The basis of criminal justice in the United States is one founded on both the rights of the individual and the democratic order of the people. Evinced through the myriad forms whereby liberty and equity marry into the mores of society to form the ethos of a people. However, these two systems of justice are rife with conflicts too. With the challenges of determining prevailing worth in public order and individual rights coming down to the best service of justice for society. Bearing a perpetual eye to their manifestations by the truth of how "the trade-off between freedom and security, so often proposed so seductively, very often leads to the loss of both" (Hitchens, 2003, para. 5).
The first inception of individual rights began with the founding fathers of the United States, who had a vision in which all citizens would have the right to live in this country without being discriminated based on race, gender, religion, or sexual preference (US Constitution, 2010). These are basic human rights for which many people lost their lives to protect as this country was formed. Nonetheless, today one lives in a society in which one must fight to continue to posses those rights once again. Similar to the rest of history, when there have many examples of individual rights were not protected.
The question then becomes at what price such sacrifices were made. Human rights should be exercised whenever injustice is witnessed, not only as protest when it is to one’s benefit. Acting to unite the people of the United States of America as one regardless of race, gender, religion or sexual preference despite belief over whether individual issues are important enough to defend.
Still, some do seek justice with regard to human rights, even as others ...
... middle of paper ...
...arly as aspects of both models have prevailed since the advent of established law and shall continue to as political issues persistently evolve. Leaving the criminal justice system, especially with respect to individual rights and public order, to adapt together as needed with it.
Works Cited
Adams, J. (1776). Thoughts on Government. Raleigh, NC: Hayes Barton Press.
EPIC (2001). USA PATRIOT Act (H.R. 3162). Retrieved from http://epic.org/privacy/terrorism/hr3162.html
Hitchens, C. (2003, August). Forcing Freedom: War Can Be an Engine of Dynamism and Innovation. Reason. Retrieved from http://reason.com/archives/2003/08/01/forcing-freedom/1
Siegel, L. (2004). Criminology: Theories, patterns, & typologies, 8e. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
US Constitution (2010). The United States Constitution. Retrieved from http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html
Criminal law attempts to balance the rights of individuals to freedom from interference with person or property, and society’s need for order. Procedural matters, the rights of citizens and powers of the state, specific offences and defences, and punishment and compensation are some of the ways society and the criminal justice system interact.
All throughout history civil liberties have been established, fought for, and abused. During the first quarter of the twentieth century, the civil liberties in the United States of America were tested. There were many events where the freedoms that our founding fathers had fought for Passive Voice (consider revising). Prejudice, fear, and racism all played a role during these events, during many of which they decided the outcome. Two events that demonstrate when the civil liberties in America were tested were during the trial of Sacco and Vanzettii and Schenek v. United States.
others deserved the right to be free and equal. They did not back down until they were
Pollock, J. M. (2012). Crime and justice in America: An introduction to criminal justice (2nd ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
The governance of our present day public and social order co-exist within the present day individual. Attempts to recognize the essentiality of equality in hopes of achieving an imaginable notion of structure and order, has led evidence based practitioners such as Herbert Packer to approach crime and the criminal justice system through due process and crime control. A system where packer believed in which ones rights are not to be infringed defrauded or abused was to be considered to be the ideal for procedural fairness. “I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.” Thomas Jefferson pg 9 cjt To convict an individual because proper consideration was not taken will stir up social unrest rather then it’s initial intent, when he or she who has committed the crime is not punished for their doings can cause for a repetition and even collaboration with other’s for a similar or greater crime.
Mass incarceration has caused the prison’s populations to increase dramatically. The reason for this increase in population is because of the sentencing policies that put a lot of men and women in prison for an unjust amount of time. The prison population has be caused by periods of high crime rates, by the medias assembly line approach to the production of news stories that bend the truth of the crimes, and by political figures preying on citizens fear. For example, this fear can be seen in “Richard Nixon’s famous campaign call for “law and order” spoke to those fears, hostilities, and racist underpinnings” (Mauer pg. 52). This causes law enforcement to focus on crimes that involve violent crimes/offenders. Such as, gang members, drive by shootings, drug dealers, and serial killers. Instead of our law agencies focusing their attention on the fundamental causes of crime. Such as, why these crimes are committed, the family, and preventive services. These agencies choose to fight crime by establishing a “War On Drugs” and with “Get Tough” sentencing policies. These policies include “three strikes laws, mandatory minimum sentences, and juvenile waives laws which allows kids to be trialed as adults.
