The criminal justice system in America is comprised of not just one but of a set of organizations and procedures that have been created by governments in order to mitigate crime and impose penalties for those people who choose to break the law. The United States has many individual criminal justice systems and each jurisdiction i.e. city, county, state, federal or tribal government or military has the ability to dictate how the system works as well as have different laws. With that being said, people in the United States rarely have contact with the criminal justice system and subsequently get much of their ideals and knowledge of what the criminal justice system is and how it works from the media, especially through entertainment television viewing. (Albany) Even though I have been to countless court hearings as a police officer, attending a jury trial as a student was different as I was able to step back and look at it through the eyes of a learner and not an agent of the government.
Part of my portfolio assignment is to write a court report based off of a criminal court proceeding. I was able to watch a few hours of a jury trial for a person accused of murdering another person with a gun. My courtroom observation occurred on 04-29-14 at the Arapahoe County Justice Center, which is located at 7325 N. Potomac St. Centennial, CO. 80112. This Justice Center hears both 18 Judicial District Court proceedings as well as Arapahoe County court cases. The 18th Judicial District includes Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln Counties.
I arrived at the Arapahoe County Justice Center parking lot at 9:00 A.M. in order to find cases on the docket that were being heard. When I arrived, I noticed how busy the justice center was as there were a...
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...ust fine, however the female witness had to be reminded by the judge a few times about pausing and not answering questions until there is a ruling. After the prosecution would rest, the defense then asked cross examination questions of each witness. After the direct examination and cross examination, the judge would ask the prosecutor if they had any re-direct questions. If the prosecution did not have re-direct questions, then the judge asked the jury if they have any questions for the witness. If there were none, the witness was then released. This occurred for each of the three witnesses that I saw testify. I was able to watch the questioning until they broke for the lunch recess.
As a police officer, I have been to countless court cases and I already knew what to expect from all that were involved. Being in the galley as an observer is entirely different than
I’m sure that there are many reasons why the defendant does not take the stand and testify like not wanting to reveal all of their evidence that they may need for trial, or the defendant risks incriminating themselves by saying the wrong thing on the stand. However, in this case an African American male, age sixty-five was accused of punching his girlfriend at the time, in the stomach cases her ribs to break. However, he alleged that she was drunk and tried to fight him, which led to him pushing her really hard into a recliner chair that was in his bedroom. To be honest both of them sounded really compelling as to what happened the night in question. The victim in the case, was a very petite woman who looked fragile to touch. She looked as if she could have been in her sixties as well. The entire case was sad and he seemed remorseful for what he did to her. However, in domestic violence cases period, it is hard for me to decide which side is lying or telling the truth. If it wasn’t for Judge Deleon’s probing questions, I may really be
The second component of the criminal justice system is the court system. They court system is composed of lawyers, judges, and juries. Their job is to insure that everyone receives a fair trial, determine guilt or innocence, and apply sentences on guilty parties. The court system will contain one judge, and a jury of twelve citizens. The jury of the court will determine the guilt or innocence of the individual. The jury will also recommend a sentence for the crime the individual committed. Even though the jury makes the recommendation for the sentencing of the crime, the judge will follow pre-determined sentencing guidelines to make a final decision.
This report will illustrate a three hour court observation concerning a trial of a Rape case. The defendant was under trial for two counts of rape under the District Court of South Australia. The district court which is an intermediate court, hear matters that are more serious than the magistrates courts, “this court also conduct trials that are presided over a judge and sometimes with juries”. (Reference)
.... J., & Langton, L. (2010, Sep/Oct). A national assessment of public defender office caseloads []. Judicature, 94(2), 87-91. Retrieved from
One of the main objectives for the Criminal Justice System is to reduce the crime and the fire of crime. In order to achieve this it is using different agencies and the major of them are the Police, Prosecution, Courts, Prisons and Probation. They all are operating in synchrony for achieving their legal responsibilities and particularly for reducing the level of crime. The aim of this essay specifically is to discuss the functions of the police and how they actually fit with the objectives of the Criminal Justice System as a whole. The Criminal Justice System is focusing on the formal response to crime and is used with special regulations in different countries. In England and Wales ‘it is used to describe the institutions and agencies which respond officially to the commission of offences (Hucklesby and Wahidin, 2009, pp3). All of its agencies are running together, systematically and coordinated, but their objectives are not usually the same. Meanwhile, the main aim which is coordinating their functions is to ‘protecting the public by preventing and deterring crime, by rehabilitating offenders and incapacitating others who constitute a persistent treat to the community’ (Davies, Croall and Tyrer, 1998, pp6). In order to discuss the functions of the police it is necessary to state what the ‘police’ actually mean. For the England and Wales in particular ‘the police are the largest and most visible agency involved in the criminal justice process, defined by Innes (2003:64) as a ‘specific, modern organisation, endowed with the state’s legal authority to use physical coercion or the treat of it, to enforce the law in pursuance of the maintenance of the social order’’ (Hucklesby et al, 2009, pp.38). The police are responsible for a ran...
