The Judiciary
A judge is a public official appointed to make life-changing decisions
regarding the futures of members of the general public. So is it not
reasonable for one to assume that a vital criterion for this
responsibility is the need to be familiar with the lives of ordinary
people and the situations they face? In the evidence it is submitted
that in reality there is a coherent argument to suggest that Judiciary
is infact totally unrepresentative and out of touch with society.
However, there have been recent attempts to resolve and improve the
situation, but the principal point that remains is whether or not
these endeavors have proven successful.
There is a considerable difference in the number of male judges
compared to female judges; this becomes increasingly evident the
higher up the court structure. For example there are only eight female
Lord Justices of Appeal compared with thirty-five males and no women
at all in the High Court as Lord of Appeal in the Ordinary; this is
quite obviously a disproportionate number in relation to society.
There is a good deal of evidence demonstrating unsympathetic attitudes
of male judges particularly in rape cases, a popular opinion is that
women are 'asking for it´ through provocative dress or behaviour. The
book 'Eve was Framed´, written by Helena Kennedy, expresses it´s
author´s claims that the views of male judges regarding women are
'outdated, and sometimes prejudiced,´ for example in a rape case in
1982 a judge was recorded to have said 'women who say no do not always
mean no´.
Judges are predominantly fairly old, the average age of a judicial
member is approximately fi...
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...reers as well as more at the start, judges are now required
to attend refresher courses every five years in order to brush up on
existing skills and knowledge and learn about any new legislations or
precedent. However, some still argue that this is not adequate and
there should be more training provided and required. For example Judge
Pickles has recommended that judges should receive more training
regarding sociology, psychology, penology, and criminology.
In conclusion the evidence provides a sound argument to show that the
judiciary is currently vastly unrepresentative and therefore out of
touch with society. Recently there have been several reforms to
address this significant issue and move in the right direction to
creating a well-balanced and representative judiciary. Only time will
tell if they have succeeded.
v. Ewanchuck case occurred on June 2, 1994 and was about a seventeen year old woman being sexually assaulted when she was being interviewed for a job. While waking in a shopping mall parking lot, a young female and her were friend were approached from a man who needed some workers to help with his wood-working business. After the lady agreeing, Ewanchuck brought the lady into his van in which she was sexually assaulted several times. Ewanchuck did not take no for an answer, and kept proceeding after she kept saying no. Ewanchuck 's defence to this was that it was implied consent in which was he was acquitted by John Mcclung who was his lawyer. This case started a heated discussion with John McClung and Claire L 'Heureux- Dube, who were the lawyers presented in the case. John Mcclung brought a negative attitude towards the case, attacking the victim’s character. McClung stated "Ewanchuck’s behavior was less criminal than hormonal" (R. V Ewanchuck 214). The Supreme Court of Canada later reversed the decision of acquitting the case and made a conviction stating that “no means no”. With implied consent being the main theme in this case, it brought up precedent for future cases. This case was seen as a basis for how rape myths are discovered and how stereotyping falls into play when it comes to the Canadian law.
In 1787 Article three of the constitution created the Supreme Court, but not until 1789 was it configured. The way it was originally set up was with one Chief Justice and five associate judges, with all six members being appointed for life. This court serves as the “supreme law of the land”, it has the power to determine if state or federal laws are in conflict with how the Court interprets the constitution.
The Supreme Court, which sees almost 150 petitions per week, called cert petitions, must carefully select the cases that they want to spend their time and effort on (Savage 981). If they didn’t select them carefully, the nine justices would quickly be overrun, so they have put in place a program to weed through the court cases to pick out the small number they will discuss. There are a few criteria that are used to judge whether or not a case will be tried. The first is whether or not the lower courts decided the case based on another one of the Supreme Court’s decisions for they will investigate these in order to withhold or draw back their conclusion that they made in their court case. Another is the case’s party alignment: sometimes the justices will pick cases that will align with their party beliefs, like trying to get a death row inmate off of his death sentence. They also make claims about the “life” of the case- the Supreme Court only hears “live” cases- they do not try to go back in time and re-mark a case that has long since been decided (Savage 981). Lastly, they like to take cases where the lower courts did not decide with one another -these cases can have t o do with interpretations of the law that have been left up to the lower courts and should be specifically defined by the Supreme Court (Savage 982).
