1. Is current criminal justice system female?
The current criminal justice is female (Karson, 1998). I will base my arguments on some of the past facts which have eroded most of the female contributions to the criminology system. First is the ancient Greece. When an individual committed murder during this period, he/she was to be punished by the daughters of the Mother of the Night. The daughters were by Titan, a female supernatural being. In Egypt, wrongdoers were punished by Sekhmet, the goddess of punishment and protector against evil (Purpura, 1996).
In astrology, Taurus the female ascendant gave rise to various bull religions in the Middle East only to be replaced later by Aries, the male bull slayer. Taurus religion declined due to the domination of the Aries religions including the Islam and the Christianity (Samaha, 2006). The realization of the existence of Pentateuch by other religions in the Old Testament proves the feminist nature of the current criminal justice (Purpura, 1996). In the recent past, religion has not appreciated the contribution of the female to the current criminal justice. These include the value played by Mary, Jesus’ mother, Mrs. Buddha, Mohammed’s mother and the existence of female goddesses such as the Greek Athena and the Roman Venus (Karson, 1998).
2. Question of peremptory challenges.
Assuming that I am the prosecutor, I would employ the use of peremptory challenges in deciding the jurors that need to be excluded to allow me make a wise decision through weighing the biases demonstrated by the jurors against those which have not been subjected to trial. This will involve taking into consideration factors such as sex, gender, race, religion and ethnic origin to provide equal protection to both sides(Purpura, 1996). Additionally, I will ensure that I select a panel of juries that will represent a fair part of the community.
Basing on the above considerations, I would exclude the African-American female. She is likely to act in favor of the victim due to her activeness in the National Organization for Women. I will also exclude the white male aged 20 years. This is due to taking into consideration factors such as occupation, age, religion, sex and his political affiliation. Finally, I would exclude the white male aged 70 years. This is because of his old age, past occupation, and race. By doing so, the jurors panel will be able to pass judgment fair to both sides.
3. What do you think are the social trends that may influence policing in the coming decade?
One of the trends likely to influence policing in the coming decades is the rapid changes in the societal values, norms and beliefs. This is likely to cause adverse effects such as global cultural extremism(Karson, 1998). Consequently, it may lead to rise of movements such as wide spread anti-communal movements globally(Samaha, 2006). Technological changes both in the society and the economy is likely to influence policing in the coming decades. This may either create environment full of crimes or free of crimes depending on the nature of the technology (Purpura, 1996).
The sharp global economic growth is likely to influence future policing. Crimes such as money laundering, international frauds and other forms of economic crimes are likely to increase which will influence policy making (Purpura, 1996). Mass migration in the coming decades might also affect the policy making process. This is due to increased risk of population redistribution which will lead to high incidences of religious fundamentalism and growth of homogenous societies. Other social factors which are likely to influence future policing include decline in the privacy rights, increased life expectancies in the developed nations, increased urbanization, specialization in professions and industries and ethnic vanishing among other social changes (Karson, 1998).
References.
Karson J. (1998). Criminal Justice: Opposing Viewpoints. San Diego: Greenhaven Press.
Purpura P. (1996). Criminal Justice: an Introduction. Boston: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Samaha B. (2006). Criminal Justice. Belmont: Thomson/Wadsworth publishers.
