The Criminal Justice System

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Recommended: Strengths and weaknesses of the criminal justice system

The criminal justice system is one of the areas in any state that requires the input of all the three branches of government (CliffsNotes.com, 2011). Laws concerning crimes and their corresponding sentences must be made. These laws must be enforced and there should be an appointing authority for all judges and magistrates. These three functions correspond to the legislature, the judiciary and the executive arms of government respectively (CliffsNotes.com, 2011). The main focus of this essay will be on the Judiciary.

Workers in the criminal justice system range from those who actively participate in deriving the sentences for crimes committed to those who provide support services. Those who actively engage in the conception of sentences range from the local magistrate, the judges within a certain jurisdiction, up to the appellate and Supreme Court judges. The lawyers and attorneys, on the other hand, provide prosecutorial services and defense services depending on whether they are representatives of a plaintiff or the accused. The police and paralegals provide investigative services and legal support respectively. A magistrate is just but one of these workers whose scope in relation to the types of cases that he or she has to judge are limited by the government (Cornell Law School Wex, 2010). Although there are limitations to a magistrate’s duties , he or she must have a high-level of integrity since there are cases where they will contend with ethical issues.

Ethical issues do not have clear answers. It is this quality that requires the magistrate to act in such a manner as not to hurt the interests of others. It is the controversial nature of Ethics that challenges the ingrained systematic activities of the judicial system. Th...

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...morally corrupt character. Integrity is an important requirement for anyone to hold the office of a magistrate. Corrupt magistrates erode public confidence in the judiciary of any country.

References

CliffsNotes.com (2011). The Structure of Criminal Justice. Retrieved from

http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/topicArticleId-10065,articleId-9908.html.

Kleinig, J. (2008). “Ethics and criminal justice: an introduction”. New York: Cambridge University Press. 32-33.

Legal Information Institute (2010). Magistrate. Cornell University Cornell Law School Wex. Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/magistrate

Rising, J. (2002). “Justice and Ethics”. Retrieved from http://www.mit.edu/~jrising/webres/justice1.2.pdf

The Importance of Ethics in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/4031_Banks_Chapter_1_Proof.pdf

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