The life of every American citizen, whether they realize it or not, is influenced by one entity--the United States Supreme Court. This part of government ensures that the freedoms of the American people are protected by checking the laws that are passed by Congress and the actions taken by the President. While the judicial branch may have developed later than its counterparts, many of the powers the Supreme Court exercises required years of deliberation to perfect. In the early years of the Supreme Court, one man’s judgement influenced the powers of the court systems for years to come. John Marshall was the chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835, and as the only lasting Federalist influence in a newly Democratic-Republican government, he and his fellow justices sought to perpetuate their Federalist principles in the United States’ court system. In one of the most memorable court cases of all time--the case of Marbury v. Madison-- Marshall established the idea of judicial review and strengthened the power of the judicial branch in the government. Abiding by his Federalist ideals, Marshall decided cases that would explicitly limit the power of the state government and broaden the strengths of the national government. Lastly, the Marshall Court was infamous for determining the results of cases that dealt with the interpretation of the Constitution and the importance of contracts in American society. The Marshall Court, over the span of a mere three decades, managed to influence the life of every American citizen even to this day by impacting the development of the judicial branch, establishing a boundary between the state and national government, and making declarations on the sanctity of contracts ("The Marshall Court"...
Across the world, there are a great deal of people that are likely to become victims of offenses against themselves or their property. The criminal justice system is used to govern crimes and impose penalties on individuals that may violate laws. The criminal justice system is made up of different agencies that include: law enforcement, the courts, and corrections. Within this paper, I will discuss the roles of the prosecutor, the defense attorney, the criminal, and the victim and how victimization affects each role. Also, I will inform you about the goals of sentencing associated with each role. The goals of alternative sanctions will be discussed. I will also let u know what recommendations I have regarding victims’ rights.
Everyday, the American prison system becomes more crowded and over-burdened. Prison bed space cannot keep up with the prison population. While presidents and governors call for a “tough stance” on crime, the infrastructure is inadequate to contain all offenders. However, even if there were enough room to fit every individual that commits a criminal act, would this be the best move for the community and the offender? Placing an individual into a prison removes them from the general population, thus making the society they live in safer. But, separating individuals in a community does indirectly injure the community as a whole. These individuals obviously are no longer contributing to the local economy, but on a basic level, their absence places a hole into a community. Offenders have been shaped by the values and pr...
The criminal justice system treats all forms of serious crimes in an unforgiving manner. If the offenders commit a crime while under the influence of drugs, they are likely to be put in prison for a longer period of time rather than someone who committed the same kind of crime but was not under the influence of drugs (Taylor, 2008). With that said there are many causes of drug related crimes. Usually when there is a drug related crime it tends to be more serious in terms of damage done than non related ones. It is important to further explore crimes that are drug related in order to see the root causes.
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.
all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or may they act by representatives, freely and
The criminal justice system in America is comprised of not just one but of a set of organizations and procedures that have been created by governments in order to mitigate crime and impose penalties for those people who choose to break the law. The United States has many individual criminal justice systems and each jurisdiction i.e. city, county, state, federal or tribal government or military has the ability to dictate how the system works as well as have different laws. With that being said, people in the United States rarely have contact with the criminal justice system and subsequently get much of their ideals and knowledge of what the criminal justice system is and how it works from the media, especially through entertainment television viewing. (Albany) Even though I have been to countless court hearings as a police officer, attending a jury trial as a student was different as I was able to step back and look at it through the eyes of a learner and not an agent of the government.
The criminal justice system has a lot people and organizations incorporated within it. Within this system there are police, correctional officers, offenders, lawyers, etc. The criminal justice system is set up for people to keep the society in order. For my semester project I interviewed a friend of mine who I gave a pseudonym of Bart Malone. Mr. Malone was unnecessarily arrested a few months ago while in the passenger seat. He was accused of committing illegal acts which caused him to become a victim. I conducted an interview over the phone with Mr. Malone so he could share his story and give detailed information through the questions I asked him. After the interview I replayed the tape and really focused on the answers he gave to the questions. I was able to gain knowledgeable insight about the criminal justice system.
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.
Another amusing example was in June 1965, radio stations across the country ban the Rolling Stones "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" because they believe the lyrics are too sexually suggestive.
at the least. The judge tells the man that he does not want to see him in court
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.