Values some take for granted within this society today were ignored wholesale by a tyrannical colonial authority, and the people of this land rose up, shook off the chains of oppression, and set out to devise a new governmental system under which they could live rather freely. In his iconic “Four Freedoms” speech, America’s 32nd president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, outlined said values, stating that all should enjoy “freedom of speech and expression...freedom...to worship God in [their] own way” and “ a healthy peacetime life” (46). The importance of the concept of free speech and equality to the American identity cannot be understated, as it truly the foundation upon which much of this society rests. In the United states, it is instilled in us that from birth each human is bestowed with the same freedoms as all others. However, time and time again, people are denied these freedoms on the basis of skin color, religion, sexual orientation, or gender. Luckily, when such situations arise, the core belief that each and every person is owed liberty motivates the citizens of this nation to exercise their rights. With this in mind they speak out, or fight, against injustice, to take a further step towards making that dream of equality and a “healthy peacetime life” for all a
Today’s society is reluctant to see that there must be a balance between individual rights and public order. In this paper, there are going to be several reasons on why public order is necessary and how individual rights are needed. It will explain the many elements that allow us to live in a society that has both individual rights and public order.
Since the beginning of American history, citizens who resided the country lacked the basic civil rights and liberties that humans deserved. Different races and ethnicities were treated unfairly. Voting rights were denied to anyone who was not a rich, white male. Women were harassed by their bosses and expected to take care of everything household related. Life was not all that pretty throughout America’s past, but thankfully overtime American citizens’ civil liberties and rights expanded – granting Americans true freedom.
Some people are fighters and to uphold their rights they will fight tooth and nail time and time again, and others like Marian Anderson go about fighting battles with art and talent, as she did in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1939. As citizens, we live with an obligation to push for the betterment of the country as a whole. This includes fighting for equal rights for all, they are unalienable rights according to the Declaration of Independence. Now the word unalienable means something that cannot be taken away or denied. Liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness are things the founding fathers felt could not be denied or taken away from any human being. So no king, no emperor, no boss, no work, and no government had the right to
Humans have established their own rights in society for many, many years now. However, because some humans differ from the norms that are built in society, they are shunned and denied their rights until they conform to society’s norms. There have been numerous groups of people who have been denied their rights in America. African Americans, immigrants, Native Americans, and gays have been isolated simply because that is the way they were born into this world and others do not find them “normal”. There is another group that has also been mistreated though: people who identify themselves as transgender.
“ ….Judgments, right or wrong. This concern with concepts such as finality, jurisdiction, and the balance of powers may sound technical, lawyerly, and highly abstract. But so is the criminal justice system….Law must provide simple answers: innocence or guilt, freedom or imprisonment, life or death.” (Baude, 21).
Mays, G. Larry., and Rick Ruddell. Making Sense of Criminal Justice: Policies and Practices. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print
The definition of justice and the means by which it must be distributed differ depending on an individual’s background, culture, and own personal morals. As a country of many individualistic citizens, the United States has always tried its best to protect, but not coddle, its people in this area. Therefore, the criminal justice history of the United States is quite extensive and diverse; with each introduction of a new era, more modern technologies and ideals are incorporated into government, all with American citizens’ best interests in mind.
Many of the minority groups such as African Americans, Asians, Mexicans, and Native Americans all had violated human rights. First, multiple minority groups had different articles violated Minority groups African Americans, Asians, Mexicans, and Native Americans not one, but multiple violations to the bill of rights. Also, the group among us researched more about African Americans instead of the other four. I researched about all minority groups they all are treated as badly. They seem not human or animal to the abusive people. The human bill of rights is the legal rights humans have. We care about theses laws because if ignored and get people in trouble. Article fifteen of the bill of rights were violated the most out of all groups. It is important to us because we have to be aware of that article and look for it better. Finally almost all groups were violated under article fifteen.