Introduction
The criminal justice system of the United States and other nations are often analyzed in an inward manner. It is treated as a local matter mainly because criminal justice is a preserve of a nation-state. However, internationally, the legal system of a country like the United States can be analyzed and reviewed within an absolute and relativist context. The purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of globalization on the American criminal justice system and also evaluate it in relation to other jurisdictions and how the American system fares internationally.
Globalization and the US Criminal Justice System
The United States affected and has been affected by the international community in running its criminal justice system. Basically, America’s emergence as the leader of the free world after World War II made nations around the world adopt aspects of the American legal tradition. Concepts like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by most nations in 1948 opened the door for a legal osmosis of the American legal tradition to influence other nations and their justice systems.
However, globalization opened the door for immigration into the United States and this has created a system whereby people from various cultures and backgrounds have moved into the United States with their own views. This includes criminals and law-enforcement agencies alike. Thus, the traditional American system which is based on American processes has had to be changed over the years to include the cultures of people with foreign backgrounds and also counter crimes and offences that were unique to certain nations outside the United States.
Secondly, the United States has had to join various international treaties on how to deal with different issues and problems. This has caused America to cooperate with foreign nations and foreign jurisdictions in order to achieve its goals and ends of combatting cross-border crimes and other complications. This meant that the American justice system had to change its processes and include things like money-laundering, drug combatting and the control of organized crime as some of the most important aspects of their operations. This has caused the country to make numerous laws that enhances attempts to arrest people in the globalized world as opposed to just focusing on America. This has also encouraged cooperation and sharing information on novel offences like terrorism and cyber crimes.
Comparison between the American Criminal Justice System and other Jurisdiction
The nature of the American criminal justice system is that America’s criminal justice system is based on civil liberties and individual rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. Thus, when a law enforcement official arrests a person, that individual has a set of basic rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution. This include the right to a fair trial and others. Although America maintains a Common Law legal tradition, America’s criminal justice system was always different from the English legal system because it is right-based. On the other hand, Britain and other British Commonwealth states did not have a bill of rights that was invoked in criminal justice matters. Rather, the system loosely guaranteed the rights of people. However, the sacredness of the civil liberties of Americans guides the criminal justice system.
In spite of the difference with the British Commonwealth, America runs a Common Law system whereby things are based on judicial precedents and the burden of proof remains on the prosecution. The prosecution must prove this beyond reasonable doubts in the Common Law jurisdiction.
The US Criminal Justice System is different from the Civil Law system which is based on the Greco-Roman legal tradition. Such judicial systems are ran by cannon or written law. These are common in mainland Europe. And they include rules that are defined and stated clearly in a rulebook. This goes back to traditions that are credited to Napoleon Bonaparte and his system of legislating in order to cover all issues and matters. The US criminal justice system is different because unlike the civil law which is based on stated laws which criminal trials must comply with, America maintains aspects of the Common Law. In other words, it is based on judicial precedents. This is not the case in Civil Law nations. Civil law jurisdictions impose laws that are made by the sovereign. The American legal system runs in a way whereby judge-made rules are applicable and could be invoked in cases. This is usually unacceptable in the Civil Law jurisdiction.
Also, civil law jurisdictions until recently lacked human rights and civil liberties. Thus, if a person was convicted, he did not have any bill of rights to invoke as the case was in the American legal system.
Islamic Law is based on Sharia and this is a set of religious laws that regulate the criminal justice system. This is meant to be viewed as a divine set of laws that must be adhered to at all times and in all trials. Thus, the punishments are fixed and cannot be changed and modified. This is not the case with the American criminal justice system which is based on a set of rights that must be honored and adhered to. Also, America’s justice system reviews punishments and the civil liberty rules prevent the passing of certain harsh sentences like decapitation and punishing conducts like adultery.
Socialist legal systems are meant to provide some kind of administrative authority. Human rights and civil liberties are generally limited for the betterment and common good of the society. Thus, state agencies have unlimited powers to deal with criminal justice issues. This is not the case in America where the constitution limits the rulers in what they can do over the ruled by way of civil liberties and human rights.
