Criminal justice research project
Overview
The respect and application of the rule of law is the integral function of the criminal justice system. Criminal justice system can be termed as collective institutions of implementing justice through upholding the constitution. Such institutions aid in mitigating and preventing crime, in the line of maintaining integrity, transparency and coexistence of the society. What is more, criminal justice institutions incorporate powerful structures, which propagate quality implementation of criminal justice. Similarly, criminal justice system is a process that entails arresting, investigating, prosecuting and imprisonment of criminals who violate the rule of law. AS a result, criminal justice system can be classified into three parts namely the legislature, judiciary and executives. The legislature part entails formulation of laws that aim at curbing crimes rates in the society. The political faction of the government formulates such laws through the congress. On the other hand, the judiciary represents the courts, which aid in the implementation of laws. The judiciary plays an integral part in promoting equal justice through fair sentencing of criminals. It is the judiciary that dictates the penalty of the crime offenders, which consists of imprisonment and rehabilitation process. The executives are the law enforcers in the society. Police play a significant role in curbing the crime through arresting, investigating and providing tangible evidence to the judiciary. Additionally, police are part of the correction centres where rehabilitation of criminals occurs. The paper extrapolates on the steps of the criminal justice system starting from the arrest of the suspect.
The case involves Rodney Hill, Lucy Lane and James Lane. The case involves the murder of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill at 114 Front Street. In addition, the murder relates to love triangle involving the former husband, James Lane and lover, Rodney Hill. Both victims had massive knife wounds in the body, which necessitated the police to undertake further investigation. Police investigation indicates that James Lane was involved in murdering Lucy Lane Rodney Hill through stabbing. Evidently, Lucy Hill had a restraining order from her former husband, in relation to physical and emotional abuse. Although James Lane denies the allegations, police investigation discovers credible evidence implicating James Lane for the murder. This is evidenced by the presence of blood-soaked clothes and knife in the house of James Lane. Laboratory analysis indicates that the blood on the clothes belongs to Rodney Hill and Lucy Lane. Furthermore, James Lane fails to provide an alibi on the night of the murder. This evidence warranted arrest of James Lane for the murder of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill.
Adult American criminal justice system: James Lane case
Arrest
Based on the investigation of the James Lane case, police are obligated to conduct the arrest of the suspect. This aims at securing the society from the repeat of such crimes. Apparently, there are policing policies that dictate the arrest process. This is in relation to adopting viable ethics, morals and the rule of law. First, an arrest of James Lane will be based on background information, which implicates the suspect for murder. This indicates that investigation is paramount in the issuance of the arrest warrant to the suspect. The fact that James Lane was the former husband of Lucy Lane links him for the murder. Furthermore, James Lane lacked an alibi during the night of the murder. Similarly, Lucy Lane had been given a restraining order for James Lane because of physical and emotional abuse. In addition, the warrant to search James Lane resident revealed clothes and knife soaked with blood. On analysis of the evidence, the blood matched that of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill. This provides tangible evidence and link to arrest James Lane for the murder. The suspect is then taken to custody for sentencing.
Filing the complaint
In the custody, the police conduct the filing and report presentation process, in relation to the case. The police grant the report to the state attorney (the prosecutor) who evaluates the evidence for the progression or halting of the case. Furthermore, fingerprints and photo of James Lane will be taken during the processing phase. Afterwards, James Lane is placed in the police cell awaiting the next step of arraignment in court. This is based on the prosecutor filing the report to the court on murder.
Arraignment
James Lane will appear in court for the mentioning of his case on murder charges for the first time. It is during this time that James Lane is denied bail on suspicion that he will not comply with the court orders. In addition, the court states that James Lane is a treat to the societal security, and for this reason he should remain in custody throughout the hearing.
Preliminary hearing
At this phase, the prosecutor provides evidence on the involvement of James Lane in the murder of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill. This phase aims at convincing the court that there is tangible evidence the suspect committed the crime. The judge approves the case on murder of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill based on the DNA analysis and absence of alibi. As a result, the prosecutor files the information document clearly defining the charges alleged for James Lane. What is more, the defence attorney advises James Lane on the charges and the associated rule of law.
Pre-trial chamber
The defence attorney, prosecutor and the judge analyze the case of James Lane for a possible leverage. This provides James Lane with an opportunity to plead guilty or innocent by striking a possible deal. Additionally, the defence attorney provides information against the case to prove the innocence of James Lane. The ruling made at this phase may dictate the appealing of the case later. The James Lane case proceeds to full trial.
