...In today judicial system, many criminals are getting away with very little or no punishment for the crimes they are committing. You could be walking down the street in your very own neighborhood looking for their next victim and you do not even realize it. These criminals have no remorse on what they do; they are just waiting to strike again. However, if someone asked what your thought is on the death penalty, most would probably say that they are against it that is until a family member or someone you love is walking down the street and that man who was looking for their next victim found them. It was a family member and you will never see them again. Capital punishment has been a topic of debate for a very long time and it still has no certain solution. The Supreme Court, in 1972 said that it was unconstitutional and had made it legal after the Furman v. Georgia case. They said that it was in violation of our eighth and fourteenth amendment citing cruel and unusual punishment (Shaw, 2001). They then reinstated the death penalty after the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976 (Shaw, 2001). As of September 2010, fifteen states that do not have the death penalty ("Death penalty information center," 2010.) Today about seventy percent of Americans who support the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). While thirty percent are against the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). When seeking the death...
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...Obamacare POL 201 American National Government December 10, 2012 Obamacare In an attempt to create a solution to health care, President Barrack Obama came up with a universal healthcare program called the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Obamacare was signed into law on March, 2010. It has been the most significant repair to the United States healthcare since Medicare and Medicaid passed in 1965. In this paper, the key points that will be discussed are obamacare policy, it pros and cons, if it raises any issues with federalism and the policys effectiveness. Obamacare is aimed at helping the underinsured to gain insurance. With this plan everyone would have health insurance regardless of income, or anything that would stop the person from attaining health insurance. The Affordable Care Act is a watershed in U.S. public health policy. Through a series of extensions of, and revisions to, the multiple laws that together comprise the federal legal framework for the U.S. health-care system, the Act established the basic legal protections that until now have been absent: a near-universal guarantee of access to affordable health insurance coverage, from birth through retirement.(Rosenbaum, 2010) Obamacare is a name used by critics of President Obamas efforts to reform health care. Its a common term used to describe the Patient Protection and Affordable care Act of 2010. ObamaCare contains many benefits, especially for low...
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...Death Penalty In today judicial system, many criminals are getting away with very little or no punishment for the crimes they are committing. You could be walking down the street in your very own neighborhood looking for their next victim and you do not even realize it. These criminals have no remorse on what they do; they are just waiting to strike again. However, if someone asked what your thought is on the death penalty, most would probably say that they are against it that is until a family member or someone you love is walking down the street and that man who was looking for their next victim found them. It was a family member and you will never see them again. Capital punishment has been a topic of debate for a very long time and it still has no certain solution. The Supreme Court, in 1972 said that it was unconstitutional and had made it legal after the Furman v. Georgia case. They said that it was in violation of our eighth and fourteenth amendment citing cruel and unusual punishment (Shaw, 2001). They then reinstated the death penalty after the Gregg v. Georgia case in 1976 (Shaw, 2001). As of September 2010, fifteen states that do not have the death penalty ("Death penalty information center," 2010.) Today about seventy percent of Americans who support the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). While thirty percent are against the death penalty (The pros and cons of the death penalty in the USA, 2011). When seeking the...
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...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 plea bargains * Questioning witnesses * Presenting his or her evidence to a court to ensure a conviction The prosecutor should have an elaborate working knowledge of the law and whose duty is to seek justice for the innocent, convict the guilty, and ensure the rights of the accused as well as the rights...
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...LAW AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM PLA 3014 SPRING SEMESTER 2016, Exam #1 CONCEPTS TO HELP YOU REVIEW I. Terms, Cases and Concepts You Should Understand and Be Able to Define to Ensure Maximum Success on the Multiple Choice and Short Answer Sections of Exam Civil Disobedience What are the functions that law fulfills in society? (pp. 2-4) Malum in Se (and be able to identify examples illustrating these laws) Malum Prohibitum (and be able to identify examples illustrating these laws) Precedent (and why important to the common law and our court system) Stare Decisis (and why important to the common law and our court system) What is Natural Law? Why important to history and formation of common law? What is Positive Law? What is the “sociological theory of law?” What are the four primary sources of law? Where do we find “law” today? What was the most important source of law historically for the common law? What is the order of importance of sources of law today in U.S.? Change in Legal Methodology in U.S. (hint: what was the change in focus in the US regarding the four sources of law? Why? See p. 37) What are the major differences between criminal and civil law in the U.S. today? Be able to define role and significance of constitutional law, statutory law, case law, and administrative and regulatory law in today’s society What are the four global legal traditions? Which are most prevalent today? Be able to briefly define each of the four global legal traditions and provide...
