Q.1
The five basic assumptions of positivism in law are realism, objectivity, scientific evidence, and ultimate proof is unattainable. The realism operates in order to impress investigators to face the reality without letting their emotions cloud their judgments. The objectivity wants them to focus on objectives without getting hurt from the presence of obstacles and problems in the way of solving the crime. The good investigator always follows the evidence because it does not lie, but people do in order to hide their wrongdoings. The final assumption argues that ultimate proof is not possible to be found, and therefore, police have to form cases in the light of present evidence.
However, they are not invincible from the possibility of making a mistake so they have to check and recheck all the information and claims before taking the case to the court. Brave ones do not retract from accepting their errors even after the court has issued a conviction, and they hold their necks out in order to serve the cause of justice in the modern era of the 21st century.
Q.2
There are three types of personalities exist in this world according to the thinking of Sheldon. He argues that people are either endomorphs, ectomorphs, or they can fall into the category of mesomorph. The firstly identified personalities are fun loving and they have the need to try new meals because their love of food is too obvious to miss. However, they are not physically active, and therefore, they accumulate a lot of fats within their bodies. The wider lower extremities and thighs with shorter shoulders give them a pear like outlook. Psychologically, they are cold minded, and they do not experience anger and if they do then, they vent it out by shouting and crying, but in short time, they return to their normal lives that are filled with socialization and enjoyment. They do not hurt people, but they can act violently if someone hurts their loved ones. The Ectomorphs have smaller body statures, and they have limited upper body strength because of lack of musculature in shoulders.
They have weak facial features, and they have frail lower bodies as well. Their foreheads are however, significantly pronounced. Additionally, in psychological terms, they are not so friendly, and they do not have socialization skills. They keep to themselves, and because of this reason, they develop artistic personalities.
They act angrily because of personal insults, they have a profound presence of emotional burning within themselves, and they often succumb to vengeance, as societies do not live up to their ethical standards. The mesomorph lands somewhere in between the previously discussed personality types and they are large regarding their physical appearances, they have little fat, and therefore, they are physically active. They are excited people with the overwhelming need to try and attempt new things. Their free spirits get them in trouble as well because they often use drugs while having the tendency to grow into serial rapists and killers. They enjoy killing and their conscious wither away with the passage of time. The featured personality type needs a mentor in order to find right direction in life.
Q.3
The people of all societies and nations face social and economic difficulties and they react differently. Five responses to social anarchies are anticipated in human beings. The first one is conformity that causes people to accept what they have both in social and economic terms, and they do not exert themselves to be better than their current state. In other words, they do not evolve. However, the second reaction comes from courteous and courageous people who do not believe in accepting things as they are, and they have a firm need to experience growth and development. The featured kind of people finds answers to their hardships in the way of innovation. They seek new and better ways to create social and economic success in life that communities often deny them. Third possible reaction is to focus on the essentials in life, and the technique is referred to as ritualism that impresses people to set achievable goals. The setting and pursuing of objects that one can achieve does not put pressure, and he or she continues to conquer one milestone after another. Fourth option is a choice that cowards make, and it is called retreatism in, which the person lets go of his or her goals in life, and believes that he or she is incapable of attaining greatness in the life. The cowards do not play by the rules, and therefore, emerge as criminal minds in the societies. Rebellion is the final option that involves active retaliation against the current social and economic system of the community.
Q.4
The older version of the criminology operated on the principle of fear, and it did not give the criminals to evolve into better humans. The commitment towards evidentiary proof was not notable in those days, and therefore, the suspects were literally brutalized in order to extract confessions out of them. In modern criminology, a confession is of no use until backed up by scientific evidence. The legislative authorities of many states in America have waived the death penalty, and prisoners are given an opportunity to experience grace as they have the chance to receive education.
Q.5
According to Hirschi, there are four identifiable components of socializing experience. The first one in this regard is attachment to people, and it keeps individuals engraved in the community. The level of commitment towards social linkages plays a powerful role in terms of keeping the specific group of people together in the times of difficulties.
Finally, the underlying belief system of the communities give them the power to hope for the good times that are yet to come, and they impress the people to practice patience and carry on with the effort so that they can have a wonderful future. The crimes occur when social relations are weak and the delinquents do not have faith in the good of the universe. The criminal behaviors increase when people face difficulties in terms of fulfilling their basic needs. The criminals act weird because they have some unresolved mental issues. Finally, the professional failures can transform normal people into criminals as well.
Q.6
The law must be equal for all, and each member of the specific society has to follow it regardless of his or her social and economic status. The law should be effective regarding prevention of illegal act with sufficient force so that the convicted should not have the courage to break it again. Other people must take lesson from his or her experiences with the law as well. The law ought to have the ability to balance the nature of crime with its remedy.
The criminal must pay for those actions that he or she has committed in the light of evidence. The punishment involved in the law should be humane in nature, and it should not invade the basic human rights of the prisoners. Additionally, the jails must give their residents the gift of hope and faith so that they can be good humans in the future.
