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 interviewed both in separate rooms. We found that they had previous records for robbery and assault. X reports that both confessed and the case is closed. However, the case has reached national prominence due to the circumstances. A conviction will vindicate the police, but there are proprietary questions of Constitutional ights, Policy, and ethics that are bothering me and forcing an ethical decision.
Major Ethical and Legal Dilemmas:
The youths were 14, minors, and entitled to have parents or guardians present during…...
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REFERENCES
Deverette, R. (2002). Introduction to Virtue Ethics. Washington, DC: Georgetown
Sandel, C. (2010). Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farar, Straus and Giroux.
Such is the case with Tennessee v Lane, a case in the Supreme Court that focused on the legality of Congress to enact laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act under section V of the Fourteenth Amendment. The High Court ultimately found that Congress does have the power to enact a law which may run contrary to an individual state's sovereign immunity in cases that implicate access to the courts (Tennessee v Lane, 2004).
The suite was brought by plaintiffs who were disabled, lived in Tenessee, and claimed that they were unable to access the upper flowers of the state courthouses, thus denying them a public service under Title II of the ADA. The state of Tennessee argued that the 11th Amendment prohibited the suite. Congress, said Tennessee, could use its powers to remedy discrimuination that was blatant and purposeful, but not in general because of a state's sovereign…...
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REFERENCES
Board of Trustees of the University of Alabama v Garrett, 531 U.S. 356 (U.S. Supreme 2001).
Tennessee v Lane, 541 U.S. 509 (U.S. Supremem Court 2004).
Bradley, C. (Ed.). (2006). The Rehnquist Legacy. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Criminal Justice Leadership
Identify two types of ethics and explain their role in criminal justice organizations. Support your responses with resources.
Ethics are concerned with the issues of right and wrong and provide a framework for moral living. Ethics in the criminal justice system is an integral part of police work. Ethical considerations are paramount to decisions involving discretion and a strong moral foundation suits police work well. Banks (2010) notes that knowledge of ethics provides people an opportunity to analyze assumptions and weigh options. Two types of ethics that have particular importance in criminal justice are normative ethics and ethical absolutism.
Normative ethics
Normative ethics is fundamental to proper and prudent decisions made by personnel in the criminal justice system. Banks (2010) writes that normative ethics involve taking into account the range of moral issues in an area and that a person should always act morally, having deduced the proper course of action…...
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References:
AELE Mo L.J. (2008). Civil Liability for Use of Deadly Force -- Part Three Supervisory Liability and Negligent/Accidental Acts, 101, 1.
AELE Mo L.J. (2007). Civil Liability Law Section: Civil Liability for Use of Deadly Force -- Part Two Qualified Immunity and Inadequate Training, 101,12.
In that regard, sentences imposed for crack cocaine are so much harsher that approximately 100 times as much powdered cocaine is required to approach the sentences imposed in connection with crack cocaine offenses. This issue is particularly relevant to the disparity inherent in mandatory sentencing and arbitrariness in sentencing, especially since dealers in powdered cocaine are much more likely higher up on the supply chain than distributors of crack cocaine (USSC, 2007).
The issues concerning provisions of the U.S.A. PATIOT Act pertain to establishing sentences for crimes established and defined by the ACT, such as narco- terrorism, smuggling munitions or military equipment without a license for transport, mining U.S. waters, and interfering with maritime navigation equipment (USSC, 2007).
The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 requires sex offenders to register and imposes criminal penalties for failure to comply. The current federal sentencing issues authorize increasing sentences for failure to…...
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References
Cullen, F.T., Eck, J.E., Lowencamp, C.T. (2002) Environmental Corrections: A New Paradigm for Effective Probation and Parole Supervision.
Lynch, M.J. (1999) Beating a Dead Horse: Is Their Any Basic Empirical Evidence for the Deterrent Effect of Imprisonment?
Schmalleger, F. (2001) Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
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…...
"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
The reduction occurs through allowing the counties to acquire other methods of jailing apart from the prisons. This includes out-of custody rehabilitative treatments, which could serve in reducing the number of the criminals taken to the prisons. However, the AB109 criminals must be individuals whose crime are not violent and not that serious as provided by the law. This means that that jailing of the A109 criminals in other alternative would involve selection from the other criminals. However the unstated implication is that it would be much difficult to rate a crime as either more serious or not serious. Consequently, the rationale provides higher chances of biasness of selecting some non-serious cases while leaving others.
Implication of the policy
The criminal justice implication of the policy will mainly affect the non-violent arrestees. The decision of keeping them in custody, would affect their ability to avoid recividism future. The social implications include…...
There should also be refresher courses given every year so that officers do not forget about their ethical responsibilities. t is important in the police arena that ethical behavior is top priority and that everyone is as ethical as they can be.
Web Field Trip
Tonry, M. (1997). ntermediate Sanctions in Sentencing Guidelines. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/165043.pdf
The article ntermediate Sanctions in Sentencing Guidelines is a very comprehensive guide to what intermediate sanctions are and how they can be incorporated into sentencing guidelines. This article defines what intermediate sanctions are and how they can be used in sentencing guidelines in order to help those offenders who may not otherwise benefit from traditional sentencing practices. The guide also discusses the problems that can occur when implementing these types of sanctions and what can be done to try and avoid the issues that can occur. The overall gist of the article is to show on…...
