...Victims and Crime Evaluation paper Juan Martinez CJA/354 Criminal Law November 6, 2013 Alin Sahagian Victims and Crime Evaluation paper There are many different roles that take place in the criminal justice system some of those roles from the prosecutor, defense attorney, the criminal and of course the victim. The prosecutor presents the case against an offender to the court on behalf of the state. The prosecutor has a duty to tell the court about all the circumstances of the case and the facts of the offence. He will stand in front of the court and present to the judge explanations of harm committed to any victim of an offence. He provides the court with assistance on the sentencing range, and then he will identify relevant case laws and legislations that may apply to the case. The prosecutor can make submissions on an appropriate sentence and try to do everything reasonable to ensure the court is acting only on truthful information, and to protect the judge from making an error in sentencing that could lead to an appeal. Defense Attorney are there to perform an important role in the criminal justice system which is to ensure that their clients accused of a crime receive due process of law and enjoy every possible benefit from their talent that justice allows. The key participant to a defense attorney is the public morality that plays an essential characteristic of the criminal trial. The natures of the role require defense attorneys to perform a number of sometimes unpopular...
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...Criminal Justice Evaluation CJA/354 Criminal Justice Evaluation Criminal law defines what conduct is considered criminal. The law defines the acts that may lead to an arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment. (Schmalleger, 2010) Criminal law protects society from harm, punishes individuals who have broken the law, maintains social order, rehabilitates offenders, and deters criminal activity (Schmalleger, 2010). The sources of criminal law include the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, statutes, ordinances, and regulations. According to the American Heritage Dictionary 2009, a jurisdiction is a “right or power to administer justice and to apply laws”. Jurisdictions include a territory, state, or entity in which the law is enforced. The United States has federalism which consists of two governments who have authority over Americans. These two governments are federal and state governments. Federal governments have authority over “interstate and international commerce, foreign relations, warfare, immigration, bankruptcy, civil rights, and certain crimes committed on the high seas and against the “law of nations” (international law)”. (Schmalleger, 2010, p. 26) State governments have jurisdiction over the welfare of the people within the state and local cities. State governments have the power to make laws to ensure the wellbeing of the people within the territory. Law enforcement agencies, and of the justice systems like the courts and the correctional system...
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...Criminal Defense Case Analysis Paper Nikisha Rayford CJA/354 February 10, 2014 Gary Weil Criminal Defense Case Analysis Criminal Defenses One of the greatest rights afforded to the America people is the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. It is the job of the prosecutor to prove to the people, to the jury, and to the court that the accused is guilty of a crime. If the prosecutor has a valid case, the accused, either on his or her own or accompanied by a skilled attorney, can present various defenses to argue why they acted in the manner they did. According to Criminal Law Today, “A defense consists of evidence and arguments offered by a defendant and his or her attorneys to show why that person should not be held liable for a criminal charge” (Schmalleger 2010, pg. 114). This paper will discuss various forms of criminal defenses and how they are used in court. Justification Defense The courts usually require that the prosecutor prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty of a crime, the defense can take an offensive role in their trial by taking an affirmative defense. Instead of sitting back and waiting for the prosecuting attorney to attempt to prove the defendant’s guilt, the defendant can fight back with defenses. The following are types of affirmative defenses: Necessity The defense of necessity claims that the defendant believes it was necessary to commit...
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...Criminal Law Paper Jasmine Lee CJA 354 June 18 2012 Eric Winch Criminal Law Paper In 1982 a man by the name of Fernando Belmonte’s was convicted for murder of a nineteen year old female. In the case of this murder he was ultimately sentenced to death and he is now fighting for his life. The highlighted portion of this story is the actual incident itself. Belmont has been convicted and thought of as a monster from the case and its evidence was overwhelming. Belmont broke into the home of Stacy McConnell. His motive was robbery. He ended up hitting McConnell with a barbell and brutally murdered her. The object he stole from the home was a stereo. The value of the stereo was $100.00 dollars. McConnell lost her life for a $100.00 dollar stereo. In San Francisco the supreme courts are now faced with a decision to overturn Belmonte’s case for the third time. He has pushed to see that he is freed from the charges of murder however it is a decision that has been rejected in prior attempts. Nearly twenty years ago the Supreme Court sentenced Belmonte’s to death. Throught the twenty years of the case it has bounced in and out of the court rooms. Three times within the decade he has had his case overturned three times. The case is in a battle between the 9th circuit and the California prosecution has battled the case for the death penalty. The death penalty is often given in a court of law but, for the death penalty to actually be carried out is not...
