Fluent Essays

ASSIGNMENT AND STUDENT QUESTIONS ALL DETAILS INSIDE.....THIS IS MY REPLY TO THE PROFESSOR AND THE CLASS TO HELP YOU UNDERSTAND The Power of Criminal Justice System The branch of criminal justice that holds the greatest power is the courts. Once a crime has been committed, usually the violators of the crime are identified by the police officers before the case is forwarded to court. Courts are systems that have the authority to come up with numerous decisions based on the law. An example is the case of the United States judicial system that is always divided into both state courts and federal courts, each of them having several roles and responsibilities. Federal courts constitute the Supreme courts thus they deal with numerous federal issues such as those related to government lawsuits, military justice, and trade disputes (criminal justice system | Introduction to sociology, n.d.). The prosecutor has the most power in the criminal justice system because they have the capability of curbing mass incarceration. Most of the prosecutors practice immense control over the individuals who enter the criminal justice system, the ways in which various cases can be resolved and also if the process of incarceration will be part of the resolution process (Rakoff,2016). The powers held by the prosecutor should not be shifted to another person or they be given to other individuals because prosecutors have the most power in curbing mass incarceration thus making it possible for them to have massive control over all individuals who enter into the criminal justice system. References The criminal justice system | Introduction to sociology. (n.d.). Lumen Learning – Simple Book Production. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-introductiontosociology/chapter/the-criminal-justice-system/ Rakoff, J. S. (2016). Why prosecutors rule the criminal justice system-And what can be done about it. Nw. UL Rev., 111, 1429. STUDENT REPLIES STUDENT REPLY #1 Stephon Johnson Who has the most power in the criminal justice system—police, prosecutor, or magistrate? The Prosecutors have the most power in the criminal justice system. A prosecutors job is to comply with and promote the law. A prosecutor operates on behalf of the community in a nondiscriminatory manner and as a “clergyman of justice.” The prosecutor must reasonably assist the court to bring forth the truth and to do justice between the community and the accused according to the law (DOJ, 2015). The prosecutor makes the critical decision on whether the offender will get prosecuted or whether the charges will be dropped. The prosecutor also presents plea deals to the defendants lawyer, which may carry a lesser charge or less time. I feel that the power is in the right hands. the prosecutor is the last part of the process; I feel like theyre on the outside of the case looking in, which gives them the ability to determine if the defendant needs a light or harsh sentence. Reference Department of Justice PLEASE READ ALL DETAILS TO COMPLETE THIS PAPER Assignment: Prosecutorial Roles In choosing what charges to file when a crime is committed, a prosecutor wields significant power. That power is checked by specific evidentiary requirements—for example, a prosecutor could not charge someone with drug trafficking if that person was simply found possessing a small amount of heroin for personal use. Still, a single prosecutorial decision can mean the difference between a 3-year and a life sentence, a plea bargain and a trial, or a conviction and a mistrial. For this Assignment, you assume the role of a prosecutor involved in several criminal cases. To prepare: Read the Week 4 case studies found in the Criminal Justice Case Studies: Criminal Law, Week 4 document. This Assignment requires you to apply your learning to all case studies in the document. By Day 7 of Week 4 Write a 750 word paper that addresses the following for each case study: What decision would you make as the prosecutor for each of the three cases? Be sure to address the following: What is the actus reus, level of mens rea (purposeful, knowing, reckless, or negligent), and is there concurrence? As the prosecutor, would you bring charges against the suspect or would you drop the charges? If you decide to charge a suspect or suspects, be sure to address the following: What would you charge them with and why? Would you consider offering a plea agreement? What sentence would you recommend? If you decide not to charge a suspect or suspects, explain how you came to this conclusion. Support your response with evidence from the Learning Resources.