...THE ARGUMENT FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO REPRESENTATION AT BAIL HEARINGS IN ALL CRIMINAL CASES IN STATE COURT The right to legal representation is generally accepted in the United States as a Constitutional right guaranteed to everyone. The Supreme Court promised the right to counsel to “ any person haled into court” in the infamous Gideon v Wainwright case. This case was instrumental in advancing the rights of indigent defendants through its proclamation that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in criminal proceedings should also apply to State Courts. However, Gideon’s promise to counsel has yet to completely guarantee equal access to justice when first appearing at judicial proceedings in state courts. Although defendants who can afford lawyers will usually hire one from the onset of a criminal proceeding, the right to counsel for indigent defendants (i.e. a state-provided attorney) is interpreted as attaching at varying stages of a prosecution in different states. Only eight states guarantee indigent defendants the right to legal counsel at the initial bail hearing. Representation at the initial bail hearing is critical as a lawyer’s intervention is crucial for obtaining a defendant’s release and for protecting a defendant’s due process right (guaranteed in the Fourteenth amendment) against an unreasonable denial of liberty during pretrial detention. The lack of counsel in pretrial proceedings can result in numerous consequences; some include a high number of pleas...
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...present the federal criminal pretrial process, which includes jury selection, evidence and jury instructions. Please provide examples in your outline of your recommended format for presenting the process. •A 1-page draft of how to present the processing requirements and the mandated pretrial measures required by law While many citizens think the real action in the criminal courts happens during trials, they are wrong in that assessment. Ninety percent of criminal cases are disposed of by guilty pleas rather than trials. Most of those guilty pleas are the result of agreements between prosecutors and defense attorneys. Plea bargaining is a process in which a prosecutor makes a concession to a defendant (for example, reducing charges or recommending a lighter sentence) in exchange for the defendant's pleading guilty. Even cases that go to trial are sometimes decided before the trial begins. Some experts think that the O.J. Simpson case, for example, was won outside the courtroom through early forensic work by experts and through a legal strategy that forced the prosecution to present its evidence at a preliminary hearing rather than a grand jury proceeding. In the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees access to qualified counsel, which is fundamental to a fair trial. Gideon was entitled to a retrial because Florida failed to provide him with an attorney. After this decision, states were...
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...BAIL DISPARITY Racial disparity in the United States can be traced to the birth of the nation. The disparity is evident on a daily basis in our criminal justice system. In fairness to the United States, racial disparity is unique to no one country on the planet. The following information was gathered to answer the question about the bail system, “What can be done to prevent arbitrary and potentially prejudiced decisions from being made?” In order to answer that question I will cite information contained in the U.S. Constitution, United States Attorneys Manual, and documented research done in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigations U.S. CONSTITUTION First, the Constitution of the United States says that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." The wording allows judges and justices to interpret and apply this rule as they see fit. UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S MANUAL The manual states that the United States Supreme Court has made clear this amendment to restrict the imposition of excessive bail without establishing a right to bail in criminal cases stating "the eighth amendment does not grant an absolute right to bail," United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 754-55 (1987). The subject of bail and detention also entangles the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, requiring that laws requiring pretrial detention must "serve a compelling governmental interest." In federal...
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...obstacles while being incarcerated, some of these discriminating barriers consist of: higher cost of bail, longer sentencing, and unlawful plea bargains, all compared to a Caucasian facing charges for the same crime. Firstly, with my personal opinion I think the amount for bail should be decided by the offense, so every offense has a set bail cost. Then if people get charged multiple times for the same offences just double the cost of bail, people will soon learn from their mistakes. Anyway, studies show, significantly in three counties: Barnstable, Berkshire, and Plymouth, all in Massachusetts, the cost of bail for whites is substantially less than that of African Americans. In Barnstable, the cost of bail nearly quadruples black cost from white. Blacks median bail cost was 20 thousand dollars; whereas, whites cost of bail was a median 5 thousand dollars. In Berkshire however, even though bail is only 5 thousand dollars for blacks it is 5 times higher than that of whites coming in at a median 1 thousand dollars(MassInc Staff). Secondly, according to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), African Americans are incarcerated nearly six times the rate of whites and make up almost 1 million of the 2.3 million of the incarcerated population. They also state “In 2002, blacks constituted more than 80% of the people sentenced under the federal crack cocaine laws and served substantially more time in prison for drug offenses than did whites,...
