Constitutional, Legal and Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice
Police abuse remains one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States. The excessive use of force by police officers, including unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and rough treatment, persists because overwhelming barriers to accountability make it possible for officers who commit human rights violations to escape due punishment and often to repeat their offenses. Police or public officials greet each new report of brutality with denials or explain that the act was an aberration, while the administrative and criminal systems that should deter these abuses by holding officers accountable instead virtually guarantee them impunity.
However, there are some things that need to be mentioned in order to fully understand the nature, role and importance of policing. Police work by its very nature involves the slippery slope (the potential for gradual deterioration of socio-moral inhibitions and perceived sense of permissibility for deviant conduct). Police are routinely involved in undercover work which involves taking on false identities and inducing crime, they are allowed to make false promises to hostage takers and kidnappers, they often feed disinformation to the media and are trained to be deceptive at interviewing and interrogation. Police make all kinds of excuses to get out of nuisance calls, trade or sell their days off and desirable work assignments or strain the truth to protect loved ones and crime victims. Police routinely invade privacy via surveillance and other technological means. Finally, police fighting the drug problem may encounter more loose cash than the gross national product of some small countries.
The police are the enforcement arm of government and the keepers of public order. The judicial system ultimately depends on the police for the enforcement of laws or court decisions. A close look to criminal law and criminal procedure may help define the structure of police work and its role and future development, as it follows the guiding principles of the criminal legislative and judicial system.
There are two fundamentally different types of court cases -- criminal and civil. A criminal case arises when the government seeks to punish an individual for an act that has been classified as a crime by Congress or a state legislature. A civil case, on the other hand, usually has to do with a dispute over the rights and duties that individuals and organizations legally owe to each other. There are significant differences between criminal and civil cases. For instance, in a criminal case a prosecutor, not the crime victim, initiates and controls the case. The prosecutor may file criminal charges even if the victim doesn't approve, or refuse to file criminal charges despite the victim's desire that criminal charges be filed. This method of beginning the case contrasts with civil cases where the injured party is the one who initiates the procedure. A person convicted of a crime may pay a fine or be incarcerated or both. Instead, people who are held responsible in civil cases may have to pay money damages or give up property, but do not go to jail or prison. In criminal cases, government-paid lawyers represent defendants who want but can't afford an attorney. Parties in civil cases, on the other hand, usually have to represent themselves or pay for their own lawyers. (Juvenile court cases and cases involving civil contempt of court where jail is a possibility, are exceptions to this general rule.) In criminal cases, the prosecutor has to prove a defendant's guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt." In a civil case, the plaintiff has to show only by a "preponderance of the evidence" (more than 50%) that the defendant is liable for damages. Defendants in criminal cases are almost always entitled to a jury trial. A party to a civil action is entitled to a jury trial in some types of cases, but not in others.
Sometimes the same conduct may violate both criminal and civil laws. A defendant whose actions violate both criminal and civil rules may be criminally prosecuted by the state and civilly sued by a victim for monetary damages.
Criminal procedure is composed of the rules governing the series of proceedings through which the substantive criminal law is enforced. In the United States, most crimes are defined by local and state government, though the federal government has adopted its own criminal code, to deal with activities extending beyond state boundaries or having special impact on federal operations.
States also have statutes that set out the framework for criminal procedure, subject to important constitutional limits. The U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights provides basic protections including the right to an attorney,...
Criminal Justice: The Death Penalty Reasons for topic selection Causes of racial prejudice and discrimination Juvenile in delinquent society theory Culture and values Official and unofficial values The effectiveness of the death penalty The death penalty is irreversible The death penalty is barbaric Changes to the death sentence Implemented changes Sentencing guidelines Bifurcated trials Automatic appellate conviction review Proportionality review The importance of proposed changes Anticipated outcome Life imprisonment; alternative to death sentences The costs Decency standards Overall efficiency Policies in support of incarceration Conclusion References Background Despite the controversy over how effective it is
Criminal justice administration mainly focuses on crime prevention and punishing any illegal activities. Criminal justice administration is wide and it entails law enforcement and the judicial administration. Some of the jobs that relate to criminal justice administration include; security coordination, juvenile delinquency administration, law enforcement and being a courtroom official. Additional crime is also part of criminal justice administration. This field entails terrorism prevention, immigration policies and social policies. Other
As practitioners of the law, court officials and subordinates are bound by the single powerful system of the law and governmental policy. Lawyers are bound by regulation rather than occupational socialization. Their interaction with the general public is also much more significant than that of the police, which provides a lower level of occupational intra-organizational loyalty than might be found among police officers. Court decisions are obliged to abide by
Baker reviewed three landmark Supreme Court decisions on capital punishment and concluded that the death penalty is capriciously imposed on Black defendants and thus serves the extra-legal function of preserving majority group interests. He viewed discrimination in capital sentencing as deliberate and identified the primary reasons why Black defendants with white victims have been denied fairness in capital sentencing. These are prosecutorial discretion in the selective prosecution of capital
Criminal Justice Issue As a police detective, I handle the majority of homicide investigations with my partner, Officer X (X). We are investigating the brutal beating, rape and assault of a woman in our community who is now in a coma. Earlier that evening, officers responded to a complaint that a gang of young men were assaulting residents and two members of the gang, 14 years of age, were arrested. X
Ethical Issues of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia The ethical issues relating to assisted suicide and euthanasia have captured the attention of the public. The topic of Euthanasia is a contentious one and it inescapably incites strong emotional argument and gives rise to tough beliefs that do not straight away lend themselves to consensual harmony. It is improbable that a decision can be reached which will meet with universal support whenever such
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now