The state legislature and the United States Congress codify the United States legal system. Each Jurisdiction in the United States defines “crime” in its own legal code and sets the appropriate punishments. According to the text, criminal law is defines as “the body of rules that define crimes, set out their punishments, and mandate the procedures for carrying out the criminal justice process. In the United States all suspects are found innocent until proven guilty under the court of law.
In criminal court, the courts main goal is to ensure that only the guilty are convicted and that justice is served properly. The court must also ensure that no ones Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eight amendment rights are not violated.
The Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building is where I observed the trial process. The case trails that I observed were DUI
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Many defendants in DUI cases use the intoxication excuse defense during their hearing; stating that there was no mens rea or intent to commit the act.
During my observation, the courtroom had its sections of prosecutors, defense attorneys, courtroom clerks, bailiffs, the judge and the families of the defendants who’s hearings where scheduled for that day. One thing I notice was once the defendants entered the courtroom; one of the clerks calls the defendants name and speaks to them in private along with the attorney they were appointed with. The defendant has the constitutional right to have an attorney present with them during their hearing and at trial. Majority of the cases that day were resolved with a plea bargain, which is the agreement between the defense and the prosecution in which the defendant pleads guilty to the charges and receives little punishment then what was initially given if the defendant decided to go to trial. One of the defendants was charged with DUI and property damage, as a result the defendant accepted a plea bargain of a
The criminal justice system in the United States is made up of three parts: the police, the courts and corrections (Drakeford, 2011). Each one of these parts works simultaneously together and the work of one influences the work on another. All three parts of the US system have been influenced and stem from English law. To start, the role of the police in the US criminal justice system consists of the collection of evidence, arresting offenders, giving testimony in court and performing investigations (victimsofcrime.org, 2008). Officers begin by creating a report with all the information they have gathered. An investigation of the crime then begins and the identification of the suspect is underway. Once the suspect is thought to be found, officers can issue a citation for him/her to appear in court. The case will just remain open if there was not enough evidence collected (victimsofcrime.org, 2008). Next is the role of the courts. The courts decisions are made by judges who also are the key factor in determining sentences and plea bargains. Once an offender is convicted, they are either sent to prison or jail. Prisons are typically for high crimes while jail is usually for those who have committed a lesser offense. It is the courts ...
Roper v. Simmons is a perfect example of the evolving role of the Supreme Court, the sources the Supreme Court used to reach the ruling in this case is quite questionable. While I agree with the Supreme Court about protecting the younger citizens of America the Supreme Court must have the law to back up their ruling. Though in this case they do not the Supreme Court used a combination of foreign policy, moral decency, and state laws as the legal foundation for this decision. None of these things are appropriate sources for deciding what is constitutional and what is not. The sources used for deciding the constitutionality of a case are the constitution and federal statues. While the case can be loosely tied in with the eighth amendment clause of “cruel and unusual punishment” there is no backing for the decision made. The Supreme Court with this case decided that it did not overturn the previous case of Stanford v. Kentucky, which ruled on this same issue fifteen years earlier. Yet the court stated that the prevailing moral code had altered therefore they changed their opinion. The truly shocking issue with this is that the neither law nor constitution had changed regarding this issue in the interceding fifteen years. The grave problem with this case is that the Supreme Court used the case of Roper V. Simmons to create law based of invalid sources.
However, according the Penal Law § 15.25, intoxication does not justify criminal behavior. It exists only if the case is related with intoxication, then you need to provide relevant evidence at the trial. This opinion is based on a summary of previous cases. Since your suition happened last night, and from now maybe it is too late to take alcohol medical examination as evidence for last night. Therefore, intoxication can not be a good eason for
Within the United States’ Criminal Justice System, problems pertaining to jurisdiction issues are quite common due several reasons. The United States v. Thomas J. L Smiley case and the United States v. Jared Lee Loughner case both had jurisdiction issues. Smiley and several other men obtained permission through a license from Mexico to search for treasure on an expedition; the treasure belonged to the steamer Golden Gate, which belonged to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company located within the United States. Ultimately, federal charges were brought upon him from the United States for violating a statue regarding plundering a sunken and/or abandoned ship. In contrast, Loughner had federal charges brought upon him by the United States due to his act a shooting, which resulted in the injuries and deaths of federal officials and employees. Furthermore, both cases involve jurisdiction issues involving the fairest of the trials and the location of the alleged crime; however, they both differ due to the circumstances and nature of the alleged crimes.