© Laureate Education, Inc. Page 1 of 4 Criminal Justice Case Studies: Criminal Law, Week 4 For the case studies this week, you revisit case studies used in a previous week—but with some details changed. The Case of the Smith Family Shooting Re-read the case study below. Imagine that you are the prosecutor and that the following details are also part of the scenario: • The son is 19 years old (instead of 12 or 16 years old as in the previous cases). • The gun on the upper shelf is the son’s, although it (along with all the other guns) is not registered. • The mother denies having been physically abused by the father. • The son has a prior arrest for assault. • The father called the police on his son 2 years ago for threatening him with a knife, but the father did not pursue any legal action. Mrs. Smith called emergency dispatchers at 3 a.m. to report a shooting. As the responding officer, you observe the following: Mrs. Smith says that she and her husband had been arguing and that at one point her husband threatened to shoot her and her son. Mrs. Smith says, “He spouts off things like that, but he never does anything about it. He has a temper. But I’d had enough of his meanness and coming home late, so I went to the bathroom to put myself together and get out of there for a while. In response to being asked if she planned to take her son, she says, “No. I always come back.” Johnny, the Smith’s 19-year-old son, woke up because he heard his parents arguing. He says that they fight often, “but this time the fighting seemed a lot crazier than usual.” Johnny says that his father went outside, slamming the door. Johnny then says, “I picked up the living room gun off the coffee table and went to his bedroom.” He reports that his father keeps “other guns” around the house, unlocked and in the open. During the witness interview you observe a second gun on an upper book shelf in the living room, in an unlocked case, and a subsequent search of the home uncovers a third gun, not in a case, on a kitchen counter near the back door. Johnny continues to say that when Mr. Smith came back in the house, he continued yelling at Mrs. Smith from the living room. “I fixed the car so you can’t leave!” Mr. Smith yelled. “Where you going to go at this time, anyway?” Johnny said he took the revolver he had taken out of the case it had been in, and told his mother to stay in the bathroom. He then walked into the living room. As Mr. Smith stood up and started walking towards Criminal Justice Case Studies: Criminal Law, Week 4 © Laureate Education, Inc. Page 2 of 4 Johnny, Johnny fired the gun at his father. Johnny says that he fired the gun because he was afraid that his father might hurt his mother. The mother claims that she did not hear Johnny in the hall until the gun was fired. The father suffered a minor injury on his right hand from grabbing the hot, recently fired gun from Johnny. The bullet2 Constitutional Limitations Test Your Knowledge: True/False 1. Bills of attainder prohibit punishing an individual for an act that was not criminal at the time it was committed. 2. One purpose of statutory clarity is to ensure that individuals know what acts are prohibited by a law. 3. Laws that distinguish between individuals based on race or based on gender, in most instances, are held to be constitutional by courts. 4. The courts do not recognize any limitations on expression under the First Amendment. 5. The U.S. Constitution explicitly provides for a right to privacy. 6. The Second Amendment right to bear arms does not protect individuals’ right to keep firearms within the home. Check your answers on page 39. Was the defendant discriminated against based on gender? Defendant Johnson Lake allegedly assaulted his wife, Melissa Barker-Lake. . . . Melissa Barker- Lake immediately contacted the . . . police who arrested Defendant later that day for . . . “binding his wife’s right hand inwards.” . . . Defendant contends that 14 V.I.C. § 298(5) heightens the six month misdemeanor offense of simple assault and battery to the one year . . . offense of aggravated assault and battery in instances where the complaining witness is female and the accused is an adult male. However, there is no reciprocal enhancement where the complaining witness is an adult male and the accused is female. This paragraph clearly articulates Defendant’s contention that he is subject to a different legal standard because of his gender in violation of the Equal Protection Clause. Introduction In the American democratic system, various constitutional provisions limit the power of the federal and state governments to enact criminal statutes. For instance, a statute prohibiting students from criticizing the government during a classroom discussion would likely violate the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A law punishing individuals engaging in “unprotected” sexual activity, however socially desirable, may unconstitutionally violate the right to privacy. Why did the framers create a constitutional democracy, a system of government based on a constitution that limits the powers of the government? The Founding Fathers were profoundly influenced by the harshness of British colonial rule and drafted a constitution designed to protect the rights of the individual against the tyrannical tendencies of government. They wanted to ensure that the police could not freely break down doors and search homes. The framers were also sufficiently wise to realize that individuals required constitutional safeguards against the political passions and intolerance of democratic majorities. The limitations on government power reflect the framers’ belief that individuals possess natural and inalienable rights, and that these rights may be restricted only when absolutely necessary to ensure social order and stability. The stress on individual freedom was also practical. The frame