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Differentiate between criminal and civil litigation
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Recommended: Differentiate between criminal and civil litigation
Victim restitution is when the offender of a crime is ordered by the justice system to reimburse a victim for harm or damages done. Reimbursement can be sought by victims for expenses related to medical expenses, therapy costs, prescription charges, counseling costs, lost wages, legal expenses, insurance deductibles, crime-scene clean up or repair, and lost or damaged property. All state level courts and the federal court system have various means in which victims can purse restitution (National Center for Victims of Crime, 2004). Some jurisdictions require victims’ who wish to seek compensation for damages as a result of crime, do so as a civil action against the offender, while other jurisdictions include restitution as part of the sentencing
“Restorative justice is a process whereby parties with a stake in a specific offence collectively resolve how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future” (Munchie, 2004).
Imagine you’re young, and alone. If your family was taken from you and suffered horribly for your freedom, would you want to be repaid in some form? In the article “The Case for Reparations” Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses a great deal of information about reparations, and if they should be given. Reparations are when a person or people make amends for the wrong they have done. Ta-Nehisi believes that from two hundred years of slavery, ninety years of Jim Crow laws, sixty years of separate but equal, and thirty five years of racist housing policy, that America is shackled. Only if we face the compounding moral debt can America be free. Until we face the reality of what happened together, we will always be bound by the lies that have been told.
This voluntary alternative gives the offender the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions and identify the impact they have had on their victim, while also giving the victim the chance to confront the offender and take steps to repair the harm done. The victim can ask the offender questions about the crime and the offender may apologise or make amends for their actions. Restorative justice is confrontational and can be difficult for both parties but is proven to help both the offender and victim. While it is confrontational for the victim, for some it can be better than testifying in court. Data shows that restorative justice greatly helps victims in their recovery from the offence. Although the benefits of restorative justice in adult offenders is unclear, it significantly reduces the number of reoffenders in youth. For this reason, restorative justice is mostly used for minor infringements and within the youth justice system.
Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz states how schools that claim they are following restorative approaches through their policies in discipline are not necessarily restorative, but have enough flexibility to allow a restorative response.
In fact, restorative justice system response to wrongdoing that emphasizes healing the wounds of victims, offenders, and communities caused or revealed by crime (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2014, p.62). The main goal here is to establish a form of boundaries when it comes to the level and extent of punishment. Non one here on earth is allowed to just display deviant criminal behavior without some form of discipline and/or punishment. Furthermore, for those whom display criminal behavior disrupts the community as well. In addition deterrence is another key factor in the goals of punishment and the efforts to make it back right. Exploring further along to where restoration of the justice system have and still is occurring in today’s
“Restorative justice is an approach to crime and other wrongdoings that focuses on repairing harm and encouraging responsibility and involvement of the parties impacted by the wrong.” This quote comes from a leading restorative justice scholar named Howard Zehr. The process of restorative justice necessitates a shift in responsibility for addressing crime. In a restorative justice process, the citizens who have been affected by a crime must take an active role in addressing that crime. Although law professionals may have secondary roles in facilitating the restorative justice process, it is the citizens who must take up the majority of the responsibility in healing the pains caused by crime. Restorative justice is a very broad subject and has many other topics inside of it. The main goal of the restorative justice system is to focus on the needs of the victims, the offenders, and the community, and focus
The economy plays a significant factor as to whether or not an offender can repay the victim back restitution (Karmen, 2015). The irony of this is that the economy is also a huge factor in why many of the crimes were committed in the first place (Karmen, 2015). The very foundation of restitution is based on an offender to have the ability to earn a living wage. This wage has to be sufficient to not only satisfy an adequate amount of restitution payments, but also maintain standard living expenses (Karmen, 2015). Another obstacle for offenders is the extra burden on available jobs due to their criminal conviction(s). These issues make it extremely unfavorable for victims to have a real shot at receiving their restitution in a timely manner, if ever (Karmen, 2015).
Over the years, the traditional criminal justice system has emphasized offenders’ accountability through punishment and stigmatization. The emphasis on the retributive philosophy made it challenging for the system to meaningfully assist and empower crime victims. In the criminal justice system, victims often face insensitive treatment with little or no opportunity for input into the perseverance of their case and report feeling voiceless in the process used (Choi, Gilbert, & Green, 2013:114). Crime Victims, advocates, and practitioners have called for an expansion of victims’ rights and community-based alternatives rather than punishment-orientated justice policies. What victims want from the criminal justice system is a less formal process, more information about case processing, respectful treatment, and emotional restoration. Therefore, there is a growing need to progress towards the restorative justice (RJ) system.
This approach has introduced a criminal justice policy agenda. In the past, victims to criminal activities have been outsiders to the criminal conflict. In recent times, many efforts have been made to give the victims a more central role in the criminal justice system. Some of these efforts were introduced a few years back, though even at that time, these efforts were seen as long overdue. Some of these efforts include access to state compensation and forms of practical support. For advocates of restorative justice, crime is perceived primarily as a violation of people and relationships, and the aim is to make amends for all the harm suffered by victims, offenders and communities. The most commonly used forms of restorative justice include direct mediation, indirect mediation, restorative cautioning, sentencing panels or circles and conferencing. In recent...
‘Reparation of inflicted harm is without a doubt considered the primary function of tort law in any legal system.’
When Mary Catherine Parris was told that I would be talking to her about restorative justice, her response was, “Is that a real thing?” (personal communication, September 23, 2015). Through this assignment I realized that restorative justice is not talked about within the criminal justice system. For both of the individuals I spoke with, the idea of restorative justice seemed like a joke. In trying to persuade them both that restorative justice is a real thing, I was met with very similar beliefs and comments from both individuals. They both believed that restorative justice would not work and believed that some aspects of the approach were completely useless (M. C. Parris, & R. Clemones, personal communication, September 23, 2015). The responses
As the purpose of restorative justice is to mend the very relationship between the victim, offender, and society, communities that embrace restorative justice foster an awareness on how the act has harmed others. Braithwaite (1989) notes that by rejecting only the criminal act and not the offender, restorative justice allows for a closer empathetic relationship between the offender, victims, and community. By acknowledging the intrinsic worth of the offender and their ability to contribute back to the community, restorative justice shows how all individuals are capable of being useful despite criminal acts previous. This encourages offenders to safely reintegrate into society, as they are encouraged to rejoin and find rapport with the community through their emotions and
This essay will firstly discuss the increased interest towards victims and the implications of this increased attention, followed by some discussion of the adversarial nature of English justice and implications for victims as well as some consideration of the conflict between the interests of the offender and the victim, and the opposed nature of the two. Many new initiatives favour the victim and pledge for better treatment, as seen particularly in the 2002 White paper Justice for All, but it will be shown that there are conflicts between policy and practice. It cannot be disputed that support for victims has increased in the last decade, most recently with the introduction of the EU directive as to the rights of the victim. In this essay,
We are all affected by crime, whether we are a direct victim, a family member or a friend of a victim. It can interfere with your daily life, your personal sense of safety and your ability to trust others.
Restorative justice is “an essentially non-punitive [, or less punitive,] resolution of disputes arising from the infliction of harm, through a process involving the victim, the offender and the members of the community.” It focuses on the “healing of breeches, the redressi...