Criminal Justice System

The criminal justice system is composed of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws. The way criminal justice systems work depends on the jurisdiction that is in charge. Different jurisdictions have different ways of managing criminal justice processes. The components of the criminal justice system are law enforcement, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, and corrections. Law enforcement has many roles in the criminal justice process.

They prosecute all adults who commit felonies and juveniles who commit delinquent crimes. Conjointly, the prosecutors have further responsibilities, such as legal adviser of the country commissioners, the Board of Elections, and written admonition of the prosecutors. Police In today’s justice system, law enforcement contributes a significant role in the prosecution of criminals. Police officials use searches and seizures to inspect and collect evidence to convict an individual for suspect of crime. Though, previous to a search taking place, there must be a prerequisite of probably cause, that is, evidence of an illegal act.

Police, courts, and corrections are separated government institutions with different goals, histories, and operating procedures. Law enforcement officials report crimes that happen in their area. Officers investigate crimes and gather evidence to identify and use against a presumed perpetrator. Thus, it is the duty of the officer to uphold the rights of offenders, victims, and to conduct police procedures within rules set by law. Depending on the nature of the crime and the evidence gathered it is up to the police discretion to make an arrest or issue a citation for the accused to appear in court.

In criminal cases, the government standards of a criminal system control the behavior of criminal trials in the electoral framework and the state principles of criminal strategy manage state court criminal trials. In common cases, the government standards of common technique and the state tenets of common methodology serve as the benchmarks creating common trial methods. The government confirmation code, controls the tolerability of proof and affirmation in elected court criminal and common cases, while the state proof code manages proof and affirmation in state court criminal and common

State courts provide collateral review for defendants convicted in state court. While the federal court review provides collateral review for defendants in both state and federal court. Habeas corpus is important as the reviewing of cases ensures the accuracy of the case

Sentencing Philosophies When a judge or magistrate looks at the possibility of recidivism, they tend to lean towards a sentence structured around rehabilitation to help reduce the offender’s chance of committing crimes in the future. The decision of what type of sentence to impose and which one will work best for each individual criminal are things that come together before the court as a joint effort by many parties involved and not just the judge wearing the robe and holding the gavel. Each of the four main sentencing philosophies play a large roll in how the U.S. justice system works. Rehabilitation Usually police officers make the initial contact with a suspect after a crime has been committed. The officer’s report and the evidence collected makes the case which are sent to the prosecutor’s office and court.

This system is in place in order to protect and serve the many individuals in the U.S be it at a local, state or federal level. The criminal Justice system include agencies such as law enforcement, courts, and prosecution and defense attorneys. Once a crime has been committed it goes through the law enforce first which includes the police officers that investigate the crimes. Then based on evidence they make an arrest and the case goes to court in front of a jury. In court the prosecution and defense attorneys argues to the right of the client and the state.

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).

In criminal court the government is responsible for filing against a person who has committed a crime. This person is known as a defendant and the government must prove the defendant’s guilt “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Some crimes that a person can be charged with can include murder, assault, robbery, burglary, and DUI etc. The key players in the criminal court system are the U.S. Attorney, the grand jury, and the judge. The U.S. Attorney is known as the prosecutor who represents the United States in the trial. The grand jury is responsible for reviewing all evidence that is presented and to determine whether the defendant is guilty or not.

Based off the United States Department of Justice, step one of the criminal justice process is the investigation. In the investigation, the police or whoever is handling the case is looking for evidence, both direct and circumstantial. The police or agencies handling the cases are looking for evidence to help the prosecution understand the details of their case. The second step of the criminal justice process is charging whoever is responsible for the crime. The district attorney or prosecutors in that specific case studies the details and information obtained from the police or the investigators.