...The American Court System Behind Closed Doors America first established its judiciary system around the same time the 13 British Colonies became established as individual territories. When it came down to it, Federalist battled Anti-federalist over the writing of the Constitution of the United States. The Anti- Federalist were opposed to the idea of a one centralized government while the Federalists on the other hand were all for a centralized government. What came next was the establishing of the Judicial Branch known as Article III. The start of the first court system came along with Congress passing, The Judiciary Act of 1789. The act established the United States circuit courts which were also known to be United States federal courts and were located in each of the federal judicial districts. The act also established the United States Supreme Court and its justices. It wasn’t until 1912, that the district courts became exercised and became the new federal trial courts replacing the circuit courts as original jurisdiction. Circuit courts became known as federal court of appeals. They no longer have the right to try a case first, which is now the district courts role in the judicial system. With 13 circuit courts and 93 federal judicial districts the two courts make up most of the judicial system in our country. That’s why it is imperative that we know the differences and the similarities between each court. After observing both courts for about 5 or so hours, I really...
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...American Criminal Court System Kabie Goss CJA/224 July 14, 2014 Samyra Hicks American Criminal Court System When thinking about the American Criminal Court System, there is a lot to think about. Most cases are not just opened and closed in one day like they are on television, and there are different courts to handle different situations. In this paper I will be describing what a court is and its purpose, as well as defining what the dual court system is. I will also describe the role that early codes, common law, and precedent played in the development of courts. Lastly, I will identify the role of the courts in criminal justice today. Court and its Purpose Merriam-Webster defines a court in three different ways, but they all seem to intertwine. The first definition is; “a formal legal meeting in which evidence about crimes, disagreements, etc., is presented to a judge and often a jury so that decisions can be made according to the law.” The second being, “a place where legal cases are heard.” The third definition states, “An official group of people (such as a judge and jury) who listen to evidence and make decisions about legal cases.” There are many different types of courts at the local, state, and federal level. Courts can hear both civil and criminal cases. The purpose of the court is to settle legal disputes whether civil or criminal, through a legal process, while protecting the rights and liberties of everyone involved, and to administer justice...
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...Aunque desde el siglo XVI el teólogo español Francisco Suárez había preconizado una visión de la comunidad humana dirigida por el Derecho Internacional Público, al decir: “La razón de ser del Derecho de Gentes obedece a que el género humano, aún divido en naciones y reinos diferentes tiene sin embargo, cierta unidad, no solo específica, sino también política y moral” … (y agregaba), “jamás estas comunidades pueden separadamente bastarse a sí mismas, por eso tienen necesidad de algún derecho que las dirija en esta clase de relaciones y de sociedad” …sin embargo, tal concepción que en nuestro tiempo tiene plena aceptación, no fue desgraciadamente la que determinó al acontecer internacional de su época, ni el de los años posteriores a la misma. Al jurista holandés del siglo XVII, Hugo Grocio, cupo el honor de señalar los lineamientos que, a partir de entonces y por varios siglos seguiría la ciencia que regula las relaciones internacionales, influyendo de manera determinante, desde entonces, en las concepciones jurídicas y filosóficas teorizantes y en las actuaciones positivas y prácticas que se plasmaron en múltiples tratados, convenciones y acuerdos suscritos entre las diferentes naciones, Estados o potencias que actuaron impulsados por la necesidad de coexistencia, sobrevivencia, o por la simple voluntad, dentro de aquel acontecer encausado cada vez más por la naciente ciencia del Derecho Internacional Público. El concepto de soberanía absoluta de los Estados fue impuesto...
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...divided into three branches, Legislative; Congress, Executive; President and Judicial; The Supreme Court. The Supreme Court therefore forms part of the Federal Government. The Federal Government played a significant part to change the status of African Americans from 1945 to 1968 in the sense that the Presidents during this period; Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson all started to become more involved in improving Civil Rights for Black Americans and passing acts. Eisenhower passed the Civil rights Act of 1957, Johnson passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and there were others which showed African Americans that progress was being made. The Presidents clearly initiated a change in America making sure de jure became de facto. However, there were many flaws in the work of the Federal Government and there were other factors which changed the status for African Americans such as the impact of the Second World War and the actions of the NAACP. President Harry Truman (1945-1953), established a liberal civil rights committee to investigate the violence against blacks. A report was produced called “To Secure These Rights” which underlined the problems that African Americans faced during this period. It said that the USA could not claim to lead the free world if Blacks were not equal. This proved that the Federal Government did play a part in changing the status for Black Americans as a previously racist President was motivated to change the way Blacks were treated which was a big...
