In the world, there are two justice systems; the adversary system and the inquisitorial system. The adversary system, used in countries such as Australia, The UK and The USA, is a justice system involving two parties make allegations before a judge . The inquisitorial system however, used in countries such as Europe, Africa, Asia and South America is a justice system which aims to find truth through discussion and investigation . The adversary system, has five main features plus numerous underlying features. In the adversary system, there are two parties, the plaintiff and defendant in a civil case and the Director of public prosecutions (DPP) or police and the defendant in criminal cases. There is also an independent and impartial judge, who stands alone from the legislative and executive arms of government. The judiciary is also impartial to both of the parties to ensure that there is no bias when it comes to creating a verdict. In the adversary system, …show more content…
In the inquisitorial system, it is believed that all outcomes are just. This is because the judge is trained specially to collect and weigh evidence with the objective of revealing the truth. As this is so, a trial will not proceed unless there is strong enough evidence in order to convict the accused. It is also believed that the inquisitorial system has greater accessibility than the adversary system as the investigation, preparation and presentation of a case are done by the state, so individuals are not left with high legal fees. The inquisitorial system also offers an intermediate verdict of “charge not proven”. This advantage ties in with a just outcome, as it allows for a trial to be put on hold until further evidence can be collected, ensuring that a guilty person is not set free. The inquisitorial system also does not see a jury. This ensures that no unqualified persons are determining the fate of another
They weigh the evidence and apply the law. In the court system, criminal law is interpreted by a jury who are seen as expressing the sense of justice of ordinary men and women. Juries date back to the Middle Ages in England, and while membership, role, and importance have changed throughout the ages, they were part of the system of England’s Common Law. The purpose of the jury system was to ensure the civil rights of the ordinary citizen. It is important to remember that at the time, ordinary people had few rights.
The second component of the criminal justice system is the court system. They court system is composed of lawyers, judges, and juries. Their job is to insure that everyone receives a fair trial, determine guilt or innocence, and apply sentences on guilty parties. The court system will contain one judge, and a jury of twelve citizens. The jury of the court will determine the guilt or innocence of the individual. The jury will also recommend a sentence for the crime the individual committed. Even though the jury makes the recommendation for the sentencing of the crime, the judge will follow pre-determined sentencing guidelines to make a final decision.
The criminal trial process is able to reflect the moral and ethical standards of society to a great extent. For the law to be effective, the criminal trial process must reflect what is accepted by society to be a breach of moral and ethical conduct and the extent to which protections are granted to the victims, the offenders and the community. For these reasons, the criminal trial process is effectively able to achieve this in the areas of the adversary system, the system of appeals, legal aid and the jury system.
A jury is defined as “a body of persons legally selected and sworn to inquire into any matter of fact and to give their verdict according to the evidence” by Webster(2004). It differs from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions. Nowadays the jury system is very popular in almost all of the common law legal systems, so that people of those countries can make sure that the case would not be judged only by one’s personal willing or prejudice.
Justice is a vital part of the American Court System and influenced and continues to influence since the beginning of American history. Structure and organization is an important factor that creates our outstanding court systems. The State and U.S Constitutions are not the only foundation of the court systems, but also that people that work hard to thrive for justice. Today, justice and equality causes the court systems to change and adapt to continue protecting the rights of the people.
One trait of adversarial legalism, formal legal contestation, greatly emphasizes the importance of procedures, rules, and the jury system. Phoebe Ellsworth, in The Social Organization of Law, highlights a number of these procedures and rules. For example, jurors cannot make autonomous inquiries during the trial, unanimity is required of the jurors, and jurors cannot look at how previous juries may have decided similar cases because juries do not leave written records. There are even rules in the evidence collecting system, like those defining the legal limits of search and seizure, tha...
Nearly all non-English speaking industrial democracies use the inquisitorial system rather than the adversary system. In this system, the judge, not the prosecutor and not the defense attorney, calls witness and questions them. Would you prefer being tried under the adversary system or the inquisitorial system? The Adversary system, and I will explain further in my discussion post as to why. Would you have confidence in the willingness of the judge to search out equally evidence for conviction and evidence for acquittal? Consequently, yes, I would have confidence in the willingness of the judge to search out equally evidence for conviction and evidence for acquittal.
The jury plays a crucial role in the courts of trial. They are an integral part in the Australian justice system. The jury system brings ordinary people into the courts everyday to judge whether a case is guilty or innocent. The role of the jury varies, depending on the different cases. In Australia, the court is ran by an adversary system. In this system “..individual litigants play a central part, initiating court action and largely determining the issues in dispute” (Ellis 2013, p. 133). In this essay I will be discussing the role of the jury system and how some believe the jury is one of the most important institutions in ensuring that Australia has an effective legal system, while others disagree. I will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of a jury system.
“Witness for the Prosecution” superbly demonstrated a realist view of the operating procedures in a courtroom. The actors within the courtroom were easy to identify, and the steps transitioned smoothly from the arrest to the reading of the verdict. The murder trial of Leonard Vole provided realistic insight into how laws on the books are used in courtroom proceedings. With the inferior elements noted, the superior element of the court system in “Witness for the Prosecution” was the use of the adversary system. Both sides of the adversary system were flawlessly protrayed when the prosecution and defense squared off in the courtroom.
Though most court cases in the U.S. is settled by a bench trial, those who go to a trial by jury have a greater chance of being prejudice towards the defendant which tends to be highly unfavorable and most the time leads to a guilty verdict. An example of this would be the case of Foster v. The State
The Common Law, Criminal Justice System is one of three types of legal systems. The Common Law is used in the U.S and is presented as a type of legal system that bases most of their convictions by the court 's decisions. From having the most cases determined by the courts can look to be favorable to the rich who are able
Long-drawn out trials that go on for years cause psychological stress, tension in the family of those involved in the case, and these trials make a huge dent in the money supply of the court system in the government. Each day members of the jury have to be accounted for and must receive money for their services. Using a judge is both cost-effective and smart. Additionally, judges usually don’t take as long to make decisions in court as they are both efficient in what they do and are well-informed of the subject, the particular person on trial, and they have the know-how to execute the correct sentence. “In 2010, 2,352 federal criminal defendants had a jury trial and 88% of these criminal jury trials ended in a conviction.” (Document A) Now on the one hand some...
A number of differences exist between the criminal and civil court systems. In the criminal court system, the victim reports the crime to law enforcement who may investigate. If adequate evidence is found during investigation and an arrest is made, a prosecutor files charges against the defendant. The criminal court system considers the crime to be committed against the state rather than against the individual victim. In a criminal case, the prosecutor acts as the attorney for all the people of the state or jurisdiction. They control all key decisions of the case, such as whether to charge a defendant and what crime to charge, and whether to offer or accept a plea deal or go to trial. If the defendant
... up with a verdict for the accused person (Lamb, 2013). This is because the jury is filled with laymen who do not have any understanding of the law, and if they are allowed to deliberate on the evidence produced in court, then they may be misguided and may at many times find the accused person innocent while in the real sense they were guilty.
Human services provides help to individuals, families and children that are in crisis or have needs that are not being met. One of the systems within human services focuses on upholding the law to the fullest extent. According to the National Center for Victims of Crime “The criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws”. In other words this system seeks out to provide justice and safety for victims of horrendous crimes while also prosecuting those who commit these crimes. 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.