Locally there are drug, domestic violence, mental health, and family court. Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that handle cases of non-violent substance-abusing offenders under the adult, juvenile, family and tribal justice systems. Domestic violence courts generally coordinate with community partners that provide services for victims of domestic abuse. Mental health court means a judicial program that provides a specialized docket for defendants with mental illnesses. Mental health court makes decision about the state of mind of people charged with criminal offences. Family court handles cases involving domestic issues such as divorce and child custody. Criminal court empowered to hear and decide on cases involving offenses
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However, the more fiscally responsible idea would be reforming plea negotiations. Deidre M. Bowen examined a reformed system of plea bargaining in King County, Washington, which included a structured process for handling cases (Walker, 2015). there were some clear rules on plea negotiations and higher levels of supervision for attorneys. This new process uses a horizontal approach to prosecution, in which cases are initially handled by the Charging Unit and then passed to the Early Plea Unit. Cases that are not settled through a guilty plea are then handled by the Trial Unit (Walker, 2015). The main rules for plea negotiations are that plea negotiations are not available to any case that bypasses the Early Plea Unit. These changes eliminate the traditional informality of plea negotiations and, through the Early Plea Unit, centralize negotiations and presumably make them more consistent (Walker, 2015). There were greater efficiency because the rules were clear to everyone and there was greater openness and less chance of misunderstanding because the rules of the game (Walker, …show more content…
Although there has been a number of wrongful convictions, suspects should not be able to abuse the system. (Walker, 2015) Protection of individual rights requires recognition of the possibility of error in the criminal justice process (Walker, 2015). The appeal process is lengthy and time-consuming (Walker, 2015). The appeal process is almost automatic for individuals sentenced to death (Walker,2015). Many appeals are filed by the convicts in hopes of overturning their conviction or to change their sentence to life imprisonment. However, no consideration is taken in respect to the cost to taxpayers for the local, state, and federal government to respond to and process these appeals. Many states have laws providing funds for the legal defense and appeals for convicted felons. That money could be better spent elsewhere. The money that would be saved could be spent on bettering the nation and domestic problems in our country. This money earmarked to help felons could help get the homeless of the streets, feed the hungry, and help educate the youth. Also, if the courts allow the unlimited amounts of appeals then people will continue to file frivolous claims because they know they
However, the more fiscally responsible idea would be reforming plea negotiations. Deidre M. Bowen examined a reformed system of plea bargaining in King County, Washington, which included a structured process for handling cases (Walker, 2015). there were some clear rules on plea negotiations and higher levels of supervision for attorneys. This new process uses a horizontal approach to prosecution, in which cases are initially handled by the Charging Unit and then passed to the Early Plea Unit. Cases that are not settled through a guilty plea are then handled by the Trial Unit (Walker, 2015). The main rules for plea negotiations are that plea negotiations are not available to any case that bypasses the Early Plea Unit. These changes eliminate the traditional informality of plea negotiations and, through the Early Plea Unit, centralize negotiations and presumably make them more consistent (Walker, 2015). There were greater efficiency because the rules were clear to everyone and there was greater openness and less chance of misunderstanding because the rules of the game (Walker, …show more content…
Although there has been a number of wrongful convictions, suspects should not be able to abuse the system. (Walker, 2015) Protection of individual rights requires recognition of the possibility of error in the criminal justice process (Walker, 2015). The appeal process is lengthy and time-consuming (Walker, 2015). The appeal process is almost automatic for individuals sentenced to death (Walker,2015). Many appeals are filed by the convicts in hopes of overturning their conviction or to change their sentence to life imprisonment. However, no consideration is taken in respect to the cost to taxpayers for the local, state, and federal government to respond to and process these appeals. Many states have laws providing funds for the legal defense and appeals for convicted felons. That money could be better spent elsewhere. The money that would be saved could be spent on bettering the nation and domestic problems in our country. This money earmarked to help felons could help get the homeless of the streets, feed the hungry, and help educate the youth. Also, if the courts allow the unlimited amounts of appeals then people will continue to file frivolous claims because they know they