...Why is the Incarceration Rate in the US so high? The United States has about 300 million residents, about 5 percent of the total world’s population, but the prisons in the United States account for 25 percent of the world’s inmates. This statistic gives the United States the highest incarceration rate in the world with 743 of every 100,000 people behind bars (Levin 2013). On the other hand, Canada, our northern neighbor only has 113 per 100,000 of its citizens in prison (Levin 2013). So the question is, what really is behind the high incarceration rate in the United States? The difference is substantial and cannot be ignored; the incarceration rate in the U.S. is nearly 6.5 times larger. This is a staggering statistic and begins to raise some valid concerns, could it be that the United States court system is structured in a way that unfairly treats criminals? Or could it be that people in the United States just commit more crimes per capita than the rest of the world? The latter doesn’t seem like a plausible explanation, the United States and Canada are so similar it almost seems unrealistic to assume that the crime disparity could be so wide. That leaves us with the idea that the United States court systems unfairly treats criminals or just treats criminals harsher than any other developed country in the world. This thought is certainly very frightening and should be a concern for every United States citizen. Even though most people are good, law-abiding citizens, sometimes...
Words: 3349 - Pages: 14
...Sentencing Process In 1998 the District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission was charged with developing a comprehensive structured sentencing system for the District. The Commission concluded that the District could benefit from a comprehensive structured sentencing system. Next, the Commission embarks the difficult task of creating workable sentencing guidelines for felonies. As Washington, DC follows the lead of other jurisdictions as well as an earlier effort in the District, the Commission developed two grids: one for drug cases and one for all other cases in the direction of the dominant factors in sentencing: the offense of conviction and the criminal history of the offender. The Commission also established standards for departing from the recommended prison ranges in extraordinary cases, rules for imposing concurrent or consecutive sentences, along with adjustments and exceptions to sentencing. Together, the grids, standards, rules, adjustments and exceptions form the Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines for the District of Columbia. (ACS, 2012-pg.9) The procedures that must take place following the finding of guilt before a defendant is sentenced for a felony offense are as follow: Sentencing is where the judge imposes punishment after a finding of guilty that resulted from a trial, or entry of a plea of guilty or no contest by the defendant. The judge may order the Department of Corrections to prepare a pre-sentence investigation (PSI) report and...
Words: 1705 - Pages: 7
...CRIME, PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE IN A COMPARATIVE AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT This book aims to honour the work of Professor Mirjan Damaška, Sterling Professor of Law at Yale Law School and a prominent authority for many years in the fields of comparative law, procedural law, evidence, international criminal law and Continental legal history. Professor Damaška’s work is renowned for providing new frameworks for understanding different legal traditions. To celebrate the depth and richness of his work and discuss its implications for the future, the editors have brought together an impressive range of leading scholars from different jurisdictions in the fields of comparative and international law, evidence and criminal law and procedure. Using Professor Damaška’s work as a backdrop, the essays make a substantial contribution to the development of comparative law, procedure and evidence. After an introduction by the editors and a tribute by Harold Koh, Dean of Yale Law School, the book is divided into four parts. The first part considers contemporary trends in national criminal procedure, examining cross-fertilisation and the extent to which these trends are resulting in converging practices across national jurisdictions. The second part explores the epistemological environment of rules of evidence and procedure. The third part analyses human rights standards and the phenomenon of hybridisation in transnational and international criminal law. The final part of the book assesses Professor...
Words: 195907 - Pages: 784
...Abstract The aim of this dissertation, which is based on secondary research involving analysing a range of books, journal articles, Government publications, newspaper articles and videos, is to critically examine the position of the victim in the criminal justice system. The paper looks at the role of political interests in establishing victimfocus policies and the direction towards their placement at the heart of the justice system. This includes the managerialistic values, modernization of the Government and covering-up of punitive measures taken against the offender that all point to the political rhetoric around the centeredness of the victim. Furthermore, the view of traditional justice is accounted for in order to get a grasp of the many underlying factors that can be attributed to the so called rebirth and the consequent concentration on the victim. The paper firstly discusses characteristics of victims, the impact of crime on victims and also their needs for a better understanding of who they are and what can be done to help them. Particular attention is drawn to stereotypes associated with victims and constructions of the ideal victim. Secondly, the adversarial nature of English justice and implications for victims are discussed, as well as some tensions between the interests of the offender and the victim, and the opposed nature of the two. Procedural and service rights especially play an important role in defining whether victims are given appropriate...