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...SOC 205 Assignment 1 The State Judicial Selection Process Click Link Below To Buy: http://hwcampus.com/shop/soc-205-assignment-1-the-state-judicial-selection-process/ Assignment 1: The State Judicial Selection Process Due Week 5 and worth 200 points Each state within the United States has its own unique judicial selection process within its own court system. Using the Internet or Strayer databases, research the judicial selection process for different court systems from different states within the U.S. Court System. Write a five to eight (5-8) page paper in which you: 1. Discuss the judicial selection process of your state. Include, at a minimum, the qualifications and steps that are taken in order to select judges for the different kinds of courts within your specific state. 2. Choose a second state, and describe the qualifications and the selection process for judges within that state. 3. Compare and contrast for both states the qualifications necessary for a prospective candidate to become a judge. Next, identify the steps that the relevant persons / entities need to take in order to remove a judge from office for disciplinary reasons for each state. 4. Justify the selection process for the state that you believe has the best system in place. Justify the response. 5. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources. Note: Wikipedia and other websites do not qualify as academic resources. Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements: ...
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...A comparison of Between Juvenile and Adult Courts When comparing adult court to juvenile court, there is a surprising abundance of difference. “ Criminal and Juvenile courts sentencing practices work at a cross –angle and sometimes frustrates the system rather than harmonize the social control of chronic and serious juvenile offenders as they proceed between the two systems” ( Juveniles in the adult system, criminal court careers of waived juveniles, 2011). After further examination, I have found several differences between the adult courts, and that of the juvenile courts. This may be deemed irrelevant, but when an individual is facing charges in a juvenile court, this individual is referred to as a child, however, this is not so in an adult court. A juvenile court case is considered to be a civil proceeding, an adult court case is immediately deemed criminal. Do limits to the types of punishments exist for juveniles? Yes. For one thing, they are not allowed to be sentenced to death for heinous crimes, different actions can be taken. For instance some cases are transferred to adult court through a process called a ‘waiver.’ This is when a judge “waives the protection.” (Kathleen Michon, nolo.com J.D). A juvenile tried in an adult court will give that individual more of a constitutional advantage and protection along with distinct disadvantages. References: Champion, D. (2007). The juvenile justice system: delinquency, processing, and the law. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River...
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...than what they should be. In this paper, we will look at the roles of the prosecutor, how the criminal justice funnel effects the courtroom work group and what will help eliminate the funnel and reduce the backlog of cases. The Work Group The courtroom work group is composed of various people who make the court systems work to the best of their ability. Each person has its position, and she/he is responsible for their part. We can start from the top, first we have a Judge, he/she is responsible for imposing the proper judging techniques in the courtroom, and they are to make sure the accused rights are not violated in the courtroom. Then we have a defense attorney, and the defense attorney is to defend his client against any wrongdoing by the court and prove his client is innocent of the charges being brought to him/her. A defense attorney can either be hired by the client, or the courts can appoint one to the accused. Prosecutors are there to represent the people and that justice is served if a criminal act has been committed. Then there is the bailiff, he or she is a sheriff in the courts, they announce the entry of the court; they are also there to put order in the court if in...
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...turn. We might as well pass the time” (13). The utter fact that juror #3 had the audacity to play a game during a life or death dependent court trial, is beyond disrespectful. It is more than apparent to the reader the juror #3 does not truly understand the importance of remaining focused and grasping all components of the case in order to make a well-educated decision....
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...4. Introducing A.D.R. in Bangladesh Justice Mustafa Kamal Former Chief Justice Supreme Court of BangladeshWHY A.D.R?The Vagaries of Civil LitigationA. D. R. means Alternative Dispute Resolution, mostly applied to civil cases. When a civil case is instituted in a court of competent jurisdiction, the scenario usually is, that a long time is taken to serve the process, the defendants beat the law and submit their written statement/s after a long delay beyond the permissible statutory period of two months, lawyers and judges do not take any interest in screening out a false and frivolous case at the first hearing of the case under Order X CPC (in fact no such first hearing takes place), they seldom try to shorten the disputed questions of fact and law by application of Orders XI and XII of the CPC and mostly ignore the elaborate procedure of discovery, interrogatories, notice to produce etc. contained in those Orders, the issues of a case are seldom framed following the Code of Civil Procedure, the case takes several years to reach a settlement date and on the date of positive hearing half a dozen or more ready cases are fixed for hearing, resulting in the hearing of none. In the meantime years roll by, presiding judge of a single case is transferred a number of times, witnesses of a single case may be heard by more than one presiding judge, arguments are listened to may be by another presiding judge and judgment may be delivered by a presiding judge who had had no connection with...