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...Insanity Defense Donita Estes, Patrick Fostso, Jennia McCray, Yasmine McGee, Inga Payne CJA/354 October 22, 2012 Samara Belgarde, J.D. Insanity Defense The criminal justice system in America is one of the fair systems in the world where anyone will be innocent until proven of guilt. The whole concept of the court system emphasizes how our laws work regardless where we come from and how we look like or healthy or not anyone is entitles of due process. The idea that our justice and court system are fair to anyone on trial due to an arrest by probable cause and sentencing by a verdict guilty and not guilty of the jury. In the case or State v. Stu Dents, where the defendant was accused of killing his former girlfriend. We are going to elaborate how the charge of insanity can be plead in the defense case and in the other hand give some understanding how this plead play a role in the defendant case during the trial and after the trial in some states and particular California. Does your team feel this defendant is competent to stand trial? Why or why not? We believe that the defendant may not be competent to stand trial, due to the fact that he had has emotionally and mental issues. The defendant has no knowledge of the crime or its consequences, if put on the stand he may revert back to that emotional state of mind and will not be able to give and accurate statement and will not be able to understand charges and sentencing. What is required in your state for an insanity...
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...Victim and Crime Evaluation Larry Fulse CJA /354 May 5, 2014 Joeseph Caulfield The Criminal Justice system today is our scale of judgment. It plays a major part in how we live and how we continue to live among all the dangers, evil and corruption that surrounds us. Without it there wouldn`t be the fine line of right and wrong, there wouldn`t be justice. Those that are considered victims in our criminal justice would turn and become the aggressors and the criminals if we didn`t have a Legal System, and we would live in a world of chaos. Many individuals each have a role to play in our Criminal Justice System; there are the criminal and the victims who create the unfortunate events to which justice has to be served and then there are the defense attorneys and the prosecutors who do their best to upload the justice system and make sure that justice is served. What are the goals of sentencing associated? A defense attorney is a hired contractor, charged with representing individuals or entities in criminal or civil matter. People and organization facing criminal charges or being sued civilly hire a defense attorney to ensure their legal rights are properly protected and guide them through the legal counsel, is ethically and professionally required to watch over only the interest of his clients, within the boundaries of the law. He is legally and morally considered an “officer of the court,” and is required to refrain from lying or misrepresenting the facts of the...
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...Criminal Law Evaluation Sharon Smith CJA 354 March 05, 2012 Gary Weil Criminal Law Evaluation Concerning criminal Law here in the United States it revolves around criminal justices system, and there is always a purpose for these laws. Laws are set to protect society. This paper will examine the sources and purpose of criminal law. The purpose of criminal law is to protect and serve the citizens, and criminal law provides punishment and penalties to those who want to break the law. There are laws in place for him or her to abide by. One must understand how laws are enforced; by this there is the jurisdiction, which is the legal authority that enforces laws. Jurisdiction in criminal law is law enforcement has the right to arrest him or her for a crime, which he or she has committed. Jurisdiction has rules that have to be followed. Example of jurisdiction is crossing state lines the movie Blue Streak starting Eddie Murphy. In this movie it showed a good example of jurisdiction, here Eddie Murphy found a diamond and his was in the process of arrested, but cross the United States boarder into Mexico, and the FBI could not touch him because he was in another jurisdiction. To explain more about jurisdiction, unless that officer has been granted authority to arrest him or her from that state he or she is not allowed crossing over to another state. Another example of jurisdiction would be between federal and local. Police officers cannot arrest a person on a military...