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... |10 | Jury Nullification Paper Therese Carlon June 3, 2012 Joseph Mariconda The United States Declaration of Independence has been viewed over the first two centuries as one of the definitive government documents that spell out both racial and ethnic equality for all Americans. However, there is a section of this worthy document that refers to one of the foundational premises for our founding freedoms: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” (U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776). In the South in the first half of the 20th century it was predominately African-Americans who felt the retribution of those in government who classified them as ‘less than human’, and treated them as such. After the smoke had cleared it became clear that the tenets so dramatically voiced in the Declaration did...
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...promise that the court will lighten the burden of people whose problems have become too difficult to overcome alone? What if ‘All Rise!’ became a pledge by the court to look beyond the chaos and wreckage in peoples’ lives caused by addiction and to see their potential? What if ‘All Rise!’ offered the promise to provide the treatment and other tools needed to help people permanently change their lives? When an addict rises out of addiction and crime, we all rise” (West Huddleston, 2011). I thought that was very well put. In this paper, I will touch on the history of drug courts, how they work, and the benefits to the American taxpayers as well as society itself. HISTORY In 1989, the first Drug Court came to be and was located in Miami-Dade County, Florida The Miami-Dade Drug Court ignited a sudden national transformation that has changed our justice system. Ten years later, 492 Drug Courts were in full swing. As of June 30, 2012, 2,734 Drug Courts were in service in every U.S. state and territory. Millions of lives have been changed, thanks to Drug Courts, and they are continuing to spread all over the country and the world. This year, 2,734 Drug Courts will serve over 136,000 people (National Association of Drug Court Professionals, n.d.). A variety of problem solving courts are using the Drug Court model to address additional issues that we face as a society. Problem-solving court programs are successfully challenging developing issues in the US. For instance, Veteran’s...
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...in the afternoon that day. An article posted in the Cable News Network (CNN) website, a 24-hour American cable channel, stated that at the last minute, Estrada decided to postpone the execution after receiving an appeal from Bishop Teodoro Bacani. He tried calling the prison officials, but only received busy signals and fax tones. Calling from home, Estrada then realized he was not using a direct line specially used for last-minute postponement of execution. When finally connected at 3:12 PM, Agbayani was already pronounced dead at 3:11 PM. It was a difference of a single minute, but in this case, one life has failed to be saved. In a publication released by the Philippine Statistics Authority entitled “Philippines in Figures”, records showed that the over-all reported crimes ballooned from 217,812 in 2012 to 1,161,188 in 2014. At the first half of 2015 alone, the PNP Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management revealed that the total crimes were reported to increase by 46% from 603,085 cases in 2014 to 885,445 cases last year. Thus, the Philippines 2015 Crime and Safety Report identified the country’s crime rating as ‘high’. Such drastic increase in crime rates in the Philippines, especially the index crimes – such as murder, homicide, rape, robbery, and theft – has rung the bell among Filipinos to revive the debates on restoration of death penalty in our justice system. Some believe that capital punishment is the ultimate solution to the uncontainable rise in criminal...
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...Sunderland University. Racial Profiling Component of Article The article that I will review and is related to this topic on racial profiling is named “Race and Justice: Wrongful Convictions of African American Men” is written by Feagin Joe. Precisely, this article mainly talks about how the African Americans tend to be wrongly convicted due to racial prejudice and discrimination (Feagin, 2013). In order to gather adequate...
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...Pros and Cons of Death Penalty Does the execution of a murderer serve justice for all? One of the most controversial topics in the world today not only deals with the death penalty, also known as capital punishment, but whether it should be abolished or not . While some believe that the death penalty is “cruel and unusual punishment” violating the 8th amendment of the United States Constitution, others argue that “an eye for an eye” does justice. Thirty-four different states support this type of punishment including Oklahoma, leaving fifteen states that do not. According to Newport and the Gallup Polls, as of May 2007, “sixty-six percent of Americans -- almost the same percentage that supports the death penalty” consider the death penalty “morally acceptable.” Only twenty-seven percent of people believe the death penalty is morally wrong. Some say that the “legality in the United States is critically undermining American moral stature around the world (Ballaro & Cushman)." The death penalty is a very emotional, complex, and rather complicated matter that includes, but not limited to, the argument of the pros and cons as well as the fact that some convicted people whether executed or not are then later freed from guilt and blame (exonerated). There are many different pros of the death penalty, but I have chosen to only discuss a few of the most controversial topics. Supporters of death penalty believe that “[j]ustice is only achieved when a crime is met with the proper punishment...
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... Amanda Hughes, Casey Fazendin, Lorie Dixon, Marquita Gist, Vaishnovi Rajagopal CJA/344 Cultural Diversity Issues in Criminal Justice April 9, 2012 Major Williams Crime is an "action" or a behavior of an individual that violates the laws and faces consequences such as punishment. The relationship of crime and the laws are that society is governed by the government and created a set of laws which must be respected and by violating these set of laws would be considered as a "crime". Obviously, in these situations our criminal justice system plays an important role. "Criminal Justice refers to the aspects of social justice that concern violations of the criminal law". However, there are many people that still believe the criminal justice system is racially biased. Racial disparity and discrimination is one the most contentious concerns in our society since several decades. Jury Nullification is an act that “permits juries to acquit even when the facts of the case suggest they convict, and enables citizens to play more active role in determining justice and what/ whom should be punished” (Robert McNamara, 2009). In other words, Jury nullification consents the jury to return a non-guilty verdict when the defendant is certainly guilty. This paper scrutinizes on the pros and cons of race based jury nullification. Additionally, it describes against the race based jury nullification with proper evidences. Realistically, a juror’s...