Words: 20228 - Pages: 81
...rosslin_john@yahoo.com, secho@sunchon.ac.kr, yslee@fumate.com, taihoonn@empal.com Abstract The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act is a United States federal law enacted on July 30, 2002 in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals including those affecting Enron, Tyco International, Adelphia, Peregrine Systems and WorldCom. This paper discusses the effects of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act on corporate information security governance practices. The resultant regulatory intervention forces a company to revisit its internal control structures and asses the nature and scope of its compliance with the law. This paper reviews the implications emerging from the mandatory compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act. Issues related to IT governance and the general integrity of the enterprise are also identified and discussed. Industry internal control assessment frameworks, such as COSO and COBIT, are reviewed and their usefulness in ensuring compliance evaluated. 1. Introduction Accounting scandals at some of the big corporations like Enron, HealthSouth, Tyco and WorldCom had a devastating impact on investor confidence. Clearly, it was possible to engage in frauds of such magnitude because of the inability of auditors to detect early signs of such possibilities. This paper reviews the impact of legal controls on Information Technology (IT) governance practices, especially in the case of SOX Act. The resultant crisis in the financial markets and massive media coverage of the frauds created a situation...
Words: 3348 - Pages: 14
...www.justicepolicy.org POLICY REPORT J u s t i c e P o l i c y I n s t i t u t e Table of Contents Introduction: The national and local problem of drug imprisonment 3 Methodology 4 Finding 1: Treatment can be less expensive than a term of imprisonment 5 Finding 2: Treatment can be cost effective 6 Finding 3: Treatment can reduce substance abuse and recidivism while building communities 9 Finding 4: Promising treatment models exist in Maryland and around the country 11 Maryland: Break The Cycle The Correctional Options Program (COP) Drug Courts: Maryland and the National Perspective California’s Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act (SACPA) 11 12 13 14 Conclusion: Drug treatment can be more effective than cycling people in and out of prison 18 Endnotes 20 About the Authors Treatment or Incarceration? was primarily authored by Doug McVay, former research director for Common Sense for Drug Policy, a non-profit dedicated to expanding discussion on drug policy by educating the public about alternatives to current policies. He is the author and editor of Drug War Facts, an annual compendium of reliable information on the impact of the drug policy on criminal justice and public health issues. This brief was co-authored by Vincent Schiraldi and Jason Ziedenberg, who are, respectively, Executive Director and Director of...
Words: 8236 - Pages: 33
...Age: A Review of Current Practices and Recommendations for Reform in Texas Helen Gaebler, Senior Research Attorney William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law The University of Texas School of law March 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................4 II. THE PROBLEM: CRIMINAL RECORDS AND COLLATERAL CONSEQUENCES .........................................5 Collateral Consequences Overview ......................................................................................................... 5 Who’s Affected? A Look at the Numbers in Texas .................................................................................. 8 Disproportionality and the Criminal Justice System .............................................................................. 10 Reaching Across Generations and Communities ................................................................................... 11 III. AN OUTDATED SYSTEM: OPEN ACCESS TO CRIMINAL RECORDS .................................................... 12 The Background Checking Industry........................................................................................................ 12 Common Practices and Pitfalls............................................................................................................... 13 Past Calls for Reform .........................................................
Words: 25987 - Pages: 104
...JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE NEW ERA S.No | Description | Page No. | 1. | Introduction | 3 | 2. | Historical background | 4 | 3. | Evolution of juvenile justice system I. Several unique feature characterized in early juvenile court II. English idea of providing separate system for juvenile offender III. The Reformatory schools | 5 | 4. | International concern I. Relevant Article from UN convention II. Movement of Juvenile justice in India | 7 | 5. | Indian legal Provision I. Constitution provision II. Penal provision III. Juvenile justices provision a. Reformatory school Act-1876 b. Children Act-1960 c. Juvenile justice Act-1986 IV. Juvenile justice(Protection and Care) Act-2000 | 10 | 6. | An Analysis I. Who is a juvenile in conflict with law II. Age of criminal responsibility and determination of juvenility III. Present conflict about the age | 14 | 7. | Indian Reformatory approach I. The Child Welfare Committee(CWC) II. The juvenile justices board III. Police IV. Probation Officer V. State government | 16 | 8. | At present- Extent of delinquency in India-NCRB Report | 18 | 9. | Root causation of increasing number of juvenile | 23 | 10. | Role of the society | 26 | 11. | Judicial efforts | 27 | 12. | Recommendation | 28 | 13. | Conclusion | 30 | Introduction 42% of our population is children; the problem of juvenile delinquency is not new but this seek our attention recently very much because...