Q.7
The Fourth Amendment needs the police to refrain from illegal searches and attainment of property. The officers have to obtain a warrant in order to proceed with abovementioned actions. The amendment is the defining portion of Bill of Rights that protects the basic freedoms in America. The Fifth Amendment works in order to protect the subjects from facing discriminatory behaviors during the legal processes.
The officers cannot claim that the suspect has a particular racial and national background, and therefore, he or she is a criminal. The Eighth Amendment requires the courts not to place unnecessary fines and bails that may not adhere with the severity of the offense. The Fourteenth Amendment is developed to protect the socialization and associative rights and privileges of the American citizens. They can form innocent associations with whomever they want to.
Q.8
The Sixth Amendment needs the government to offer an opportunity to criminals to have fair and free trail under known charges. The accused must know about the presence of jury, and he or she has the right to object about the membership of a person who might have a personal grudge with him or her to settle. The judge is obligated to remove the person from the jury who might have a conflict of interest regarding the proceeding of the case. The accused must receive an intimidation from the court about his or her crimes that has caused the legal precedence to take place. The suspect has the legal right to plea as “not guilty” in the courtroom. Finally, he or she is free to represent him or herself as well.
Q.9
Mere suspicion originates from the gut feeling of the officer, and he or she has the right to feel bad about a suspect, but it will not stand in the court. Reasonable suspicion grows out of presence of compelling proof about the alleged participation of a person in the crime. The probable cause is the concrete evidence that an individual is a person of interest in the crime, and it forms the basis of obtaining a warrant.
The probable cause is the only concept that holds in the court of law whereas mere suspicion does not have any legal value whatsoever. The reasonable suspicion does not hold in court, but it helps the investigators in the process of narrowing down the suspects.
Q.10
Preponderance of evidence suggests that the prosecution party needs to prove the guilt of the accuse, and the prove must be scientific in nature, and the officer who put the pieces of the puzzle together has to have perfect mental health, and he or she should not have any emotional feelings towards both the conflicting parties. The convincing and clear evidence means that the officers have linked the crime with the plaintiff by accumulation of evidences such as fingerprints, DNA, and footage.
The evidence of circumstantial nature comes under the head of reasonable doubt, and it means that the whereabouts of the person were in close proximity of the crime scene. Nevertheless, there is little or no scientific proof to back his or her participation in the offense.
Part II Case Scenarios
The theory of social bonds by Hirschi ideally explains the behavior of the young man because he never got enough attention from the society, and he was raised in the tough social and economic setup, and therefore, he lost faith in the goodness of the world. He took what his immediate environment had to offer him.
The parents who are not biological in nature cannot fulfill the needs of the adopted child, and apparently, they did a fairly poor job in this regard. They have missed the clear opportunity to form an effective relation with the child. As Virginia failed to have a commitment with her family, she lost faith as well, and started to exhibit criminal behavior. The theory of Hirschi explains the attitudes.
The officers can suspect Lucy all they want, but they cannot drag her into the court of law until they have specific proof that she is dealing drugs. However, the ongoing suspicious business is good enough in order to support probable cause that can aid the police in obtaining a search warrant for the Lucy’s apartment. The officers must apprehend the dealer and the customer red handed, and in this way, they would not need a warrant, as the evidence would be present in plain sight.
Robert has indulged himself in a very risky business, and the Sixth Amendment gives him the right to self representation, and he cannot claim to have insufficient legal representation because he himself would apt to waive the provision of professional services in the court. The witnesses will not be able to help the accused in the process of getting out of trouble because the judge can order him to go through chronological medical exam that can determine the exact time of the injury. The suspect might prolong his stay in the jail after the jury finds out that he tempered with the evidence so it would be best for him to answer for his crimes in the presence of formal counsel.
The Chinese community has crimes that can represent to affect only one person in 100,000 so there is a very effective system of crime management in the country. The state of Cuba is having a very impressive crime rate in terms of magnitude and scope. The capitalist countries have much lower rates of crime because they value the freedoms of their citizens, and therefore, they spend resources in order to provide safe and sound environment to their populations. However, the non-capitalistic nations suck all resources from the underneath communities in order to fulfill their personal goals and agendas. In this way, the legal system suffers resulting in the incremental patterns of crimes in Cuba and Vietnam. Both of the countries have reported cases of violence that sum up to the figure of more than thousand whereas, the relevant figures of the English and the American communities are much lower.
The rule of law is prevalently present in all of the societies that existed on the face of Earth. However, the legal system of Chinese nation is the most ancient one, and it was fully operational in the ruling period of Fuxi. The oldest form of legal frameworks was drawn from collective understanding of the world that societies had in their times. The presence of law predates the invention of writing and the legal procedures passed down on a generational basis through word of mouth. The Chinese considered the oldest man in the family as its leader, and the person found to be misbehaving with him was to be awarded death penalty.
References
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