Answer the Questions Essay Example

Answer the Questions

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Essay Questions

Question 1

Police have a special place within the criminal justice system. The activities of the police impact the operations of the whole criminal justice system. They affect the courts workload as well as the decisions that are made within the courtrooms impact the operations of both prisons and jail. The actions of the law enforcement officers while on the streets always affect the manner in which cases flow through the justice system resulting in ripple effects as cases move one of the components to another (Bouza, 2013).
The activities of the police officers not only affect the operations of the entire criminal justice system, but also the law enforcement officers are regarded as the ‘gatekeepers’ of the entire system. The police are the first people to make human contact with the accused offender and have the capacity of arriving at some of the very critical decisions concerning the eventuality of the accused. The most fundamental decision that the police make is to whether to initiate the offender’s journey through the murky justice criminal system having keenly studied the initiation evidence (Bradford, 2011). Whereas most citizens have not been arrested or even had a one on one encounter with the police, the law enforcement officers are regarded are regarded as the most likely component of the criminal justice system having an impact on their daily lives. Their influence is most of the time symbolic. Police make records of types of crimes committed and the number of perpetrators that are involved.

The police outnumber other members of the occupational groups within the criminal justice. The police can scuttle investigation or build a water-tight case through thorough investigation that lead to just conviction. Without the cooperation and the input of the police the criminal justice system would be crippled (Harrendorf & Heiskanen, 2010).  The police are numerous and furthermore the most visible component within the criminal justice system. They interact daily with the society and understand places that certain types of criminals are frequently committed. The police form the base or foundation of criminal justice system since their preliminary evidence is used to build court cases and hold the accused. Without any evidence the accused will be freed. The police are also custodians of material evidence that are produced in court to as proof for an offence committed (Bradford, 2011). Without this evidence some case cannot be build on solid basis. Evidence is needed to build a strong case against the accused or exonerate an innocent person. The police in many cases are called out as witnesses since they secure crime scenes and they are the first persons to make contact with the offenders. Their evaluation of the offender is very important (Bouza, 2013).  The police take the accounts of the witnesses and if done shoddily they can lead to lengthy court processes that do not lead to justice. The role of the police in the flow processes within the criminal justice system is undisputable.

Question
2

The characteristics of the witness are very important to the flow of processes making up the justice system. The criminal justice system is more often than not intimidating, overwhelming and confusing to anyone who is not part its components in his everyday life. A witness has to know what is expected of him and must be accorded the necessary support throughout the process. Courts, police and corrections operate in a broader area representing the general public (Baum, 2012).  Witnesses and victims are valued according to the cases that they bring to the criminal justice system but usually represent a potential source of what can be termed as irrationality within the process. Various witnesses and victims are reluctant to cooperate or get involved usually due to intimidation or threats. Intimidation of witnesses curtails their cooperation with the court officers to provide reliable evidence that can lead to lengthy court processes as the prosecution tries to win their trust. Uncooperative witnesses delay court processes and make cases to take longer than expected (Horowitz, 2010).  The more cooperative the witnesses are, the easier it is for the judge and other court official to reach the conclusion of the case. Children witnesses are most delicate to deal with and cases of repression can occur when children are traumatized during some incidents.

It is important to handle a witness according to their characteristics for easier conclusion of cases. Uncooperative witnesses have to be talked into working with the court. If there are more uncooperative witnesses, court processes takes longer to be completed. Cooperative witnesses are important to building a cases and helps in expediting the court processes (Kadish, Schulhofer & Barkow, 2016).  (Hostile witnesses are difficult to deal with and it takes time to get facts out of their testimonies. Persons of interests have to be treated with care for them to cooperate with the court processes. The characteristics of witnesses have a great influence on the flow of processes within the criminal justice system. Uncooperative witnesses can delay the commencement of cases or postponement of hearing until they are willing to appear in court and give their testimony. The testimony of the witnesses can lead to the innocent person being set free and the criminal being convicted. The prosecution and defense both use expert witnesses in arguing their cases in order to vindicate or implicate the involved persons (Horowitz, 2010). The prosecution must get the cooperation of the witnesses to move the cases through the court. The defense also needs witnesses to defend their client and cooperation of the defense witnesses also determines the pace of the flow of processes within the justice system.

Question 3

Research is very important in the understanding of the jury decision making. The grand jury is designed to act as a check on unwarranted prosecutions. These juries are used in federal felony cases. Research enables understanding of the composition of the jury and the reason for arriving at a particular decision. Research provides the background check about the jury members prior to the trial (Horowitz, 2010).  A thorough background check of the jury is needed to avoid bias in the final verdict. The jury members should not be directly affected by the ongoing case. There must be thorough research of the language that is used in the case during trial and in jury decision making. All interested parties have to be privy to facts of the case and the final verdict reached by the jury. The constituting of the jury is important because it determines how they will participate in the deliberations leading to the decision making. Research gives insight on how the jury reaches their verdict after deliberations. Research is needed in raising the standards of proof in reducing false convictions (Kadish, Schulhofer & Barkow, 2016).  Research is important in building the background to a case and provides an avenue for anyone to understand the court proceedings and the verdict reached by the jury. Research is critical forms an important part of the criminal justice system.

References

Baum, L. (2012). American courts: Process and policy. Cengage Learning.

Bouza, A. V. (2013). The police mystique: An insider’s look at cops, crime, and the criminal justice system. Springer.

Bradford, B. (2011). Voice, neutrality and respect: Use of Victim Support services, procedural fairness and confidence in the criminal justice system. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1748895811408832.

Harrendorf, S., & Heiskanen, M. (2010). International statistics on crime and justice. S. Malby (Ed.). European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI.

Horowitz, D. L. (2010). Courts and social policy. Brookings Institution Press.

Kadish, S. H., Schulhofer, S. J., & Barkow, R. E. (2016). Criminal law and its processes: Cases and materials. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.