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...Evaluation Charlie Jones CJA/354 February 9, 2015 ANN PERRY Victims and Crime Evaluation In the United State the criminal justice system is comprised of agencies. The justice system is established to protect people and to impose penalties on those who violate laws. There are several different agencies within the criminal system in the United States. Agencies are similar but different, because each county, state and federal or military installation has their own jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction has different levels of managing criminal justice processes. Military has their own jurisdiction but depending on the crime they are still part of the two main systems: State criminal justice systems handle crimes committed within their state boundaries and Federal criminal justice system handles crimes committed on federal property or in more than one state. In the criminal justice system there are five components law enforcement officers, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, and corrections. Each of the five components plays a key role in the criminal justice process. Far more importance is how victimization affects the roles of the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal and victim. Prosecutor is to prosecute criminal within their jurisdiction. They are the administrator of justice, an advocate, and an officer of the court who representing the people in a trial. Prosecutor works with their local law enforcement agencies to prosecute criminals and to provide legal advice...
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...Sentencing Proposal Criminal Law CJA 354 August 16, 2012 Sentencing Proposal State of Arizona v. Stu Dents Defense proposal Our client, Stu Dents, is thirty-nine years of age. He served in the United States Army during Operation Desert Storm and was, until 2008, a member of the National Guard, where he was honorably discharged. Until recently he was a hard working and reliable individual. He has had no significant previous criminal history and held a full-time job, until approximately six months before the unfortunate death of the victim. The defendant came home from Desert Storm with many issues, not the least of which was a drug habit, which he successfully stopped taking for a long period of time. He lived with his elderly aunt for the past several years, helping her financially as well as being a companion to her until moving into his own apartment after she was admitted to a nursing facility, about fourteen months before the downward spiral of his mental health and the death of the victim. Approximately 8 months before the tragic death of Ms. Opee, the defendant began doing ecstasy with the victim. They were both caught with a small amount of drugs on them at one point and both were convicted of a minor drug charge. As part of a plea deal Ms. Opee was sentenced to a mandatory rehab treatment facility. His parents have suffered through the pain of watching their only son go from being a loving, vibrant, and energetic young man to the individual now...
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...Victims and Crime Evaluation Paper Criminal Law/CJA/354 An alarming amount of innocent people become victims of crime every year, and the victim’s rights are every bit as important as the offender’s rights. There are certain tendencies that appear within patterns of crime and victimization, such as adolescents are most likely to be victimized, men become crime victims more often than women, and African Americans experience more crime than other racial groups (Newmark, 2008). Victims of crime suffer from physical, emotional, psychological, and financial issues. Some of the issues victims of crime face are physical injury, fear for personal safety, medical expenses, counseling expenses, feelings of fear, grief, shame, and anger, and lost income. Victims of crime needing assistance may believe they are overlooked or even revictimized by the criminal justice system, a system that may appear to be more concerned with the criminal’s rights than with the needs and rights of the victim. This paper will address the role the prosecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and victim play within the criminal justice system and how victimization affects each. The Prosecutor The prosecutor plays a critical role in the criminal justice system and serves many functions throughout the criminal justice process. Some of these functions are as follows: * Investigating * Helping the police build a case against the person(s) * Bringing charges against a person(s) * Arranging...
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...Criminal Law Evaluation This paper is going to examine both the sources and purposes of criminal law. In addition to Identifying and explaining jurisdiction of individual states, local, and federal enforce of criminal law. Moreover, there are two standards of proof in criminal cases proof beyond reasonable doubt and the other one is a criminal act has to have been committed with criminal intent. Adversarial system is important to the criminal justice system because it consist of two advocates representing two different sides in front of a jury or judge to determine what is true and false. Discuss and differentiate the concepts of criminal liability and accomplice liability. Also, three different types of inchoate offenses that will be discussed are solicitation, conspiracy, and attempt. The purpose of criminal law is to make sure society does not experience harm, to warn them of the consequences, to define what the intent is for all offenses, to inform society of the seriousness of the of offenses, to punish people for their wrong doings, and to make sure the victim and anyone connected including the public receive justice (Schmalleger, 2010). Criminal law also provides society with regulations and informs people of the consequences for breaking the law. For example, it makes a distinction in regard to petty and severe crimes. In addition to conveying criminal laws purpose is to keep society safe by giving and enforcing rules with deterrence, rehabilitation, and punishments...
