The prosecutor allowed that the crime is third-degree battery and that the homicide occurred during the battery. The mitigating circumstance in Alex King's situation was the influence that Ricky Chavez exerted over Alex, who was 12 years old at the time of this crime. Alex asserted that Mr. Chavez and he were in love and that if Mr. King were alive, he would not let Alex live with him. Alex admitted that he asked Derek to kill his father and although the crime appeared to be premeditated, the judge was unwilling to allow for first or even second-degree murder, thereby eliminating a lengthy prison sentence.
The 8th amendment to the United States Constitution protects U.S. citizens from cruel and unusual punishment. Juveniles under the age of 16 are exempt from execution due to this amendment, but may still receive the sentence of life imprisonment, as Lionel Tate did. In terms…...

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Works Cited

"Florida Boys Plead Guilty to Third-Degree Murder in Father's Slaying." Courttv.com. 2002. 6

August. 2005  http://www.courttv.com/trials/king/111402_cnn.html .

Handlin, Sam. "Fourteen-Year-old Lionel Tate Sentenced." Courttv.com. 2000. 6 August. 2005  http://www.courttv.com/trials/wrestling/030901_sentence_ctv.html .

"Offenses Commonly Seen in the Juvenile Court or Crimes with which Juveniles can be Charged." Southern Juvenile Defender Center. 2003. 6 August. 2005

Finally, a divorce attorney may be aware that it is in the client's interest to be more legally aggressive, to gain a better settlement, even if the client's temporary, overwrought emotional state runs against this tendency.
The utter prohibition against active solicitation of clients would also bar much of public interest advocacy, such as lawyers who actively seek clients to challenge laws that they believe are against the public good, like anti-abortion legislation. Public advocacy work, which might be waged in name on behalf of a client who is not the most egregiously harmed person by the legislation in actual fact would further go against the grain of Canon 14: "lawsuits with clients should be resorted to only to prevent injustice, imposition or fraud." (Johnson, 1993) Although seeing consumers defrauded by misleading advertising may not actually be an injustice, to wage such legislation may still be in the public good.

The…...

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Works Cited

ABA Code of Professional Responsibility: 1983." Cornell Law School. American Legal

Ethics Library. [2 Oct 2006]

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/ethics/aba/mcpr/MCPR.htm 

Hurld, Christoper. "Untangling the Wicked Web: The Marketing of Legal Services on the Internet and the Model Rules." The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics.

Criminal Defense, Constitutional Rights Arrest
Constitutional Rights Before and After Arrest

Constitutional Rights are essential when considering a person's relationship with the authorities before and after his or her arrest. These rights practically guarantee that the individual is presented with a fair treatment. There has been much controversy regarding Constitutional Rights in the recent years, as people became confused concerning the rights of suspected criminals and the government's interest to protect the nation. Constitutional Amendments are basically meant to protect people before they are arrested.

Courts from around the country often deal with cases related to the level of authority that the police had to detain particular citizens. Police officers sometimes take advantage of the fact that they can stretch legal concepts with the purpose of producing justification for certain actions they commit before or after arrest.

Present-day conditions regarding Constitutional Rights are alarming, given that the authorities sometimes fail to effectively implement…...

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Works cited:

Bouza, Anthony V. The Police Mystique: An Insider's Look at Cops, Crime, and the Criminal Justice System (Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 1990)

Ciarelli, Sara "Pre-Arrest Silence: Minding That Gap between Fourth Amendment Stops and Fifth Amendment Custody," Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 93.2-3 (2003)

Fridell, Ron Miranda Law: The Right to Remain Silent (New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2006)

Gibson, John S. International Organizations, Constitutional Law, and Human Rights (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1991)

Criminal Law and Psychopathy I. Introduction
Various studies have in the past indicated that there is a high correlation between violence/criminal behavior and psychopathy. This would largely be expected given that psychological studies into the character and disposition of psychopaths has demonstrated that the need for control (or power) as well as egocentrism, which also happen to be the dominant character traits of psychopaths, are predictors for deviant or antisocial behavior. The debate on whether or not psychopaths should be held criminally responsible for their acts, and thus be subjected to criminal punishment, has been raging for a long time. On one side of the debate are legal scholars, lawmakers, and judges who are of the opinion that psychopaths have an existing predisposition to commit crimes as a result of their lack of concern or compassion of any kind for those they hurt. Psychopathy is on this front regarded as untreatable and…...

hen does insanity excuse criminal liability?

A defendant has an excuse for liability, says Paul Robinson, in his book Criminal Law Defenses, when he or she is acting involuntarily and their own disability causes him or her to mistakenly or unknowingly violate a criminal prohibition. This person does not know whether his or her behavior is wrong or criminal (Robinson 222). This is in contrast to what is called a character-based approach, where a person's adherence to virtues or vices creates a character and a reputation for morality or immorality, upon which they are judged. Finkelstein argues that a system which bases its retributive punishment on a person's character, rather than on the act itself brings about social welfare. Just as one cannot judge a person's moral character upon a single act, one cannot decide the morality or immorality of a person by visible actions. She quotes George Fletcher as saying…...

