Judicial discretion

Thus, punishment involves the infliction of pain or forfeiture; it is a judicial visitation with a penalty, correction or scolding. In his book entitled "Criminal Behaviour", Walier Reckless describes punishment as "the redress that the commonwealth takes against an offending member." In the words of Westermarck, punishment is…

As a citizen of the United States of America, each person is entitled to one’s Constitutional Rights. In our Bill of Rights, one can see very important rights that pertain to our criminal justice system making sure that the people of the United States are treated fairly. The eighth amendment is most important when it comes to corrections. Amendment Eight of the Bill of Rights prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishment. In our…

There can be differential involvement, individual racism, and/or institutional racism. First and foremost African-Americans and Hispanics are differentially involved in crimes and they tend to commit more crimes. Their criminality is tied to the fact that these groups more often suffer from poverty and unemployment. Second, some of the disparities are due to the individual opinions or prejudices of individual police officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, probation officers, parole…

An escape from the tyranny of an oppressive king was the cornerstone of the the founding fathers drafting of the Constitution. All men are created equal and in turn should be afforded equal justice. However, legislation from both the federal and state governments could threaten that very premise. Three strikes sentencing laws seek to break a cycle of recidivism from career criminals, but ensnare minorities and the poor at a disproportionate rate when compared to those not in need and whites in…

One in 100 United States adults are incarcerated. The United States has the highest record of incarcerated inmates, locking inmates up to eight times the amount of Canada and Europe. Prisons in America are so overcrowded, 95% percent of inmates are released, often bringing the violence back into society (Chamberlin). In the United States prisons and jails now holding 2.4 million inmates roughly - the highest incarceration rate of any free country (Petersilia). When the inmates are released and…

It is in this context that we must consider whether the execution of these petitioners would violate the Eighth Amendment.” White practices the power of Judicial Review to dissect the case and concur with the majority. He states that there will be conflicts between the court and legislative and admits that this is one of those times; the court cannot deem the punishment given by the States valid and therefore…

Early Modern Europe is a period modern historians date from around 1450 to the beginning of the industrial revolution in late 18th century Britain. It is considered a transition period from the Medieval world to the modern world, and thus has elements of both in most aspects of life at this time. The Legal system was not an exception as during the 17th century, the legal system across Europe was changing to reflect the centralizing power of the crown or lack thereof. The new legal systems tried…

Analysis of lockdown Drug war in United States rose to be a very serious issue and government, through its agencies took all necessary measures to ensure the fight against drugs was a success. It is on this mission that Alexander sees the criminal justice system working contrary to the expected. On this ground Alexander comes armed with vast knowledge in law and social justice to challenge the system of power in United States. Michelle in her book, The new Jim Crow published in 2010 persuades…

chances to obtain direct evidence; therefore, most of alleged adulteries are based on cercumstantial evidences. However, in Capone, the court rationalized that “Proof to support the charge of adultery ‘must be sufficiently strong to lead the guarded discretion of a reasonable and just mind to conclusion of adultery as a necessary inference’.” Nowadays, the technology, iphone, iPad, body cameras, spycams and various hitech products (surveillance), public have seen by their own eyes so many…

1.1 Thesis question John Rawls and Robert Nozick were among the greatest political philosophers of the 20th century. Both philosophers brought forth their own ideal theory. Both philosophers had their own set of theories of what an ideal society should look like. Secondly, I will compare and contrast both the political theories with an emphasis on their understanding of freedom and justice. Thereafter, I will examine which of these theories are best suited to support the political system we find…