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...Criminal Law Jordan Miller CJA 354 September 24, 2012 Kristin Mildenberger Criminal Law Former Chief Justice and President of the United States from 1909 to 1913, William Howard Taft once stated “Presidents come and go, but the Supreme Court goes on forever.” That statement currently remains to hold true. The first Supreme Court was called to assemble on February 1, 1790, at which time the powers and duties of the Supreme Court were established. The United States Supreme Court currently has one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices and is the highest judicial body in the United States. In the 2009 case of the Supreme Court vs. Joel Tenenbaum, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) sued former Boston University student Joel Tenenbaum for file sharing 30 songs he illegally downloaded from the Internet. According to Bloomberg (2012): The court, without comment, refused to hear Tenenbaums challenge to a law that let the recording industry collect thousands of dollars from individuals for such downloading. The jury was told to impose damages, set by US copyright law, of between $750 and $150,000 per violation. Jurors set a rate of $22,500 for each of 30 songs he downloaded. (para. 2) A jury subsequently ordered Tenenbaum to pay $675,000 in fines directly associated with each of the 30 illegally downloaded and shared songs. "I find it hard to believe that the legal system would uphold a six-figure sum against someone just for downloading music," Tenenbaum...
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...Anti-Drug legislation Analysis Joe Lamb CJA/354 May 21, 2012 Lora Terrill Anti-Drug legislation Analysis The topic of paper will focus on the numerous anti-drug policies created by federal and state legislation. Furthermore, the similarities and differences between the various states will be compared with federal policy. An analysis will further be provided regarding the legalization or decriminalization of the drug marijuana and the possible impact legalizing drugs like marijuana could have on the federal, state, and local law enforcement, corrections, and society. In 1875, San Francisco was the first state to enact a ban that prohibited individuals from smoking opium. Unfortunately, the Act targeted mainly Chinese immigrants but was a leading factor to the creation of future antidrug laws. In 1914 the Harrison Act came into effect which required all medical professionals dealing in morphine, opium, and other substances to register with the federal government and pay an annual tax of one dollar. Any individual not registered and who were caught trafficking drugs could be punished with a fine of not more than two thousand dollars and serve up to five years in prison. Before the Heroin Maintenance Act was put into effect in 1920, individuals addicted to drugs could be treated at a clinic with medially prescribed Heroin. Studies conducted over time proved that the use of heroin to treat substance abuse was only causing further damage by prolonging one's addiction and delaying...
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...U.S. Supreme Court Case CJA/354 Criminal Law The Supreme Court of the United States is the Nation’s highest court, and was established on 4, March 1789; the court is made up of a Chief Justice and five Associated Justices. From the time the United States established the Supreme Court there has been 112 Justices of the court, including 17 Chief Justices ("United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary ", n.d.). Over the years the United States Supreme Court has heard cases brought on by one state against another, between state and federal government known as “original jurisdiction” actions, cases from state courts, and cases brought up of reviewable decisions made in federal appellate or district courts ("Supreme Court Historical Society ", n.d.). The case being used for this paper has two separate cases involved, but I will only be using one as a reference. The two cases in which were brought to the United States Supreme Court together are very similar and involve teens being given life sentences without the possibility of parole for committing murder. The United States Supreme Courts case number is 10-9646, Miller v. Alabama. This case was brought to the United States Supreme Court on 20, March 2012, involving two fourteen year old boys, whom were found guilty of murder in two separate cases, and also from two separate states, one being Alabama and the other being that of Arkansas. With in each of these cases one of the boys did the killing and...
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...Course Syllabus College of Criminal Justice and Security CJA/354 Version 4 Criminal Law Copyright © 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 by University of Phoenix. All rights reserved. Course Description This is an introductory course in the study of criminal law, general legal principles, and how the criminal law functions in and affects modern society. This course highlights a variety of key topics, including the concept of crime and the development of criminal law, defenses to criminal charges, and a number of specific types of crimes, including personal crimes, property crimes, public order crimes, and offenses against public morality. Legal issues affecting punishment will also be discussed, as will ways the criminal law impacts victims of crime. Policies Faculty and students will be held responsible for understanding and adhering to all policies contained within the following two documents: • University policies: You must be logged into the student website to view this document. • Instructor policies: This document is posted in the Course Materials forum. University policies are subject to change. Be sure to read the policies at the beginning of each class. Policies may be slightly different depending on the modality in which you attend class. If you have recently changed modalities, read the policies governing your current class modality. Course Materials Champion, D. J. (2009). Leading U.S. Supreme Court cases in criminal justice: Briefs and key terms. Upper...
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