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...system is designed to protect the public through the investigation and punishment of people who commit crimes. The system is ruled by law and procedures to ensure that decisions are made in accordance with the law. As defined by elected representatives in state legislatures and congress who makes choices about punishable behaviors by the government. The criminal Justice System operates as a system and affects people’s lives throughout the shape of the system. To gain more understanding about the system, it is imperial to be familiar about the goals, resources, and the decisions making process which involves decisions made by polices, prosecutors and judges. In fact, in the criminal justice system, the defendants charged will go through the stage of the justice system from arrest to pretrial hearings, to resolution of their case through a plea negotiation or trials which is a part of the criminal justice system....
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...that are being targeted. We have seen in the last few years that law enforcement officials have been accused of discrimination against minorities especially African-Americans. We will be discussing and comparing three forms of discrimination used today by our policing agencies; institutionalized, contextual and individual acts of discrimination. Our discussion group discussed growing up what races targeted who when committing crimes. The discussion and the data provided by the Department of Justice is almost the same when discussing crimes and what each ethnic group targets to commit the crimes. Institutionalized Discrimination Institutionalized discrimination refers to the unwarranted and discrimination mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals by society and within the institutions as a whole. (Flat World Knowledge) At times when someone is being discriminated against it can be mindful and intentional by the individual that is doing it. Institutional discrimination is already built into the culture or institution and the individual that is perpetuating the discrimination may not even know that they are doing it. Institutional discrimination is already found in the normal everyday relationships within institutions and its continuance requires individuals to continue everyday business as usual and ignoring the fact that they are discriminating against a certain race. Law enforcement officials may not know that they are doing this because...
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...2012 Assessment Report 2012 Legal Studies GA 3: Written examination GENERAL COMMENTS The 2012 Legal Studies examination was challenging for many students. Many common misunderstandings about various aspects of the legal system were evident in responses to the examination. Few students were able to demonstrate knowledge of a directions hearing. Incorrect cases were used as examples of the High Court protecting rights. In Question 3a. few students correctly identified that the Court of Appeal was higher than the Supreme Court (Trial Division) in the court hierarchy. Many students had a limited understanding of the operation of section 109 of the Constitution and struggled to provide a thorough response to Question 3b. Students should become familiar with the study design throughout the year. Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to discuss, explain and evaluate. Students’ ability to evaluate requires more attention. Students should not rely on rote-learned or pre-prepared answers as they will rarely address the question. Time management was an issue in this examination, with many students writing lengthy responses to questions that only required a shorter response, therefore not allowing enough time for longer questions. A shorter question that asks for an outline (for example, Question 1a.) requires no more than one or two sentences in response. Good examination technique is essential and students should practise their technique throughout the year. If students continue...
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...that racism play a more important role in targeting and sentencing process in the criminal justice system and this is something which should not happen in any country no matter what. In order to understand the role that racism plays in the criminal justice system we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing in the court. There are various publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which unwillingly get people into the system. Though these are two major components of the discriminatory acts that exist within the criminal justice system, it does not actually begin with these institutionalized methods. It is the laws and crime control policies that create discrimination in the system. It has been witnessed that in some instances these laws and policies are set in favor of the white people and in opposition to the black ones. In this paper, a detailed discussion has been done on the racial disparities in criminal justice system along with its adverse effects to the community. Moreover, this paper also contains the strategies that would help to avoid racism and maintain equality and righteousness. What is meant by Racism and Prejudice? When racial...
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...The criminal justice system is mixture of local, state, and federal laws that together simulate too many ways to enter the system but very few exits. When we have minorities enter the system after being arrested the pretrial policies that come about can take a toll on the lives of these individuals. For instance, there have been people who have died in jail because they are unable to post bail. Reiterating, a majority of these cases are non-violent crimes, misdemeanors, which should not hold people in jail because they are unable to pay. The outcome of the pretrial criminal justice system is designed in a way that horrifically modifies the lives of un-convicted people. If we really dig deep we will find that many of these jail bookings are...
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...1. Introduction For this paper, I have chosen Case study 1 to be discussed. By applying the knowledge gained throughout the syllabus and proper research, I have met the requirements of the paper. Based on contemporary justice in crime, the paper has been prepared. First, the brief description of the crime is outlined by summarizing the whole issue centered in the case study. Secondly, I have focused on description of the processes in the adult American criminal justice system the offender would go through, starting with arrest. Further, I have highlighted the weakest and strongest links in the criminal justice process. 2. A brief description of the crime Based on reading of the Case study 1, it is revealed that there are two murders happened....