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...Court Issues Analysis “The primary function of American criminal courts is to determine the legal guilt of the accused—that is, to determine if a person is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of committing a crime”, they essentially take over where police left off (Robinson, 2009). Although there is more to the court system other than finding individuals innocent or guilty much, the courts are also responsible for establishing bail, operating preliminary hearings, ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and determining the proper sentence when a guilty verdict has been obtained. Though they perform many functions for the criminal justice system, there are many issues still facing the courts today. This analysis will discuss in detail, the current and future issues encountering courts and court administrators today. Also future management issues and trends concerning language interpretations services will be discussed, in addition to assessing the past, present, and future impact the victims’ rights laws have on court proceedings. There are several current and future disputes facing courts and court administrators today. One major factor that some may hold opposing views would be the use of plea bargaining in our court system. “Shockingly, more than 90% of felony cases in the United States in any given year are disposed of via plea bargaining” (Robinson, 2009). Criminal trials are responsible for determining the innocence or guilt of those in question, whereas plea bargaining...
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...previous decisions are to be followed by the courts. It is helps ensure stability and predictability in law. Stare decisis is a doctrine or policy of following rules or principles laid down in previous judicial decisions. By giving significant weight to previous decisions, a consistent set of case law is developed from which the public can draw conclusions about how a court will decide a current or future case. - Would not a better way simply be for the judge to apply whatever law is applicable based on the facts of the current case? If the judge based on the facts of the current case, it has a lot of uncertainty for different personality. The court need continuously reevaluate the legal underpinnings and accepted doctrines. This would be a huge workload, also difficult to maintain legal fair judgment. It will lost the predictability afforded by the doctrine helps clarify constitutional...
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...an appeal? An appeal is a process which assists defendants from wrongful incarceration, (What are Appeal Courts for? 2004). An Appeal if successful allows the higher court to over-turn a lower court’s decision. An appeal is also a defendant’s way of challenging the court’s decision. In the Criminal Justice system, an appeal takes place when an offender “tried in court”, is found guilty, later sentenced or someone who is already convicted and incarcerated may be released from incarceration or a sentence vacated if the prison term has not commenced with a successful appeal. A sentence can be vacated via an appeal, or reduced even after the sentence has begun. In Federal court, the attorney or offender files a brief(s) in support of their motion 2255 to vacate the sentence. In Europe, they follow a different standard as follows: But it is as well to remember, for example, that while article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights,agreed in November 1950, guarantees you a fair trial, it does not guarantee you a right to appeal against the outcome of that trial. The right of appeal is to be found in article 2 of the Seventh Protocol to the Convention which was only agreed so 34 years later, in November 1984. So, even in the legal thinking of the modern world, appeals are something of an additional luxury, (What are Appeal Courts for?, 2004). The following are permissible grounds for appeal. (a) The Commission relied on erroneous...
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... |10 | Jury Nullification Paper Therese Carlon June 3, 2012 Joseph Mariconda The United States Declaration of Independence has been viewed over the first two centuries as one of the definitive government documents that spell out both racial and ethnic equality for all Americans. However, there is a section of this worthy document that refers to one of the foundational premises for our founding freedoms: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness” (U.S. Declaration of Independence, 1776). In the South in the first half of the 20th century it was predominately African-Americans who felt the retribution of those in government who classified them as ‘less than human’, and treated them as such. After the smoke had cleared it became clear that the tenets so dramatically voiced in the Declaration did...
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...Nicole Graham testified that she was the forensic analyst who performed the DNA analysis in the case. She testified that after gathering all her DNA evidence she was able to deduce what the male DNA profile would be at eight of the 13 loci used to make a profile. Graham also testified that she could not include the defendant at those three loci that were inconclusive. She said that the defendant could not be excluded as a donor based on the DNA analysis of 10 of 13 loci. Graham testified that the probability of a random person matching the DNA mixture in this case was one in 60,000 in the Caucasian population, one in 44,000 in the African American, and one in 24 of the Hispanic. The jury gave a verdict of guilty on the CSC III charge and not guilty of the CSC IV charge. The defendant appealed the ruling stating that the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict for acquittal...
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...made that heavily influenced the case at hand, however throughout the course of the play we see that these prejudices were broken down. Arguments: 1. Prejudice displayed through the 3rd, 7th, 10th and 2nd jury members and their apparent lack of compassion and sympathy for a boy none of them know that is on trial for a murder case 2. How easily the other, quieter jury members where influenced by authority/ influential members of the jury team (juror 8, juror 3) 3. The American justice system in the 1950s to today’s views on punishment 4. The 1950s and how social/ political and economic choices all influenced the juror’s decisions in the murder case Title, author Context Contention However statement Twelve Angry Men, a play by Reginald Rose, unfolds within the archetypical and unceasing setting of a 20th Century American court room. The audience bear witness to the procession of a court case in which twelve jury members are set to delegate a murder case where the defendant is a young African American boy who is on trial for the alleged killing his father after a heated argument between the accused and the victim. The play’s theme of prejudice is heavily shown to be a prominent theme in which the majority of the jury members make hasty and potentially deadly decisions based on a pre-existing judgement based on the ill-conceived philosophies of that time period, and of what the America justice system should be for the white community and the black community. The theme of...
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