The Purpose Criminal Justice - Assignment Example

Question 1 The purpose of the law is to: maintain law and order, regulate human interaction, enforce moral beliefs, define economic development, enhance predictability, support the powerful, establish law breakers, allow punishment and retribution, redress wrongs, and sustain individual rights (Schmalleger 114-115).If there are no laws, our lives would be different and people would things, whether right or wrong as they wish. Without civil law the society would not know what other people expect from them, in addition to not being able to plan for the future with any level of certainty.

Without criminal law people will be unsafe with powerful exploiting the less powerful. Without laws of the constitution, citizens may not exercise their basic rights. Therefore, the community requires laws in order to maintain fairness as well as avoid the victimization of innocent persons (114).Question 2Chapter 4 discusses: (1). Criminal law or penal law: A body of rules which describe the type of and punishments for public nature offenses or wrongs that are done against the community or the state (117). (2) Civil law: It governs the correlations among and between businesses, individuals, and state agencies, as well as other organizations.

This means that it governs the relationships between parties (117). (3) Administrative law: Body of regulations which the state uses to control the individuals, industry, and business activities (118). (4) Case law: It comprises of the accumulated trial wisdom and appellate courts in civil, criminal, and administrative laws over the years (118). (5) Procedural law: While the substantive criminal laws define crimes and prescribes punishments, the procedural law describes the techniques to be utilized in enforcing the law (117).

Question 3Four broad categories of defenses: (1) Alibi: Is a statement by a person charged with a crime that she or he was far when the crime occurred or was involved in other activities thus his or her participation in the crime is not possible. (2) Justification is a legal defense where the defendant confesses to carrying out the act in question yet he or she argues that it was necessary to prevent some greater damage. (3) Excuse is where the defendant posits that a certain personal condition at the time of the act is what made him or her commit the offense and need to be held responsible under the criminal law. (4) Procedural defense: A defense argues that certain crucial aspects of the official procedures were not followed properly during investigations or the defendant was discriminated against in the process of justice (130).

Question 4(1) Treason and espionage: Most serious of felonies. Treason refers assisting a foreing government to overthrow the U.S government. Espionage entails gathering of national defense information and presenting it to the American enemies (121-122). Punishable by death. (2) Felonies: This is a criminal offense that is punishable by death or imprisonment for a minimum of one year (120). (3) Inchoate offenses: Acts of criminality that are not yet completed. However, a person may be charged with the intent to commit crime.

Conspiracy to commit crime is an adequate basis for arrest and prosecution (122). (4) Misdemeanors: Are relatively minor offenses, such as, writing bad cheques, simple assault, and petty theft and are punishable by a year or less in a prison facility. (5) Offenses: There are criminal law violations and are less serious than misdemeanors, such as, littering, jaywalking, and spitting on the side-walk. Offenders are often ticketed and released.Works CitedSchmalleger, Frank. Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century.

Eleventh Edition. New York: Prentice Hall, 2011. Print.