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history of us criminal justice
history of us criminal justice
criminal justice role in society
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Even though constituents of civilization may protest about the laws that control their daily lives and dispute in opposition to government power on principle, civilization could not accurately function without laws and without criminal regulation in particular. For centuries many have seen the principle of criminal law and of the government and the legal system collectively, as essential for the “smooth implementation of society and the conservation of order” (Duff, 2008).
This view of criminal law considers it as part of the social agreement planned by Thomas Hobbes. Others offer that the criminal law’s reason is to keep society secure from those who cannot obey society’s rules or to penalize those who violate society’s regulations (Duff, 2008). The criminal law can best be viewed, nevertheless, as having the intention to accomplish all of these requirements for society.
In the United States there are several sources of criminal rule. Criminal law is usually that law recognized by legislatures, as the Constitution provides them the freedom to do (Meloy, 2008). The analysis of what that written law defines by the courts further offers a basis of criminal law because it verify what persons can or cannot do that is considered as criminal or unlawful (Meloy, 2008). The United States has a very adversarial lawful system. The system was intentionally designed to be adversarial to make sure that the courts are unbiased to all parties. An adversary is an individual “that argue with, be against, or oppose” another individual, “an adversary” (Adversary, 2010). Even though defense attorneys and prosecutors in unlawful cases like they loathing each other in an unlawful case the two are actually significant and essential in criminal rule. ...
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...etrieved March 01, 2012, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adversary
CRS Annotated Constitution. (2010). Cornell University Law School. Retrieved March 01, 2012 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/anncon/html/amdt5bfrag1_user.html
Duff, A. (2008). Theories of criminal law. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved March 01, 2012 from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/criminal-law/
Meloy, M. (2008). Law and crime. Rutgers University. Retrieved March 01, 2012, from http://crab.rutgers.edu/~mlmeloy/courts_ch.2_law_and_crime_1_24_08.ppt
Robinson, P.H. (1999). Mens Rea. University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 01, 2012, from http://www.law.upenn.edu/fac/phrobins/mensreaentry.pdf
Stevens, M. (2003). Incomplete (inchoate) crimes. California State University Fresno. Retrieved March 01, 2012, from http://faculty.ncwc.edu/mstevens/293/293lect05.htm
Bender, L David, and Bruno Leone. Criminal Justice: opposing viewpoints. St. Paul, Minnesota: Greenhaven Press, 1981. Print.
Criminal law attempts to balance the rights of individuals to freedom from interference with person or property, and society’s need for order. Procedural matters, the rights of citizens and powers of the state, specific offences and defences, and punishment and compensation are some of the ways society and the criminal justice system interact.
Hickey, T. J. (2010). Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Crime and Criminology, 9th Edition. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
• Paton, John, et al., eds. Crimes and Punishment Vol. 2 New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1986.
The individuals within our society have allowed we the people to assess and measure the level of focus and implementation of our justice system to remedy the modern day crime which conflict with the very existence of our social order. Enlightening us to the devices that will further, establish the order of our society, resides in our ability to observe the Individual’s rights for public order.
In every society around the world, the law is affecting everyone since it shapes the behavior and sense of right and wrong for every citizen in society. Laws are meant to control a society’s behavior by outlining the accepted forms of conduct. The law is designed as a neutral aspect existent to solve society’s problems, a system specially designed to provide people with peace and order. The legal system runs more efficiently when people understand the laws they are intended to follow along with their legal rights and responsibilities.
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.
Young, J. (1981). Thinking seriously about crime: Some models of criminology. In M. Fitzgerald, G. McLennan, & J. Pawson (Eds.), Crime and society: Readings in history and society (pp. 248-309). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Schmalleger, F. (2009), Prentice Hall, Publication. Criminal Justice Today: An introductory Text for the 21st century
Lippman, M. (2012). Contemporary Criminal Law Concepts, Cases and Controversies (3rd ed.). [Vitalsouce Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/books/9781452277660/5/3
In this essay I will be discussing how the formal theory of the rule of law is an erroneous means of establishing laws within a state. A central theme to addressing this is essay is the distinction between formal and substantive theories of the rule of law. In order to reach my conclusion of the formal theory being proven to be insufficient, one must first appreciate the significant advantages which the substantive theory obtains. However, before doing so, I will briefly mention the importance of the rule of law in society and the requirements it needs to fulfil.
Law is the foundation of central structures of social life on which society’s integrity depends, which is why Petrazycki, Ehrlich and Habermas perceive it to be a key steering mechanism in society,
Legal Information Institute. (2010, August 9). Retrieved February 17, 2012, from Cornell University Law School: http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law
Punishment has been in existence since the early colonial period and has continued throughout history as a method used to deter criminals from committing criminal acts. Philosophers believe that punishment is a necessity in today’s modern society as it is a worldwide response to crime and violence. Friedrich Nietzche’s book “Punishment and Rehabilitation” reiterates that “punishment makes us into who we are; it creates in us a sense of responsibility and the ability to take and release our social obligations” (Blue, Naden, 2001). Immanuel Kant believes that if an individual commits a crime then punishment should be inflicted upon that individual for the crime committed. Cesare Beccaria, also believes that if there is a breach of the law by individuals then that individual should be punished accordingly.
Thomas Hobbes creates a clear idea of the social contract theory in which the social contract is a collective agreement where everyone in the state of nature comes together and sacrifices all their liberty in return to security. “In return, the State promises to exercise its absolute power to maintain a state of peace (by punishing deviants, etc.)” So are the power and the ability of the state making people obey to the laws or is there a wider context to this? I am going to look at the different factors to this argument including a wide range of critiques about Hobbes’ theory to see whether or not his theory is convincing reason for constantly obeying the law.