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Works Cited

Article 35 of the NY State Penal Code: Found at  http://ypdcrime.com/penal.law/article35.htm .

Finkelstein, Claire. Excuses and Dispositions in Criminal Law. U. Of Buffalo. 14 Apr 2003.

Fletcher, George. Rethinking Criminal Law. 1978.

Hans, Valerie P. And Slater, Dan. "John Hinckley, Jr. And the Insanity Defense: The Public's Verdict," the Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 47(2). 1983.

Examples of offenses that are based on constitutional endowments of right contain tax evasion, possessing illegal substances and conspiring to violate civil rights. Courts have specified on the whole a wide explanation to the Commerce Clause authority, allowing Congress to create a federal offense of many widespread law crimes such as kidnapping or murder if state outline are fractious during commission of the crime and such as misappropriation and blackmail using instrumentalities of trade such as telephone lines or the U.S. post. Examples of offenses that are based on regions owned by or under the restricted power of the federal government contain crimes committed in the District of Columbia, in U.S. Territories, in U.S. National Parks, in federal courthouses and federal jails plus on board airplanes and ocean going ships. The United States armed force has its own immoral justice system applicable to its members, but civilians might be…...

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Bibliography

Wolfgang, Marvin (1990). Crime and Punishment in Renaissance Florence. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. Retrieved on January 11, 2008.

Schmalleger, Frank (2001). Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction. Prentice Hall. Retrieved on January 11, 2008.

Cornell University Law School. Bill of Rights from Cornell University Law School. Retrieved on January 11, 2008.

Nicholas J. Szabo. (2006). Jurisdiction as Property: Franchise Jurisdiction from Henry III to James I. Retrieved on January 11, 2008 at http://szabo.best.vwh.net/JurisdictionAsProperty.pdf

Criminal Justice
When the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation in 1789, the United States of America formed a government that specifically divided its powers between three separate branches. This was done in order to make certain that no one branch of government could accumulate too much power. These three are called the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government, and the Constitution defines the powers each branch of government is allowed to exercise. While the Executive and Legislative branches of government deal with the running of the government, the Judicial branch is limited to dealing with legal matters. While it may seem that the Judicial branch is someone less important, it is the judiciary that decides whether the actions taken by the other two branches of government are legitimate.

Alexander Hamilton argued in the Federalist Papers that a separation of powers was necessary in order to prevent one particular group "adverse…...

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References

"Court Procedures." United States Courts Web Page. Retrieved from  http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx 

"Criminal Justice System - Structural and Theoretical Components of Criminal Justice Systems, The Systems in Operation, The importance of Viewing Criminal Justice as a System." Retrieved from Criminal Justice System - Structural And Theoretical Components Of Criminal Justice Systems, The Systems In Operation, The Importance Of Viewing Criminal Justice As A System

Kaiser, Frederick. (2003). American National Government: An Overview. CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved from  http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RS20443.pdf 

"Federal Courts." United States Courts Web Page. Retrieved from

A plea-bargain is frequently attained at this time in order to circumvent a trial. In the event that a plea-bargain is reached, the case does not move forward to a trial but failure to offer enough evidence to establish a plea bargain will mean that the case goes on to trial (Criminal Justice System Handbook, 2009).
The trail

Trials consist of a sequence of proceedings where the prosecutor presents evidence which will be used to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In felony cases, the defendant is given chances to admit their innocence but there are also times where they are presented that they may dispute the validity of evidence that has been presented by the prosecutor. Felony cases normally entail the services of a jury who listen to the case proceedings together with the judge and then after careful assessment of the evidence that is presented; they make…...

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References

Criminal Justice. (n.d.). Retrieved from   y_legal_guide/chapter_14.authcheckdam.pdfhttp://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/publiced/practical/books/famil 

Criminal Justice System Handbook. (2009). Retrieved from  http://www.nycourts.gov/litigants/crimjusticesyshandbk.shtml 

Criminal Justice Process. (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://www.courtwatchflorida.org/uploads/Training_-_Criminal_Justice_Process.pdf 

Steps in the Criminal Justice Process. (n.d.). Retreived from http://sao.co.sarasota.fl.us/legal.htm

This was due to the fact that defense attorneys often attempted to prove consent by showing that a victim did not resist the assault or had a sexual history suggesting that she would have consented to the sexual contact. Now, N.J.S.2C:14-2 no longer contains a requirement that the perpetrator overcame a resisting victim. Instead, in cases of forcible rape, the Code simply requires that the defendant: committed the assault during the course of certain specified felonies (N.J.S.2C:14-2(a)(3); was armed or seemed to be armed (N.J.S.2C:14-2(a)(4); acted with another and used physical force or coercion N.J.S.2C:14-2(a)(5); used physical force or coercion N.J.S.2C:14-2(a)(5) and -(1); the victim is physically or mentally incapacitated N.J.S.2C:14-2(a)(7). Therefore, the Code names a variety of situations where sexual intercourse between a victim and a defendant is rape, without evidence of any type of coercion.
Maria, a single mother, goes on her third date with John. They return…...