“Witness for the Prosecution” superbly demonstrated a realist view of the operating procedures in a courtroom. The actors within the courtroom were easy to identify, and the steps transitioned smoothly from the arrest to the reading of the verdict. The murder trial of Leonard Vole provided realistic insight into how laws on the books are used in courtroom proceedings. With the inferior elements noted, the superior element of the court system in “Witness for the Prosecution” was the use of the adversary system. Both sides of the adversary system were flawlessly protrayed when the prosecution and defense squared off in the courtroom.
When twelve people sit and watch the same trial with the same information the way different people perceive it makes a difference of opinions which is back by past experiences. The discussion that is taken place after the trail is taken very seriously and the opinions from a variety of people that makes up the jury makes for many different perspectives. This causes the jury to annalyse the case and all the points that were raised these discussions last for hours until in most cases a unanimous decious has occurred on the verdict
The criminal justice system is composed of three parts – Police, Courts and Corrections – and all three work together to protect an individual’s rights and the rights of society to live without fear of being a victim of crime. According to merriam-webster.com, crime is defined as “an act that is forbidden or omission of a duty that is commanded by public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by that law.” When all the three parts work together, it makes the criminal justice system function like a well tuned machine.
The court observation which I attended was in a criminal court. The trial took place in the Municipal Court of Pennsylvania. The trial took place in room 608 on April 13th 2015 at 2:00 in the afternoon. I chose this room by walking around and randomly picking it. The judge was the Honorable Charles Erlique. The defense attorney was Robert Link and the Prosecutor was Edward Jeremella. The eye witness in this case was the police officer. The trial lasted for about two hours. This was the second time I had been to the court house. The first time I went the trial, it was almost ending and I did not get enough information. This case was a bench trial. The judge was coherent during the trial, he was respectful to both parties. At the end of the trial to get more information I asked the council who was watching the trial to give me a
Police have a critical role in the criminal justice system and the criminal investigation process. Police’s role is to prevent crime and enforce legal regulations. Police are provided several types of powers to fulfil their duties towards the community. These authorised powers are used to stop, search and detain a person when they’re certain a crime is committed. This ensures that citizens have their rights and privacy protected however, this power contains several advantages and disadvantages. Whilst this power allows police to catch more individuals who disobeys the law, couldn’t this power also violate an individual’s privacy and rights?
Under this sub-system, it was important that these officers use discretion at a traffic stop, during an arrest, search and seizure and when to use force. As per Hendrix (2013) “the Fourth Amendment is the primary rule guiding the investigative and arrest activities of the police” (p. 147). Proverbs 2:11, confirms the benefits of wisdom and discretion “discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you (New International Version).
Within every country there must be a system created to maintain as much peace as well as order within the country. This is done by laws and rules. There is the system called Criminal Justice Systems. Within this system it states: “a series of organizations involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and jailing those involved in crimes - including law enforcement, attorneys, judges, courts of law, prisons(Dictionary.com, 2014).” There are many levels that are brought to light in order for each country to create their Criminal Justice Legal System those suites their country. Some are based on traditions while others are created on history. Therefor with the understanding of what the Criminal Justice System is as well as what
On Thursday, October 20, 2016, I visited the Jackson Municipal Court in Jackson, Alabama. As I entered the courthouse I was greeted by three security guards who kindly asked me to remove my jacket and place my belongings in the bind for view. I graciously walked through a metal detector and received my belongings back upon completion. I then furthered my entrance into the huge building where I was dumbfounded by the appearance. I went to the bulletproof receptionist desk where I informed the clerk of why I was there. She kindly informed me of the courts that was going on and even suggested that I look in courtroom number two, which would probably have suited my need better.
I have never been in a court before. In fact, the closest I have ever come to the experience is by watching the American romcom ‘Legally Blonde’. Nevertheless, I’ve always been fascinated in unravelling the methods of fighting for justice, and I was in the prime position to find out.
Comparing to the civil courthouse, there were more people in this criminal courthouse. There are a judge, four court stuffs, about 16 juries, two police officers, defendant, his lawyer, King County Medical Officer and about 10 audiences in this case. The atmosphere in this courthouse was more serious than the previous civil courthouse. The name of this case is Regency Centers, L.P. v. Hodges (Chamber – Ruling), the case number is 14-1-03783-6, the judge of this trial is Judie Spector, and the defendant is Richard Parenteau. This is a murder case happened in 2014. In this trial, the defendant’s lawyer kept asking King County Medical officers details about this case. It was not the first trial, so we did not understand the story about this case. However, we searched this case’s story on the Internet when we went back home.