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...Criminal Justice Procedure Amber Irwin Michiels CRJ306 Instructor Petrov July 31, 2013 Criminal Justice Procedure The criminal justice procedure involves a number of steps that must be taken carefully to ensure that a criminal does not get away with a criminal act because of law enforcement's failure to carry out each step properly. It is also set in place to protect the innocent from being unlawfully convicted. The modern justice process begins with investigation. After a crime has been discovered, evidence is gathered at the scene when possible, and a follow up investigation attempts to reconstruct the sequence of activities. Although a few offenders are arrested at the scene of the crime, most are apprehended later. In such cases, an arrest warrant issued by a judge provides the legal basis for an apprehension by police. An arrest, in which a person is taken into custody, limits the offender's freedom. The Arrest is a serious step in the process of justice. Most arrests are made peacefully, but if a suspect tries to resist, a police officer may need to use force. During arrest and before questioning defendants are advised to the constitutional rights, also known as their Miranda rights. The criminal justice procedure begins with arrest, followed by the booking of suspects, arraignment, preliminary hearing, grand jury trial, pretrial hearings, the criminal trial, followed by sentencing. In this paper, I am also going to discuss constitutional protections for...
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...Critique of ADA and Affirmative Action To critique the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) and Affirmative Action, it is imperative that one knows that the Americans with Disabilities Act is a law and Affirmative Action is a policy. The Americans with Disability Act is a law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public transportation, public accommodation, communication, and in governmental activities. Affirmative Action is a policy (regulation depends on the state) that is designed to provide equal opportunity (such as employment, education, and other endeavors) to groups that are discriminated and/or minorities (race/color, religion/beliefs/creed, gender, sexual orientation, and/or national origin). Within the ADA and Affirmative Action, there are pros and cons that exist. Pros of the American Disability Act The Americans with Disability Act has helped protect the civil rights of persons with disabilities. The passing of this law has helped many disabled individuals receive recompense for the discrimination that they faced. In 1997, Wal-Mart was found guilty of discrimination by refusing to hire an individual based on the fact that he was in a wheelchair. As part of its evidence, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission introduced a videotape showing the charging party performing many physically challenging activities during his daily life (EEOC, 2012). As a result, he was granted $225,000 which consisted of back pay, compensatory...
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...focus on cost because it is the most “politically neutral” angle (Danzig, 2012). Although there are many different opinions of capital punishment that is believed to be immoral and non-productive at times, these advocates of capital punishment have proven this to be a cost effective, and ethically correct deterrent of future murders. Mr. Briggs stated in a conversation with his father that when capital punishment was established in California 1978 it started with 300 people on death row, and now the state is up to 720 inmates who are waiting on death row (Danzig, 2012). He proceeds to make his case by saying to his republican friend by keeping the death penalty active it would do swift justice by getting the criminals and murderers through the system quickly by applying the death penalty. The American public believes that by supporting capital punishment laws this will produce a strong deterrent effect that saves lives in the present and future. There is a link between the executions that are being done and the decrease in murders from doing so. Professor Mitchell argues how expensive the death penalty is, for example last year in California it was reported that the state spent $184 million on lawyers, expert...
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... Jury nullification has been a growing concern throughout the years for many Americans. Jury nullification is a constitutional doctrine that allows juries to acquit guilty defendants but who do not deserve punishment. Many believe that when this sort of action takes place the jury racially identify with the criminal defendant. There have been several cases for an example: the O.J Simpson case or the police officers in the Rodney King beating. The evidence was visible, but the verdict was not guilty. This paper includes how and if ethnicity influences courtroom proceedings and judicial practices, arguments against ethnicity-based jury nullification, contemporary examples of ethnicity based-jury nullification, and by choosing a position for or against ethnicity-based jury nullification. Ethnicity Influences and Judicial Practices There have been plenty of attempts to advance equal justice in the United States (Ward, Farrell, & Rousseau, 2009). In the criminal justice administration disparity still remains a concern. Criminal justice research on sentencing has found disparity based on defendant characteristics as gender, race, and class. There have been two changes by many individuals to secure equal justice in the court system. Implementations of sentencing guidelines, reduce bias, and increased racial and ethnic group representation among arbiters of justice (Ward, Farrell, & Rousseau, 2009). This may diversify the pool of explicit and implicit...
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