Trial
The trial incorporates witnesses, jury and attorneys. The attorneys get an opportunity to introduce witnesses and open the floor for the case. In addition, the attorneys cross-examine the witnesses with an aim of supporting their case, which ends with closing statements. The burden lies to the jury to decide the tangible evidence provide by the attorneys. The jury finds James Lane guilty of murder as evidenced by the DNA analysis and absence of alibi. This results to the case proceeding to the sentencing phase.
Sentencing
The judge conducts the sentencing based on the verdict of the jury. In the James Lane case, the judge sentenced him for murder of Lucy Lane and Rodney Hill for life imprisonment. Furthermore, the judge denied the accused the plea for the minimum sentence based on the evidence provided by the prosecutor. The sentence aims at alleviating the reoccurrence of such crime in the society. Subsequently, the judicial system aims at improving the security of the public through the institutionalization of such suspects. In light of this sentence, James Lane can expect incarceration in a jail cell for more than twenty five years. On the other side, the alternative to this sentencing will be minimum incarceration in a correctional centre. This is based by the fact that James Lane was the first-time crime offender and acted under duress. Such sentencing will provide James Lane with a chance to rehabilitate and co-exist with community based on his progress.
Appealing phase
The appeal on James Lane was denied because there was no supporting evidence for his innocence. Consequently, the criminal justice system upholds the security of the community through isolating James Lane.
Incarceration phase
James Lane will serve his life in prison. He is eligible for family visitation throughout the sentence. On the other side, the security and inspection of life imprisonment facilities is tight. The incarceration of prisoners occurs on the basis of sentence and crime committed. Consequently, James Lane may be given parole based on the evaluation of his conduct and compliance to the rule of law. Maximum rehabilitation and personal changes reflected by James Lane dictate the issuance of parole. Apparently, his release to the community will be based on probable co-existence and security of the community.
Weakest and strongest links
The arrest phase depicts the strongest links in the criminal justice system. The phase entails interrogation, investigation and arrest of the criminal suspect based on multidisciplinary analysis. The police take part in the implementation of the law. It is through critical analysis of the crime scene that the police deduce the status of the offense, in relation to issuing the arrest warrant to the suspect. The major contributory factor of policing is provision of viable evidence, which can be used in the court of law. It is the analysis and investigation report of the police that dictates the activities of the criminal justice system. The policing process entails collection, transportation, analysis and presentation of evidence to the prosecutor for the case to proceed to trial. In case of James Lane, the police collected the blood-soaked clothes and knife for forensic analysis. What is more, absence of alibi necessitated the police to arrest James Lane as a crime suspect. The security of the society comes first in the criminal justice system. As a result, the crime suspect must be isolated from the society in an effort of preventing reoccurrence of such crime activities.
The sentencing phase depicts the weakest links in the justice system. The fact that mandatory sentences exists depicts discriminate implementation of the law. The integral role of the justice system is to rehabilitate criminals through passing fair judgement. Contrastingly, life imprisonment and capital punishment denies the offender time to rehabilitate. This indicates that the criminal justice system lacks flexibility and viability in the application of the law.
Conclusion
The criminal justice system starts with the arrest of the criminal to the sentencing based on the evidence provided in the court. Arrest phase reflects the strongest point of the judicial system as evidence is collected and analysed for the trial. On the other hand, sentencing phase lacks collective application of multidisciplinary action, which aims at rehabilitating criminals. The convicted criminals should undergo thorough rehabilitation process before being released to the community. The case of James Lane depicts first-time offender, which calls for minimum incarceration, as opposed to life imprisonment.
References
Bottoms, A., & Tankebe, J. (2012). Beyond Procedural Justice: A Dialogic Approach to Legitimacy in Criminal Justice. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 102, (1), 119-70.
Cole, G., Smith, C., & DeJong, C. (2013). Criminal Justice in America. New York: Cengage Learning.
Gaines, L., & Miller, R. (2014). Criminal Justice in Action. New York: Cengage Learning.
Greene, E., & Heilbrun, K. (2013). Wrightsman's Psychology and the Legal System. London: Cengage Learning.
O'rourke, A. (2013). Structural Over-delegation in criminal procedure. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 103, (2), 407-74.