If this is indeed the case, Leach is within his rights to appeal for an overturn of his conviction. The Fourth Amendment protects travellers from unwarranted police searches, which appears to be what happened in this case.
The Fourth Amendment then protects the rights of individuals to reasonable expectation of privacy. While Archibald Leach voluntarily yielded his luggage for investigation, the search itself was not conducted in a legal manner if there was neither warrant, reasonable suspicion or probable cause. The case does not mention any of these, based upon which the conclusion can be that Leach has sound grounds for appeal.

ources

Criminal Law Lawyer ource. (2009). earch Warrant. http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/search-warrant.html

Farlex, Inc. (2009). Probable Cause. The Free Dictionary. http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Probable+cause 'Lectric Law Library's Lexicon. (2009). "Confession." http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c274.htm

Rice, Beverly. (2009). When can the police stop and frisk you on the street? upreme Court Articles. http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-articles/when-police-frisk-you.html

Walker, Jayme . (1998, Dec 1). Moving and touching stowed…...

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Sources

Criminal Law Lawyer Source. (2009). Search Warrant. http://www.criminal-law-lawyer-source.com/terms/search-warrant.html

Farlex, Inc. (2009). Probable Cause. The Free Dictionary.   'Lectric Law Library's Lexicon. (2009). "Confession."  http://www.lectlaw.com/def/c274.htm http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Probable+cause 

Rice, Beverly. (2009). When can the police stop and frisk you on the street? Supreme Court Articles.  http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-articles/when-police-frisk-you.html 

Walker, Jayme S. (1998, Dec 1). Moving and touching stowed or checked luggage: Fourth Amendment considerations. The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.  http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-53590199.html

" (Merillat, 2006). In addition, the classification system does not determine a convict's housing. As a result, convicted murderers are often exposed to other prisoners in general population, who have been convicted of non-violent offenses. For example, mass murderers Abdelkrim Belachheb and Elmer Wayne Henley were both housed in general population when they were sent to prison. (Merillat, 2006).
The reality is that when the prosecutor makes the decision to charge someone with capital murder, they do so because the murder in question has a particularly heinous aspect, which may make the defendant a future danger. Furthermore, "capital murderers can and do commit acts of violence in the penitentiary." (Merillat, 2006). In fact, Jermarr Arnold and David Gibbs both managed to commit murder while on death row. (Merillat, 2006). Furthermore, a disproportionate number of prison murders since 1999 have been committed by capital defendants serving life sentences. (Merillat, 2006). Of course,…...

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References

Merillat, a.P. (2006). The question of future dangerousness of capital defendants. Texas Bar

Journal, 69(8), 738-741.

rown, in her biographic article for World of Forensic Science, states,
She views investigative criminal profiling as a dynamic process that does not conclude until a suspect is arrested and convicted. She deems it a support process for the criminal investigative team, made up of a combination of four skills: investigation, forensic analysis, psychological assessment, and the application of cultural anthropology. rown considers this type of profiling to be a real-time, speculative process requiring ongoing checking to avoid missing any significant data, and should never be done in isolation, but rather as one piece of the entire criminal investigative process (rown, ¶4).

rown works 'pro bono' on several cold case file crimes, trying to be closure for the family.

The profilers use a variety of known characteristics to start the profile. The years of research done by early profilers such as Douglas has enabled the profilers to obtain clearer pictures of the…...

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Bibliography

Brown, Pat. World of Forensic Science. Thomson Gale. 2005. HighBeam Research. 22 Jun.

2010 .

Cooper, Greg. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Program. The Forensic Examiner.

American College of Forensic Examiners. 2007. HighBeam Research. 22 Jun. 2010

S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. The legislation makes the provision of over $ billion in funding "for gang prevention, intervention and law enforcement programs over five years and establishes new crimes and tougher penalties to deter and punish members of illegal street gangs." (Feinstein, 2007) the legislation proposed by Feinstein would make illegal participation in a criminal street gang a federal crime. The legislation criminalizes violent crimes in furtherance or in aid of criminal street gangs and creates a new criminal offense for murder and other violent crimes committed in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Under the present law, "a felon's criminal street gang involvement can be treated at most as a sentencing enhancement, adding no more than 10 years to a sentence. This bill establishes far higher penalties for violent gang crimes, including the possibility of life imprisonment without parole for murder, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or maiming. If…...