Words: 10255 - Pages: 42
...Whistleblowing and ethics helplines in the 1Modes of Managing Morality Model Leon J van Vuuren Department of Human Resource Management University of Johannesburg Abstract The Modes of Managing Morality (MMM) model provides a heuristic device to assist business ethics scholars and practitioners to make sense of the differences that exist in the ways in which different organisations manage their ethics. Although it is difficult to demonstrate a clear distinction between ethics advice and whistleblowing, these activities are often fused in organisations and the seeking of ethics advice may of necessity sometimes spill over to a need for whistleblowing. The extent and ways organisations are tolerant to and utilise ethics communication in each of these modes were illustrated in this paper. In particular, the varied prominence of whistleblowing and ethics advice facilities in each of the reactive (some whistleblowing), compliance (ethics advice supplementary to whistleblowing) and integrity (whistleblowing supplementary to ethics advice) modes were indicated. The seamless integration of ethics talk and ethics advice in the TAO-mode makes whistleblowing superfluous in this mode. The necessity for leaders and managers to acquire an ethics management competence that would, among others, allow them to actively engage in and encourage ethics talk, was emphasised. Keywords: Ethics, ethics talk, hotlines, help lines, help desk, whistleblowing, Modes of Managing Morality Model, compliance...
Words: 8278 - Pages: 34
...! • • • • • • • Principles of the Australian Parliamentary System Government)–!The!government!is!the!party!or!coalition!of!parties!that!wins!the!most!seats!in!the!House!of!Representatives! Parliament)–!Consists!of!a!group!of!elected!representatives!and!a!person!who!represents!the!Queens.!In!the!federal!parliament!that!person!is!the! Governor>General.!Parliaments!make!the!laws!for!a!country/state! Crown)–!The!monarch!is!represented!by!a!governor/governor>general.!Refers!to!the!position,!power,!or!dominion!of!a!monarch.!The!monarch!as! Head!of!State! Separation)of)Powers)–!The!three!branches!of!power!(executive,!legislative!and!judicial)! Federal)System)–!The!power!to!govern!is!divided!by!the!Commonwealth!and!states.! Bicameral)–!A!bicameral!parliament!consists!of!two!chambers!or!houses! Minister)–!A!minister!is!both!a!member!of!parliament!and!a!member!of!the!executive.!This!means!a!minister!is!usually!in!charge!of!a!government! department!that!is!responsible!for!enacting!the!law! ! Australian Parliamentary System Under!the!Australian!federal!system!of!government,!the!country!is!divided!into!states!and!territories!each!with!its!own!parliament!–!making!a!total!of!9! parliaments.! • Commonwealth,)6)States,)2)Territories! They! are! elected! by! the! people! and! represent! the! needs! of! the! people.! Members! are! also! responsible! to! the! parliament! and! the! people! for! their! actions.!The)APS)is)based)on)the)Westminster)system)that)was)adopted)by)the)Commonwealth)constitution)in)1900...
Words: 27914 - Pages: 112
...OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT REVIEW March 2004 Chris Maxwell © State of Victoria Printed by State of Victoria, March 2004 ISBN 1920921044 This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from State of Victoria. Disclaimer: The content in this report is provided for information purposes only. The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not purport to represent the position of the State of Victoria. Neither the author nor the State of Victoria accept any liability to any persons for the information (or the use of such information) which is provided in this review or incorporated into it by reference. The information in this Review is provided on the basis that all persons having access to it undertake responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT REVIEW March 2004 Chris Maxwell TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1: A CONSULTATIVE INQUIRY CHAPTER 2: THE SAFETY CONSENSUS PART 1: NEW CHALLENGES FOR OHS 1 3 5 6 15 15 20 24 24 29 46 46 54 60 71 96 96 100 110 120 135 141 159 163 169 177 177 186 192 192 215 222 227 233 233 258 272 284 284 293 328 347 350 354 354 357 360 363 383 387 392 392 397 ...