The judges that are a part of this group has many different roles, some of which are to issues warrants, making a determination of probable cause in evidence, denying or granting bail to offenders, overseeing trials, making rulings on different motions and even overseeing hearings. The prosecuting attorney is the one who will represent that state in c...
The purpose of the Judicial Branch is to interpret the meaning of laws, how they apply to individuals and if they violate
This American female singing group came out with lots of memorable hits. They were at the top of the acts with Motown Records during the 60s. The Supremes had a likeable and bouncy sound and had 12 number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100. The Supremes originally began as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan back in 1951. In the mid-60s when they were on top the Supremes actually rivaled the Beatles for popularity around the globe. It was their great success which paved the way for future R&B and soul musicians to find success.
The plea bargaining process within our criminal justice system has numerous benefits to both the offender and the system, with the victim receiving the least amount of benefit as they rarely see justice served on their own terms. Firstly, this system allows offenders of lesser crimes to get out of jail or prison sooner, often times with less time served than if they were to have been convicted after a trial. The sad truth is that most defendants cannot afford to make bail to gather witnesses and evidence, nor can they afford to invest in a skilled, interested defense attorney. This forces them to seek an alternative resolution to keep from enduring from jail the months, or even years, long judicial process that comes with a criminal trial.
Parts of the criminal justice system are straightforward, requiring little interpretation or subjective thinking to understand their meaning. For example, law enforcement officials must properly collect and introduce evidence to determine whether a subject did in fact commit a crime. And once a suspect is apprehended, very clear rules are followed on the process of his or her arrest. Crimes themselves are clearly defined, as well: murder, arson, robbery. The constitution is specifying that the death penalty may be used, but warns that there are certain stipulations that must first be met.
Both the federal government and states have authority to prosecute for criminal behavior in the United States. Each has their own criminal statutes, court systems, prosecutors, and police agencies to help deter crime. These criminal statutes control how suspects are investigated charged and tried. The court system institutes rules and policies that consist of their own structures and procedures within each state. Prosecutors are the most powerful and influential representatives of the court system. Sometimes a case can begin in a lower court then work its way up to a higher court depending on the crime. The law enforcers are made up of small town police officials and go all the way up to large federal agencies.
The simplest argument as to why intoxication may be used as a defence, if a person is in an intoxicated state, and is not aware of what he is doing, there can be no mens-rea and thus he cannot be guilty of a crime. No man should be convicted of a serious offence unless he acted voluntarily and he was at least aware that when he acted his conduct might cause damage of the kind forbidden by the offence with which he is charged. This is however a much too simplistic argument and cannot be used in all circumstances.
Further, a system can be defined as set of procedures and principles organized in a scheme or a method that guide how a particular thing is done. The criminal justice can be classified as system since it consists of a set of agencies and various processes that are established by through the political system to regulate crime and impose the appropriate penalties to those who break the law. However, it is important to note that some countries such as the United States have no concrete criminal justice system but possess individual systems that are
Assuming intoxication to be the direct cause of any criminal offense, the subject should be held responsible for his/her actions. However, they also deserve a chance to defend themselves and to tell their side of the story. In civil proceedings, a defendant may raise Intoxication as a means of general defense in order to
As I walked into room 100, I first noticed the public viewing gallery. It consisted of ten rows of long wooden benches with an aisle down the middle. The public viewing gallery had a total capacity of around forty people and remained about half full for the duration of my visit. To the left of the public viewing gallery was the jury box. The jury box had twelve seats and directly faced the judge’s bench. The judge’s bench was located in the far corner of the courtroom. To the left of the judge was the court reporter’s table. Right in front of the judge was two large wood rectangular tables, one for the defendant and one for the plaintiff. There were two large television screens located on both side of the courtroom, but they both were not on at the time I was observing. Court security service guards monitor the courtroom the public viewing gallery and were posted at every entrance and exit.
Criminal law has several purposes depending on how people view it. A few of the functions of criminal law are to divide criminals from society, rehabilitate the criminal and punish the offenders. However, the two main functions of criminal law are to create an understanding of right and wrong to the society and punishing those who break the law.