Court systems

On Friday, April 6, I attended the District of Columbia Superior Court in order to witness the criminal justice system at hand rather than in the classroom or by reading a textbook. I witnessed cases that involved prostitution and cases that involved knives. Moreover, I noticed that the judges were either a man or woman, sitting front and center of the courtroom as they were clothed with an official black robe. I was greeted at the courthouse by security and walked through a metal detector,…

Erie County Court in Buffalo, New York. This internship helped me shape my knowledge in the criminal justice system. In this internship I observed cases and trials and also reviewed legal documentations. Moreover, this internship was helpful because it opened new opportunities for my future in the long run. Throughout this internship I also got to determine what areas I am more interested and would like to pursue in the criminal justice system. Through the centuries, the court system has…

process of trials. Plea bargains are a faster way for the courts to get through all of the cases that they must filter through. In relation to due process rights however, plea bargaining is often used erroneously. Yes, it may be easier on the judicial system, but it’s not always in the best interest of the individuals being charged. Little consideration is given many times to the individuals and their charges. The prosecution and/or the courts just want to get them in and get them out. They see…

preparing to attend college in the hopes of becoming a lawyer. So when I heard there was an opportunity to volunteer inside of my city’s court system, I jumped at the opportunity. The program I volunteer with is the Independence Youth Court, a diversion court program within the Juvenile Courts. First and second-time juvenile offenders are referred to Youth Court, a court composed of their peers. Within the program, they will be tried, defended, judged,…

not only upon the accused but also upon the justice and humanity of the law. Role of a jury – The jury fulfils a very important function in the legal system. The jury decides the facts of a case and their directions. You are entitled to be tried by the jury unless the alleged case is a minor one, or one that is being tried in a special criminal court. However, a jury is not needed in every case. They will be need for a jury more in civil cases such as; defamation and assault. After a jury…

The first drug court was established in Miami-Dade, Florida in 1989 (National Association of Drug Professionals). Drug courts were established because of the “revolving door of drug use” and increasing recidivism rates. Drug courts have the ability to change a person’s life for the better by teaching them how to beat their addictions while providing the proper treatments for each offender. As a result, of the ongoing development of drug courts, it is unfair to expect the system to be…

conducted by juries as well. The large changes brought to the English system of justice did not go unchallenged. The dispute over jurisdiction over the one-sixth of the population of England who were clergy was the chief grievance between the King and Becket. Disgruntled peers attempted to undo Henry's reforms by the Magna Carta forced on King John, but by that time the reforms had progressed too far—and their superiority over the system they had replaced was too obvious—for the forces of…

Corruption in the court system is a real problem. People are prosecuted with little to no help from public lawyers, testimonies are made up and believed, and jurors are lazy and just want to get home. These are all things Reginald Rose is trying to show up in her script 12 Angry Men. She is informing us of the corruption in the court system and all it takes is one person to stand up and it all can change. There is little to no justice because people only think of themselves. People…

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…

In court the defendant starts out as innocent and stays innocent until the prosecutor presents enough evidence that overcomes his innocence without a reasonable doubt that they are guilty. So this means it’s up to the government to prove that he or she is guilty…