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Bibliography

Matthews, D. And Ruzicka, K. (2000) Proposition 21: Juvenile Crime. Capital Center for Government and Law Policy - California Initiative Review. March 2000 initiatives - Proposition 21. Pacific McGeorge School of Law. Online available at  http://www.mcgeorge.edu/government_law_and_policy/california_initiative_review/march_2000/ccglp_cir_march2000_prop_21.htm .

McKim, J.B. And Rhor, Monica (2007) Justice by Geography (Orange County Register) 3 June 2007. Online available at http://dist08.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC=%7BE917F382-8B46-4C4E-976E-64261965F209%7D&DE=%7BCA01ACE7-2B51-4E14-8DE4-3C7CC3E4DDFB%7D

Governor Scwarzenegger Endorsees Senator Feinstein's Comprehensive Gang Legislation. (2007) United States Senator Dianne Feinstein California. 20 March 2007. Online available at  http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=NewsRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=7189577e-cc9b-d379-16f3-c9194d249b56&Region_id=&Issue_id= 

Velasquez, N. (2007) L.A. City Attorney Delgadillo Establishes New Policy Regarding Gang Injunction Violations: New Policy Enables Check of Convicted Gang Injunction Violators' Residency Status. 5 April 2007. Online available at  http://www.lacity.org/atty/index/attyindex56044369_04052007.pdf .

Prosecutors consider several factors. For effective prosecution to take place there should be the required selected readings, methodology and analysis of the findings of the case (Siegel 2012). A standard case set is also crucial since it is a tool used for decision making in the criminal justice system. These tools enable us to understand how prosecutors view a case and how they come up with justified decisions.
The standard case set measures the level of agreement between prosecutors. Some of the well-known factors that contribute to the decision-making process of prosecutors categorized into two main types. These are legal and extra-legal. According to Siegel (2012), legal factors include the strength of evidence, culpability of the defendant and the seriousness of the offence. If the evidence against the defendant is strong, it is likely that the court will charge and convict the defendant for the offence. This also applies with…...

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References

Hancock, B.W., & Sharp, P.M. (2004). Criminal justice in America: Theory, practice, and policy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Siegel, L.J., & Worrall, J.L. (2012). Essentials of criminal justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

McConville, M., & Mirsky, C.L. (2009). Jury trials and plea bargaining: A true history. Oxford [u.a.: Hart.

Criminal Justice
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

Supervising Attorney

Paralegal

John Ebersol

Determine whether Mr. Ebersol was guilty of shoplifting. If Mr. Ebersol was guilty of shoplifting, determine what he can expect his punishment to be.

FACTS:

Mr. Ebersol purchased a flathead screwdriver from the hardware store on Saturday, but purchased a Phillips head screwdriver by mistake. Mr. Ebersol returned to the store with the intention of purchasing screws for his new screwdriver. When he discovered that the hardware store was out of flathead screws, Mr. Ebersol left the flathead screwdriver on the counter and left the store with a Phillips head screwdriver in his pocket. Mr. Ebersol was detained, interrogated for 2 1/2 hours, and released with shoplifting charges against him.

ISSUES:

(1) Is Mr. Ebersol guilty of shoplifting?

(2) If Mr. Ebersol is guilty of shoplifting, what can his expected punishment be?

BRIEF ANSWERS:

(1) Mr. Ebersol is not guilty of shoplifting.

(2) If found guilty of shoplifting, Mr. Ebersol can expect to serve…...

1. The Disproportionate Impact of Poverty on Access to Justice

Explore the systemic barriers faced by low-income individuals in accessing legal services, including lack of financial resources, limited awareness of legal rights, and discrimination.
Examine the role of poverty in perpetuating legal inequality and fostering a cycle of disadvantage.

2. The Intersecting Effects of Race, Class, and Gender on Legal Outcomes

Analyze the complex interplay between social class, race, and gender, and its impact on access to justice for marginalized communities.
Discuss how these intersecting identities can exacerbate legal barriers and shape courtroom experiences.

3. The Role of Legal Aid in Mitigating....

Impact of Law Enforcement, Prosecutors, and Public Defenders on the Criminal Justice System
The criminal justice system comprises three primary actors: law enforcement, prosecutors, and public defenders. These entities play distinct and interconnected roles in the administration of justice, shaping the outcomes of criminal cases and the overall functioning of the system.
Law Enforcement
Investigation: Law enforcement agencies are responsible for investigating crimes, gathering evidence, and apprehending suspects. Their actions often determine the strength of the prosecution's case and the ultimate outcome of trials.
Discretion: Law enforcement officers have significant discretion in deciding whether to arrest, charge, or refer individuals to diversion....