...A criminal trial is engineered to determine the guilt or innocence of a defendant. Essential to that process is the jury. The jury is charged with the responsibility of digesting the facts of the case and then impartially rendering a proper verdict. The process of selecting a jury is critical to the efforts of the prosecution and defense teams. Because criminal trials are adversarial in nature both the prosecution and the defense will attempt to seat juries they believe might ultimately find in their favor at the conclusion of the trial. With such high stakes on the line jury selection is an essential stage in a criminal trial. Jury selection commences just after the trial itself initiates and prior to the delivery of opening statements. None of the proceeding stages of a criminal trial can proceed without the seating of an impartial panel that is made up of a representative sample of the community. Seating a jury that reflects the greater community can be a challenge. Additionally, meeting the desires of both the prosecution and defense can be a challenge as both sides want jurors that would be more likely to rule in their favor. Both are permitted to question potential jurors. Attorneys have the opportunity to challenge potential jurors in order to have the individual removed from the panel. The challenge can be based on reasons that include a belief that the juror cannot render an unbiased decision or can be made without explanation although this type of challenge, a peremptory...
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...Roles and Stages of the Criminal Justice System Marlena Moore AIU Online International Roles and Stages of the Criminal Justice System In my paper I will discuss and give an overview of the criminal justice system and the different roles the different officers of the courts play. And the different stages that a defendant goes thru and when the decision is made to arrest and take the individual to trial. And the different stages of the investigation and who is involved. Roles and Stages of the Criminal Justice System The different stages are the Pre-arrest investigation that’s the stage takes place after a report of a criminal activity has taken place. Before an arrest is made law enforcement investigate whether a crime has occurred. Once they get the information is gather then they making a decision about whether a crime committed and who needs to be arrested. Then you have the Arrest and that’s when the accused is taken into custody by law enforcement. And that can happen in two ways: 1) law enforcement arrives on the scene and decides that there is probable cause to make an arrest and the officer can take the person into custody immediately, 2) the officer makes an arrest because he has a warrant for the individual. Then you have the Initial Appearance that usually happens following the arrest, the accused must be brought before the court. The court will tell the accused the charges and advise them of their rights to counsel and the right to remain silent. Then...
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...Criminal Justice Process 1 Criminal Justice Process Betsabe Aguirre CRJ 100, Section 010016 Professor Nicholas Myles, J.D. October 12, 2010. Criminal Justice Process 2 Criminal Justice Process Imagine living in the US where crime is out of control. Where laws are broken and there is no punishment for our actions. It wouldn’t be a nice place to live. This is why we have the criminal justice process. The agencies of criminal justice must process the cases that come before them. They begin with an investigation of the reported crime. Placing crime under control is a complicated process requiring information and following many steps. It consists of Investigation and Arrest, Pretrial Activities, Adjudication, Sentencing, and Corrections. Investigation and Arrest The first step in the criminal justice process is investigation and arrest. When a crime has been committed the first thing law enforcement does is conduct an investigation. Evidence is gathered at the crime scene and a follow up investigation to try to put together the sequence of activities. Depending on the results they may choose to arrest an individual or individuals. If they make no arrest the process is complete. But if an arrest is made the suspect will be booked. When the suspect is being booked which means a procedure where pictures are taken, fingerprints are made, and personal information such as their name, address, date of birth, weight, and height is gathered and put into the system. Details...
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...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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...Criminal Justice System Crime is defined as an act or omission that is in violation of the criminal laws of the state, the federal government, or local jurisdiction, for which there is no legally acceptable justification or excuse (Mutchnick, 2010). Every year the U.S. Congress and state legislatures create new laws and abolish old ones. Criminal law consists of substantive and procedural law. Substantive law identifies what behavior is considered harmful to society, therefore making those acts or omissions a crime, and specifies a punishment. Procedural law identifies how crimes are to be investigated and prosecuted. This is the foundation of the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system enforces criminal laws by punishing the guilty and protecting the innocent. The police, courts, and corrections are the three components of the system. The police maintain public order and ensure community safety by enforcing the law. It is their responsibility to investigate crimes and apprehend offenders. The police have more interaction with society than other components as they are out in the community every day. Often times, they provide services to community functions and are involved in different fund raising events. The courts uphold the law by deciding criminal cases, conducting fair and impartial trials that determine the guilt or innocence of an individual and imposing sentence on the guilty. It is the courts responsibility to protect the rights and freedoms...
