The US Criminal Justice System - Case Study Example

< US Criminal Law – Robbery> by Abstract The case study analyses the US criminal justice system with the help of a particular case of robbery commited. Aspects such as pre trial and post trial court processes are discussed in the paper. Introduction The intention of deploying criminal justice system or criminal law is to uphold the social control with the intention of deterring and mitigating crime. The system is deployed by te law makers and the government institutions of the country. In effort of effective use of the law the government institutions also sanction the appropriate rehabilitation efforts or criminal penalties for those who proved to be guilty of committing the crime. Though the accused has been awarded with a criminal penalty he/she has the complete right to protect him/her from any kind of abuse during and after the investigation as well while serving the term of the criminal penalty. The criminal justice policies in the United States of America are guided by the 1967 Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. One of the greatest and ground breaking achievements of this group was the publication of a report named The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society (Cole Smith & DeJong, 2014). The report has over 200 recommendations pertaining to the US Criminal Justice policies. These recommendations were a part of the comprehensive approach of the commission towards preventing and fighting against the crime in the country. Few of the recommendations made by the commission could find their place in the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. It was advocated by The President’s Commission that with those recommendations the coordination between the enforcement force, courts and the correctional agencies has seen a great improvement. It is pointed by the Commission that criminal justice is the mean through which both society and the individuals in the country is protected from any crime. Brief Description of the Crime The crime committed was a robbery. The victim, Mr. Milton Brown, was robbed at the gunpoint by two assailants named Bertha Bloutt and William Bloutt in Broadway and First Avenue on 11 October 2011. The assailants have robbed the cash that Mr. Brown was taking from the daily deposits of his store BJ Shoes along with his wallet and the car keys1. Mr. Brown reported this crime to Winston police department. The Criminal Justice Process – Case Study It is mandatory that all the criminal justice process follow a sequential approach to reach the justice2. In this section of the essay the sequence of the criminal justice system will be discussed based upon the chosen case study involving the robbery of cash from Milton Brown and the accused are Bertha Bloutt and William Bloutt. a. Reporting, Entry of the Crime and Arrest Mr. Brown reported the crime for which he became the victim to the Winston police department, which the enforcement officers lodged as the crime report. The proceedings began with the searching the house of the accused couple, which the enforcement officers executed lawfully by issuing a search warrant for her home address and all structures on her property as well as all vehicles on her property or registered in her name. The enforcement officers discovered a Colt and a Smith & Wesson revolver from their house along with the bank deposit bag, which contained the deposit receipt mentioning BJ Shoes. These evidences were enough to take the couple into custody for committing the crime and produced them to Mr. Brown for identification. b. Pre-trial and Prosecution As per the sequential procedure Bloutt couple will face charges for the crime they have committed. Based on the evidences found during the search in the house and identification of Mr. Brown the prosecutor will file the charges of armed robbery with a hand gun and aggravated assault along with the charge of using a handgun in a crime of violence. All the charges filed against the Bloutt couple are under criminal offense3. After the charges are formally filed by the prosecutor in the court of law the couple, as a part of the pre-trial, will be produced for the first time in the court in order to let them about their crime they committed, the charges filed against them and their formal rights during the trial process. During this process the judge might order to keep the duo in police custody or grant them bail or release them on personal bond instructing them to appear for the trial proceedings when called. The decision of the judge would be based upon the evidence collected, the motive of the crime and the social background of the duo. c. Post-trial – Sentencing As a part of the post-trial the Bloutt couple will be handing over the sentence for the crime that they have committed. According to Section 17 of Chapter 265 of General Laws the sentence for armed robbery may be subject to larceny. The sentence for the crime is imprisonment for life to maximum or a minimum of 5 years. In this scenario the convicts have used dangerous weapon for robbing Mr. Brown, which would fetch them a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in the state prison for both of them. However, alternatively they could face a minimum of 15 years in prison if this is the second time they are committing the same crime. Analysis of the American criminal justice process The analysis of the criminal justice system has made me to come to a conclusion that there is certainly a weak and a strong point in the criminal justice system. The strongest point that I could see here is the reporting of the crime and the prompt action from the enforcement officers in reporting the crime along with searching the house of the accused couple (Neubauer & Fradella, 2013). The prompt reporting enabled the police department to act at the right time to start the investigation and apprehend the accused based upon the evidences discovered from their house. The weakest point was the fastness in delivering the judgment to the accused. Though Mr. Brown has filed a complaint the police should have done deeper investigation to determine whether the complainant, Mr. Brown, is filing a genuine complaint or not. Handing over the sentence to the accused based on just a couple of evidences is not a right approach to justice. Thus it is necessary for the criminal justice system to identify the loop holes so that no criminal get spared and at the same time no innocent get a sentence just because the evidences are speaking against him/her. Conclusion The criminal justice system in the United States of America has undergone tremendous changes with the aim to minimize and if possible eradicate crimes from society. The evolution of the adult as well as juvenile criminal justice system in USA has taken place based upon the situation in the current society (Terril, 2012). In this essay the possible steps of the criminal justice system has been discussed along with the possible sentence that the convicts have been awarded for the crime they have committed. The best part of the criminal justice system is that even though the procedure and waiting time of reaching justice might take long time there is no way that the procedure can deviate from its sequential approach and route (Browning & Caulfield, 2011). While Mr. Brown has filed a complaint against Bloutts the law took its course of action to arrest, investigate, prosecute and penalize the criminals under section 17 of Chapter 265. References Cole, G., Smith, C., & DeJong, C. (2014). The American system of criminal justice. Cengage Learning. Neubauer, D., & Fradella, H. (2013). Americas courts and the criminal justice system. Cengage Learning. Terrill, R. J. (2012). World Criminal Justice Systems: A Comparative Survey. Newnes. Browning, A., & Caulfield, L. (2011). The prevalence and treatment of people with Asperger’s Syndrome in the criminal justice system. Criminology and Criminal Justice, 11(2), 165-180. Read More