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Intermediate Sanctions for Non-Violent Offenders Could Produce Savings. (2010). Retrieved
The article Intermediate Sanctions for Non-Violent Offenders Could Produce Savings is a good discussion of how the use of intermediate sanctions used for certain offenders can lead to cost savings. In today's economy money for correctional institutions is at a low just like it is for everything else. Because of this it is becoming more and more important for corrections in general to cut costs. This article is a very good discussion on how intermediate sanctions can be used to help cut expenses in the criminal justice system. The article discusses how these types of sanctions can be used for certain offenders in order to benefit them the most while reducing the amount of money that it takes to lock every offender up for a specific period of time. This article also discusses the drawbacks that come along with implementing intermediate sanctions and how these issues can be addressed ahead of time in order to mitigate their effects.
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 the law. The issue is however complicated by the fact that the upreme Court is partial towards the power-wielding authority in the White House. This tends to detract from objectivity when making constitutional decisions. The issue is further complicated by the 9/11 attacks and other similar factors.
The devastating attacks during 2001 have not only influenced political power, but also the way in which this power was used to influence decisions by courts, the police, and individuals working within these organizations.…...
Harrison, Stephen J. (1998) Police Organizational Culture: Using Ingrained Values to Build Positive Organizational Improvement. http://www.pamij.com/harrison.html
Equal Protection:
Equal protection is a fundamental constitutional protection, that in modern times, guarantees the equal effect of law to all persons. In that regard, the Supreme Court has established specific suspect classes of individuals, such as membership in a minority race, whose rights to equal protection must be guarded most scrupulously, primarily because the need to do so has been more than adequately demonstrated by aspects of relatively recent American history.
According to criminologists and researchers who have conducted studies of the impact of criminal laws in general, and of capital punishment in particular, criminal defendants who are members of minority races (as well as those who are poor) are statistically much more likely to receive the death penalty in comparison with non- minority (and wealthier) criminals convicted of identical death-penalty-eligible offenses (Schmalleger, 2007; Zalman, 2008). This discrepancy suggests that capital punishment in the U.S. still violates one of the…...
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References
Dershowitz, a. (2002). Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age. New York: Bantam Books.
Friedman, a. (2005). A History of American Law. New York: Touchstone.
Kaveny, C. (2008). Justice or vengeance: is the death penalty cruel and unusual?
" (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
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…...
Since ICO focuses on a pattern of behavior instead of just on the criminal acts that are involved prosecutors find it relatively easy to prove these cases. If an organization is convicted of committing two of the specified crimes within a ten-year period then they can be convicted of racketeering.
Legitimate business owners deserve to have protection from groups that wish to pursue illegal activity. The ICO Act was put into place in order to afford these legitimate businesses this protection. Since the interpretation of the ICO Act has been expanded we have also seen protections from mail fraud and wire tapping to be included in the protections that are guaranteed to the people. The ICO Act is always going to be subject to interpretation, but the protections that if gives business owners will always be seen as good.
eferences
Cecil, Greek. (1991). Is This The End of ico? Or Only The Beginning:…...
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References
Cecil, Greek. (1991). Is This The End of Rico? Or Only The Beginning: The Ongoing Debate
Over the Expanded Use of Criminal and Civil Rico. Retrieved April 20, 2009, from Web
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.
Some attorneys simply seem to enjoy outrageous conduct when it comes to proving the innocence of their client, and some simply relish the feeling of power they have in the courtroom environment. Giving attorneys too much power can lead to problems in the courtroom and in the justice system. The debate over punishment that fits the crime and the death penalty also seem like debates that will rage for a long time, no matter what happens in the criminal justice system. There are always going to be cases where a minor criminal is sentenced to a punishment that seems much bigger than the crime they committed, and there will always be people opposed and in support of the death penalty. These chapters show that the criminal justice system is not perfect, and that reforms could help create a better, more workable system, but they also show that there will…...
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References
Various Authors. (2005). Justice, Crime and Ethics. Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Company pp. 125-201.
However, as criminals become more aware of undercover tactics, the covert officer is required to provide more and more proof that he is indeed a criminal- which leads to the officer committing acts that compromise his or her integrity for the sake of maintaining cover. y understanding the often conflicting nature of these goals, deception and integrity, we can see how an undercover officer can become confused, lost, and susceptible to temptation (i.e. criminal behavior).
y examining both aspects- environmental factors and personality factors- we take into account both sides of a complex relationship. These two groups of factors, when combined together, shed some light on the exact nature of criminal tendencies amongst police officers.
Definition of Terms
Covert: another term for undercover, meaning the use of deception for the purpose of gathering information or intelligence.
Non-covert: police officers that, even in plain clothes, maintain their own true identity instead of a false…...
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Bibliography
Choo, A., and Mellors, M. (1995) Undercover Police Operations and What the Suspect Said (Or Didn't Say). Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, Blackstone Press, University of Leicester. Web site: http://wenjcli.ncl.ac.uk/articles2/choo2.html
Girodo, M. (1985) Health and Legal Issues in Undercover Narcotics Investigations: Misrepresented Evidence. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 3(3),299-308.
Girodo, M. (1991) Drug Corruption in Undercover Agents: Measuring the Risk. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 9, 361-370.
Girodo, M. (1997) Undercover Agent Assessment Centers: Crafting Vice and Virtue for Impostors. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12(5), 237-260.
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