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Criminal justice system in the usa
Criminal justice system in the usa
The united states criminal justice system essay
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Classical Theory in criminal justice is based on Catholic theology where the belief is that criminals who break the law know they are doing so and do it of their free will. (Schatz, 2017). Therefore, the punishment should fit the crime. This is the basis of the United States Criminal Justice System. The legislature serves as the decision maker in this theory. They do not assess punishment, but instead determine guilt case by case. Because individuals are rational, they can think in a logical way. (Mayer, unknown). Different people have different interests and these interests define their utilities. Individuals make choices and their choices influence their utilities. And lastly, individuals make choices in a rational way to increase their
The rationalistic model is used to describe that, “law (in particular, criminal laws) are created as rational means of protecting the members of society from social harm. In this perspective,
The central element of calculation involves a cost benefit analysis: Pleasure versus Pain, (5) Choice, with all other conditions equal, will be directed towards the maximization of individual pleasure, (6) Choice can be controlled through the perception and understanding of the potential pain or punishment that will follow an act judged to be in violation of the social good, the social contract, (7) The state is responsible for maintaining order and preserving the common good through a system of laws (this system is the embodiment of the social contract), (8) The Swiftness, Severity, and Certainty of punishment are the key elements in understanding a law's ability to control human behavior. Classical theory, however, dominated thinking about deviance for only a short time. Positivist research on the external (social, psychological, and biological) "causes" of crime focused attention on the factors that... ... middle of paper ... ...
The criminal justice system has been evolving since the first colonists came to America. At first, the colonists used a criminal justice system that mirrored those in England, France, and Holland. Slowly the French and Dutch influences faded away leaving what was considered the English common law system. The common law system was nothing more than a set of rules used to solve problems within the communities. This system was not based on laws or codes, but simply that of previous decisions handed down by judges. Although rudimentary, this common law system did make the distinction between misdemeanors and the more serious crimes known as felonies.
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.
Packer’s second assumption of a criminal justice system is that none of the areas of a justice system overlap, allowing there to be effective checks and balances within a system. This allows for discretion between cases, which can ensure that sentencing and punishment are tailored to the individual, as well as keeping a hold on the power of the government. Tailoring sentences to an individual ensures that the system does not become focused on general deterrence, and that power does not begin to cascade to one area of the government, making the system unfairly
3, para. 3). Criminal propensity theories lean towards the idea that those who are more criminally prone care less about deterrence because of their risk-taking nature; which is not to say sanctions are irrelevant to criminal prone, just that the more criminally prone a person is, the less sanctions and deterrence matter (Wright, Caspi, Moffit, & Paternoster, 2004, p. 3, para. 4-5). A third theoretical view has the idea that more criminally prone individuals react to deterrence than law abiding, morally sound individuals because the latter do not consider the calculated costs of crime, but rather follow the law regardless (Wright, Caspi, Moffit, & Paternoster, 2004, p. 4, para. 6). This theory lends itself to more of a stalemate, as those prone to follow the law cannot be further deterred from breaking the
Over the next 10 years the criminal Justice system could entirely change with the passing of a major law, epidemic, or failed service. Consequently, every since 9-11 our justice system has become much more open minded. Therefore, resulting in the strict enforcement of laws to protect its citizens. Nothing ever stays the same for too long. New developments related to science, technology, DNA analysis, and countless other tools and other factors are changing for the better in solving cases, prevention of crimes, and aiding in investigations. Where there is change there will be changes in the way we handle everyday processing. For example, booking a criminal, acquiring evidence, and interrogation. This also results in the field of criminal justice having no choice but to adapt to the slowly changing times or else be left behind.
The outdated nature of the Nigerian criminal justice system has been a topic for deliberation in recent times. Rightly put, there is work to be done by the legislative arm of the Nigerian government as the present procedures for adjudication of laws are old and present a problem to judicial officers as there are loopholes which are frequently exploited, and its archaic nature makes it unfit for use in a modern society. The criminal justice system is defined as the collective institutions through which an offender passes until the accusation has been disposed of or the assessed punishment concluded. The system typically has three components: law enforcement which includes; police, sheriffs, marshals; the judicial process which includes the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers; and corrections which includes the prison officials, probation officers and parole officers . By the above definition, it can be elicited that the criminal justice system is a necessary organ of a functioning society, and it is necessary that an organ of such invaluable importance be kept in good shape. An effective criminal justice system is fundamental to the maintenance of law and order this is because it addresses behavioral issues, but due to the outdated nature of the Nigerian criminal system, the pivotal functions of the organ which is conviction and acquittal have been hindered drastically and have become exceedingly rare.
The principle of proportionality obliges courts to enforce sentences that allow a proportionate correlation to the offender behaviour in question. The principle drives the prevention of the burden in sentencing that is manifestly excessive or lenient. The sentence is supposed to express society’s emotions of the offense and allows dealing with an offender fairly (Kannai, 2004). It has been debated that proportionality is connected to retributivism (Demleteiner et al. 2003), however, proportionality has also been depended on to upkeep utilitarian objectives of penance, such as deterrence. It has been argued that a structure of justice that dispenses proportional sentences can motivate offenders to commit offenses of a smaller severity to obtain a lesser sentence if found (Von Hirsch & Ashworth, 2005) in turn presenting the principle as effective and a deterrent within itself. The principle is a major device for guaranteeing that rulings enforced upon offenders are reasonable. It functions to ‘restrain excessive, arbitrary and capricious punishment’ (Fox & Freiberg, 1999). It is of utmost significance to sentencing law and is a value that is engrained in defence for the basic human rights of individuals before the court (Fox,
Unlike previous theories, the conservative theory took a primitive approach to crime during the 1980s and 1990s. After the turn of the century, crime was associated and viewed through the lens of society. That lens shifted during the 1980s as crime was viewed as the responsibility of the individual and not through society. For example, the individualistic views the Classical School and Positivist School theorists had. Although Wilson and Herrnstein did not take the same approach as Beccaria, Bentham, or Lombroso each set out to once again, get tough on crime and bring ‘“punishment back into society’” (Lilly, Cullen, & Ball, 2015, p. 328). The two primary questions for conservative theory was asked by Wilson and Herrnstein in their book,
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 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.
The criminal justice system views any crime as a crime committed against the state and places much emphasis on retribution and paying back to the community, through time, fines or community work. Historically punishment has been a very public affair, which was once a key aspect of the punishment process, through the use of the stocks, dunking chair, pillory, and hangman’s noose, although in today’s society punishment has become a lot more private (Newburn, 2007). However it has been argued that although the debt against the state has been paid, the victim of the crime has been left with no legal input to seek adequate retribution from the offender, leaving the victim perhaps feeling unsatisfied with the criminal justice process.
There are many different aspects of criminal justice policy. One in particular is the different theories of crime and how they affect the criminal justice system. The Classical School of criminology is a theory about evolving from a capital punishment type of view to more humane ways of punishing people. Positivist criminology is maintaining the control of human behavior and criminal behavior. They did this through three different categories of Biological studies, which are five methodologies of crime that were mainly focused on biological theories, Psychological theories, which contains four separate theories, and the Sociological theories, which also includes four different methods of explaining why crime exists. The last theory is about Critical criminology. Their goal was to transform society in a way that would liberate and empower subordinate groups of individuals.
The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular