of society which was deprived vulnerable. This way it could be an instrument of distributive justice. This book traces the origin and development...
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...conceived in Liberty, the flag was a sign of freedom and justice in the United States of America. The American flag was sometimes called Old Glory also. Between 1897-1932, forty eight state laws were established for banning the desecrating of the United States flag. Immediately following the civil war, the American Flag was being threatened by at least two fronts. The first was by white southerners that wanted the Confederate flag as the American Flag and the second was by businesses that wanted to use the flag for commercial advertising. In response to these threats, forty eight states passed laws The U. S. Supreme Court’s first ruling on Flag Desecration was in 1907. The statues prohibited the following: marking, defacing, using in commercial advertising, and showing “contempt” by publicly burning, trampling, spitting on, showing lack of respect for the U. S. Flag. In Halter v. Nebraska in 1907, this ruling was upheld by the U. S. Supreme Court as Constitutional. In 1968, a Federal Government Flag Desecration law was passed by Congress due to the incident in Central Park where a peace activist decided to burn an American Flag to protest against the Vietnam War. The law banned anyone that demonstrated “Contempt” against the American Flag, but in the process of passing this law, they did not address other issues that dealt with the states’ flag desecration laws. In 1969, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the verbal belittling of the flag is protected...
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