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...discuss criminal procedure, courtroom decorum, professional responsibility, unethical behavior, the role of the judge in a trial, efficient cross-examination, the role of expert witnesses and effective trial advocacy. Go here, here and here for more on this. But the reference to legal education goes deeper. I think you can use the movie to discuss the most common topic of debate within legal education itself. Interestingly, however, in My Cousin Vinny, the issue is turned on its head. After Vinny’s girlfriend Mona Lisa bails him out for a second time after having been found in contempt, she criticizes his performance in court and tells him it is pretty clear he does not know what he is doing. She then utters one of my favorite lines in the movie: “Don’t they teach you that in law school?” Vinny’s response is just as classic: “NO! They teach you Contracts...! Obviously, the implication is that in law school they teach "law" not "how to practice law"....
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...difference between them that justifies such difference in treatment (Rachels 1999: 94). Equality is a nonspecific term that means nothing until applied to a particular context. Thus, in a political context, equality means equal access to public office and equal treatment under the law, and equal treatment extends to equality in terms of job hiring, promotion, and pay. Race refers to groups of persons who are relatively alike in their biological inheritance and are distinct from other groups (American Anthropological Association 1997: 2). Ethnicity is a cultural phenomenon referring to a person’s identification with a particular cultural group (Hinman 1998: 403). Race is socially constructed, and the notion that persons “belong” to a particular race was developed in the last century based on the belief that there was a biological basis for categorizing groups of people. Biologically, however, the term race has no meaning, yet society continues to give the notion meaning by using it as a social category. The notion of race gradually took hold in U.S. society when the institution of slavery reinforced the idea that one race could be inferior to another (Banks and Eberhardt 1998: 58). In the United States, the law has had the effect of distributing benefits and burdens based on race, and the assignment of a person to a racial...
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...functioning system. A true system is a fine tuned process, where all participants involved work towards a common goal. Every transition in a true system, is a smooth change, where no participants in the system will do anything to jeopardize the proper functionality of the next process in that system. This is not the case of the U.S. criminal justice system. The U.S. criminal justice system is comprised of numerous individuals, groups, organizations, and agencies funded by both government and non-government sources. Because, the U.S. criminal justice system is funded from different entities, there are several different agendas being carried out. There are three major components to the administration of the U.S. criminal justice system: the police, the courts, and corrections. In a perfect criminal justice system the police would arrest violators of the law, the courts would prosecute all law violators, and corrections would punish and rehabilitate violators, to integrate them back into society. While this is the formula the U.S. criminal justice system governs itself by, reality shows us that this quite often this is not the case. Only ten percent of court cases ever go to trial, with almost 90 percent of trials, being settled by plea bargain before going to trial. This often time eliminates the rehabilitation aspect of corrections. There are also instances where due to over packed jails and prisons, inmates do not end up serving their whole sentence. This is a break in...
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...Criminal Justice System The definition of crime can be a conduct in violation of the criminal laws of the state, the federal government, or a local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse. A type of crime can differ in each state and will not always be persecuted the same way. Marijuana is an example, because in most states it is a crime to smoke marijuana, it is legal in some other states. The criminal justice system has three components, police, courts, and corrections. Each three of them have to work together to ensure the system is performed correctly and fairly. The police enforce the law, investigate crimes and apprehend the offenders. In the counts the jury and judge determinate if the defended is either guilty or innocent. If defended is found guilty, he or she may be incarcerated in correction facilities. These corrections not only help to protect the community from criminals but also rehabilitate criminals. * The criminal justice goals are deterrence, incapacitation, retribution, rehabilitation and restoration. Deterrence seeks to prevent criminal events by creating fear in criminals’ minds through punishments. Incapacitation is to take the offender’s ability to commit a crime; incarceration is one way of incapacitation. When a criminal is punished or pays victim compensation is called retribution. We normally believe that justice prevails only when an offender is punished. Rehabilitation is an important goal in the criminal...
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...holding in foreign locations that have avoided the taxman’s scrutiny - it applies only to illegal money held or earned abroad, though there is the promise of a separate bill for unaccounted/unreported incomes held in different forms within the country. -Implementing the law, of course, requires identifying undisclosed income stashed or invested in a foreign location. That, as past experience reveals, is neither easy nor rigorously pursued -the Black Money Bill seems to be just another headline-grabbing effort at making a show that the NDA government is keeping to its campaign promise of bringing back black money held abroad by Indians -it is not the weakness of the law that results in the accumulation of the black money, but the failure of the monitoring and prosecuting mechanism to prevent the generation of illegal incomes and identify tax evasion even on legally earned incomes -In fact, the way the tax laws and the system are structured, merely unearthing what is black and making it white would not, in itself, make much difference to the nature and the outcome of India’s development trajectory. Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle-On 22 May, the Dean of Students of IITM announced that the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC) had been “derecognised. -provoking much-needed debate on the rights of students to discuss contemporary political and social issues on their campuses -The sequence of events also speaks to the increasing interference by the Ministry of...
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