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...Crime and the Criminal Justice System Alicia Gilbert CJA/204 October 16, 2012 Bill Keller Crime and the Criminal Justice System Crime is conduct in violation of criminal laws set by the federal government, state, or local jurisdiction for which there is no legal justification or excuse (Criminal Justice Today, 2011, p. 7). In order for society to distinguish criminal acts, two different models are considered: crime control and due process. Crime control oversees the efficient arrest and conviction of criminal offenders, and due process emphasizes individual’s rights through all stages of the justice system. Criminal justice fails society when it fails in either of these two perspectives. There are three different branches of government: legislative, which passes laws; executive, which enforces laws, and judicial which interprets and explains laws. The legislative branch for the federal government is Congress, which is broken down into the Senate and House of Representatives, at the state level, the state senate, and state house of representatives pass the laws, and on the local level, city council passes the laws. The President of the United States is the executive over federal law, the governor is the executive for state law, and the mayor is the executive for local law. Judicial law is interpreted by the Supreme Court at the federal level; states Supreme Court at the state level, and district courts at the local level. There are several components within...
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...A felony criminal charge is a crime, which originally involved confiscation of a convicted person’s property such as land. Felony includes quite a number of crimes such as battery, arson, burglary, aggravated assault illegal drugs and vandalism of federal property. A person who is convicted in any court for felony crime is called a felon. The criminal justice system is a series of institutions and practices within the government who are directed towards upholding social control, mitigation and deterring of criminal activities. The criminal justice institutions are also involved in sanctioning individuals who violate the laws as well as recommending rehabilitation of other convicted individuals. A certain procedure is applied when the criminal justice institutions are carrying out justice and fair ruling in felony crimes at the state and federal level. The entire criminal justice process for a felony crime involves a series of stages, which are closely linked and dependent. The first stage is usually investigation of the criminal while the last stage involves release of the felon after undergoing correctional supervision. Usually an accused individual is arrested after the necessary investigations have been carried out which will link the person to that particular crime. Arrests are usually carried out by police officers upon presentation of a warrant legalizing the arrest such that the suspect is held in custody awaiting the court hearings. The process of arrest require that...
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...The study of criminal justice should begin with a basic understanding of the formal criminal justice process. A complex process that takes an offender through a series of routinized operations beginning with arrest or initial contact and concluding with reentry into society. During the justice process, prosecutors exercise individual judgment in deciding whether to maintain the offender in the system or to discharge the suspect without further action. Initial contact takes place as a result of a police action. The officers observe a person acting suspiciously, or they are contacted by a victim to report a crime. The second stage, consist in the criminal investigation, police officers gather enough evidence to identify a suspect and support...
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...The Criminal Justice System Lyn Wilson CJS 200 June 26th, 2011 University of Phoenix/Axia The Criminal Justice System The American criminal justice system is defined as a group of practices, policies, and courts for the purpose of upholding social responsibility, deterring crime, and penalizing those who violate the law. The criminal justice system has three main components, local and state law enforcement agencies, the courts, and corrections. These three components are broken down into progressive stages. The first stage is the initial stop of a suspect on suspicion of probable cause. If the stop yields evidence to substantiate the commission of a crime the suspect is arrested. At this stage the suspect is read his Miranda Rights, or Fifth Amendment protections. When a suspect is arrested they are taken into police custody for prosecution, if the police lack sufficient evidence or did not follow proper procedure the suspect is released. If the suspect is formally charged with a crime the wrongdoer is booked at the police station. Booking is the official recording of the arrest, the individual is fingerprinted, photographed, and the individual’s personal information is taken for record. Usually the individual remains in jail until the next stage, the arraignment hearing. In an arraignment hearing the defendant appears in court to answer the charges against him or her. At this stage the judge provides the defendant with a written copy of the charges, advises him or her...
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...Right to Counsel Dimitria Jackson CJA/ 364 Criminal Procedures May 22, 2012 Michael Harrison Right to Counsel One of the most important rights awarded to the accused is the right to be represented by an attorney. Most individuals accused of a crime will most likely not have an adequate defense without the assistance of counsel. The development of the right to counsel in the twentieth century focused on the issue of whether the state had to pay for attorneys for individuals what are indigent or to poor to pay. Because of Powell v. Alabama, the Court found that in particular cases, state courts had to provide free counsel to criminal defendants. In addition, the right to counsel attaches at the initiation stage of the criminal proceedings. Separate from the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and prior to the initiation stage, an individual has a Fifth Amendment right to counsel during custodial interrogation as well. Zalman (2008) stated “Counsel is required at a pretrial proceeding if it is one in which factual determination can be made that could determine the outcome of the case and in which a lawyer plays a significant role” (p. 337).The adversarial nature of the trial process makes even routine cases dependant on trained, competent lawyers. A defendant without counsel is at an extreme disadvantage. Development of the Right to Counsel In the past, the right to counsel meant the right to retain counsel; that is, if the defendant could afford an attorney, he had the...