Words: 160731 - Pages: 643
...Student ID: 082168461 The impact of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Corporate Governance and US Companies An examination to determine the impact of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, the costs and benefits of its implementation and how it has affected Corporate Governance and US Companies. Table Of Contents 1. Abstract...................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Methodology................................................................................................ 4 1.3. Limitations .................................................................................................. 5 1.4 Analysis and conclusion .............................................................................. 5 1.5 Further research ........................................................................................... 6 2. Literature Review: An Overview of Corporate Governance ..................................... 6 2.1 United Kingdom ........................................................................................ 14 2.2 Self-regulation prior to SOX ..................................................................... 18 3. Literature Review: The SOX Act ................................................................ 19 3.1 Enron, the trigger to SOX? ....................................
Words: 17258 - Pages: 70
...Berkeley Journal of International Law Volume 26 | Issue 2 Article 5 2008 Corporate Governance as Social Responsibility: A Research Agenda Amiram Gill Recommended Citation Amiram Gill, Corporate Governance as Social Responsibility: A Research Agenda, 26 Berkeley J. Int'l Law. 452 (2008). Available at: http://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/bjil/vol26/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals and Related Materials at Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Berkeley Journal of International Law by an authorized administrator of Berkeley Law Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact jcera@law.berkeley.edu. Gill: Corporate Governance as Social Responsibility: A Research Agenda Corporate Governance as Social Responsibility: A Research Agenda By Amiram Gill* In the post-Enron years, corporate governance has shifted from its traditional focus on agency conflicts to address issues of ethics, accountability, transparency,and disclosure. Moreover, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has increasinglyfocused on corporate governance as a vehicle for incorporating social and environmental concerns into the business decision-making process, benefiting not only financial investors but also employees, consumers, and communities. Currently, corporate governance is being linked more and more with business practices and public policies that are stakeholder-friendly. This ...
Words: 13200 - Pages: 53
...When a French social worker was recently asked what he considered the most valuable attitude in working with juvenile delinquents, he replied: ‘The ability to accept failure-and still go right ahead.’ W e should not delude ourselves that there are any short, swift or easy solutions. Delinquent behaviour is not a twenty-four hour malady that affects a child as a virus does. The preceding chapter has pointed out how complex, and how deeply set, some of the motivations towards juvenile delinquency can be. Since a child does not become delinquent on the spur of the moment but as the result of a long and intricate series of reactions, any realistic plan to help that child will not be an easy one. Any person, or any community, who hopes to change a specific delinquency problem must accept the fact that it is a long and thoughtful process, often one of discouragement and delay. It is expensive in terms of money, time and effort. It need hardly be pointed out, however, that the results of delinquency are twice as costly. From all our knowledge of delinquents and delinquency, there is no reassuring evidence of a formula or recipe for prevention. What emerges clearly, from many studies and reports and surveys, is that delinquent behaviour must be the concern of the entire community, not just dismissed as a problem to be handled by local schools, churches, police courts or professional agencies. It should be recognized as their problem by the citizens of a community even when their own children...
Words: 8434 - Pages: 34
...Sarbanes Oxley Companies Abstract Sarbanes oxley act 2002 was passed on July 30, 2002 and only the public companies are now feeling its impact. This act frequently called the “most significant accounting or auditing legislation since the securities exchange Act of 1934”. After the implementation it has established its demands to the companies for proper management and disclosure of risk. Nortel networks is a giant corporate in telecom industry and as it is expected they also have faced the challenges come from the SOX act. Some of them are in favor and some are against the Nortel. ‘SOX’ has manipulated a larger impact on Nortel internal employee and external customers as well as their financial statement. The outcome of the Nortel is clearly different from before implementing the SOX. This paper is to find out the deeper understanding of SOX, how it governs the public corporate, financial disclosure and practice of public accounting in general sense. Besides this it will focus on the outcomes of Nortel network after implementation of SOX and its financial statement. Introduction There have been found a number of corporate financial scandals (e.g. Tyco International) that provides various type of weakness in the governance and auditing practice in the organization. It represents the failures in controlling the reliability and integrity to the stock markets. The scandals cost billions of dollars for the investors when the affected companies were collapsed. As a result, these...
Words: 6143 - Pages: 25