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...JADM 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Midterm Exam Answers Follow Link Below To Get Tutorial https://homeworklance.com/downloads/jadm-100-introduction-to-criminal-justice-midterm-exam-answers/ JADM 100 Introduction to Criminal Justice Midterm Exam Answers (TCO 1) Which model emphasizes individual rights? (TCO 1) Who returns an indictment? (TCO 1) Jake Robinson was convicted on a burglary and a drug offense. He was given a sentence of six years in prison for both offenses. These sentences were to run concurrently. How many years would he spend in prison? (TCO 1) The ________ collects information on crimes suffered by individuals and households, whether or not those crimes were reported to law enforcement. (TCO 1) Which of the following would be included in UCR/NIBRS murder statistics? (TCO 1) A juvenile who steals a candy bar and states “No one was really hurt,” is using which neutralization technique? (TCO 1) An 18th-century approach to crime causation and criminal responsibility that grew out of the Enlightenment and that emphasized the role of free will and reasonable punishments. (TCO 2) When a police officer induces a subject to commit a crime, a defendant will probably use: (TCO 2) Bob is sitting on a park bench minding his own business when an undercover police officer comes up to Bob and talks him into buying some marijuana. Then the officer arrests Bob for possession of marijuana. Bob can claim the defense of: (TCO 2) ________ is/are a person’s reason...
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...II. APPELLANT 'S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHT TO COUNSEL WAS PROTECTED WHEN APPELLANT 'S COUNSEL WAS PRESENT DURING THE LINE-UP PROCESS AND POLICE INTERVIEW IS NOT A CRITICAL STAGE OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEEDING WITHIN THE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL GUARANTEE OF THE SIXTH AMENDMENT BECAUSE THERE IS NO FACE TO FACE CONFRONTATION The Sixth Amendment states that the accused shall enjoy the right to the assistance of counsel for his defense in all criminal procedures. However, police interview is not a critical stage in a criminal proceeding within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment rights. This section will demonstrate that the appellant's Sixth Amendment was not violated because the lineup turned into a police interview when the witness switched rooms. Police...
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...Criminal Justice System Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Introduction The criminal justice process is entirely of the whole process of arresting and punishing criminals or law violators. This process involves a number of processes that are followed in ensuring that due process is followed. Additionally, this process ensures that there is protection of the innocents, criminals or law breakers are fairly or justly treated, and ensuring that justice is practiced by agencies of law enforcement that include corrections and courts. The major processes of criminal justice include; investigation, apprehend, pre-trial, trial, appeals, sentencing, and corrections. The entire process should be carried out justly in order to protect the rights of all people involved whether offenders or innocents. Investigation When it is clearly determined that a crime or an offence has been committed, investigation is done in order to ensure that relevant and accurate information is gathered enough to sue the suspect. Investigation is considered as the first step involved in the criminal justice process. During this process all information that are related to the crime are objectively scrutinized. Investigation in criminology is defined as a process of exploring, gathering, preparing, identifying, and presenting relevant information that help in determining and explaining what took place at the scene of a crime (Hess & Orthman, 2009). It is through investigation that the person...
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...Myia M. Hardy CJA/204 Introduction to Criminal Justice Instructor: Ron Furtado November 1, 2011 The criminal justice system is a set of legal and social institutions for enforcing the criminal law in accordance with a defined set of procedural rules and limitations. In the United States, there are separate federal, state, and military criminal justice systems; each state has separate systems for adults and juveniles. Criminal justice systems include several major subsystems, composed of one or more public institutions and their staffs: police and other law enforcement agencies; trial and appellate courts; prosecution and public defender offices; probation and parole agencies; custodial institutions ( jails, prisons, reformatories, halfway houses, etc.); and departments of corrections (responsible for some or all probation, parole, and custodial functions). Some jurisdictions also have a sentencing guidelines commission. Other important public and private actors in this system include: defendants; private defense attorneys; bail bondsmen; other private agencies providing assistance, supervision, or treatment of offenders; and victims and groups or officials representing or assisting them (e.g., crime victim compensation boards). In addition, there are numerous administrative agencies whose work includes criminal law enforcement (e.g., driver and vehicle licensing bureaus; agencies dealing with natural resources and taxation). Legislators and other elected officials...
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...Right to Counsel Lionel James CJA/364 December12, 2011 CHARLES MC CLELLAND Right to Counsel Introduction: The primary source of the right to counsel is the Sixth Amendment. It states in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for defence. In this article, the development of the right to council will be discussed as well as when the right to council attaches to criminal procedures. The right to self- representation and the role of attorneys as it applies to right to council will be discussed as well. The development of the right to counsel: The Supreme Court in 1932 began to define the right to counsel and years later it applied it to the Sixth Amendment right to states. It incorporated that right into the Fourteenth Amendment. In the Powell v.Alabama (1932), the Court found that under certain circumstances state courts had to provide criminal defendants with free counsel. (Zalman,2008). The main issue in the Powell case was whether the defendants ‘due process rights were violated by the denial of the right to counsel, with the accustomed incidents of consultation and opportunity of preparation for trial.(Zalman,2008). Betts v.Brady (1942) was a setback to the incorporation of the Sixth Amendment. Betts confirmed the special circumstances rule of Powell. Betts, a farmhand, was indicted for noncapital robbery. Not having the money to hire a lawyer, Betts asked the judge for appointed counsel at his arraignment...
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