Cyber-Crime and Technology on Worldwide Justice Systems
The ability to use the Internet and other forms of electronic technology have changed the way people communicate. Unlike the past where communication was only within a single nation, there are many opportunities to communicate globally through technology and cyber tools. Therefore, criminal activities have also changed since criminals also have the ability to do things online.
First of all, the use of technology makes it difficult to control information. Thus, a new set of information crimes have occurred and this has made it difficult for the international community to deal with them. This includes fraud and blackmail which goes on in an almost anonymous manner and fashion.
Also, there is the ability to move money around the world with ease. It is simple to carry criminal funds from one nation to another without much of a restriction. This is because it is easy to use various electronic portals to send money without being detected. Thus, worldwide criminal justice authorities have sought to control banks and get banks to take personal details of their clients. This has led to a lot of changes in the way information is gathered and how communication is done.
Furthermore, the cyberspace has changed the way certain industries and immoral and illegal activities can be done. For instance, the trade in illegal products can be done easily online through shared networks and the use of illegal processes and some e-currency systems like bitcoin and others. These are funds that can be moved without trace. Thus, one can literally sell drugs online and this cannot be easily detected. Another area is prostitution which involves the advertising of one’s pictures online without detection. Child pornography and sex tourism is possible because of the Internet and its activities.
Therefore, it requires a lot of cooperation between different countries and their criminal justice authorities to deal with crime and handle them. This comes at the price of sacrificing sovereignty in order to track down criminals and deal with their activities and processes. This is difficult and in many cases tends to be problematic.
Policing Systems on the Worldwide Scale
There are numerous basis on which different policing systems can be assessed. However, the fundamental difference in the way policing is done is about the goals that each police authority have. This is because the goals and how the police system relates to the sovereign authority of a nation determines the extent to which they work and operate.
In some jurisdiction, the police is tasked with the obligation of safeguarding a government or a ruling class. Therefore, the police work to proactively suppress and deal with people who might be a threat to the system. In other situations, criminology works as a means of segregating the poor from the elite. Therefore, police work by targeting certain groups of people in the society who might be poor or problematic. This is common in poorer countries where human rights is not so entrenched.
However, in democratic countries, there are limits on the way police authorities work. That is why in the United States, there are many lawsuits against the police in which citizens win. This includes situations where police officers go beyond their legal limits. This is based on the fact that there is a constitution and this lays down the limits on what the police can and cannot do against its citizens. In the case of America, the citizens have civil rights that are clearly defined in law and can be invoked as and where necessary.
Crimes and Criminal Issues that have a Global Impact
Criminal justice is almost always handled within a national framework. Thus, issues that occur in the United States or involves American citizens will be handled by the American criminal justice system. It is on only two areas that crime has global impacts and an international dimension.
The first involves cross-border crimes. This includes crimes that affects two or more countries and as such, require the cooperation of several countries to deal with them. This include the issue of drugs in the America. Drugs are usually produced in Latin America and sent to the United States through Mexico. These are therefore situations that require some kind of cooperation between America and other nations. Another example is the case of human trafficking where girls from Eastern Europe and Thailand are sent to the United States. These are situations that must be stopped through a regional or global agreement and arrangement that will criminalize it and lead to some kind of control or changes to combat the situation in all countries.
A second set of crimes are crimes labelled as crimes against humanity. This include large-scale crimes committed by some authoritative figures who bear great responsibility for doing things that endangers the peace of a large area or community. This include the incitement of war and mass murder or genocide. Such situations are regulated under international law and conventions and the perpetrators are required to be brought to justice on the basis of these international legal instruments.
Conclusion
America’s criminal justice system differs from that of other nations because it includes a constitutional system which guarantees civil liberties and rights to individuals under the law. This is complemented by a common law system that is based on judicial precedence and consistency. America’s criminal justice system has been influenced by international agreements, migration and other matters. These represent the way America’s policing differs from others.
References
Barak, G., Leighton, P., & Cotton, A. (2013). Class, Race, Gender, and Crime: The Social Realities of Justice in America. New York: Rowman and Littlefield.
Finkelman, P. (2013). Encyclopedia of American Civil Liberties. New York: Routledge.
Wong, C. (2015). Chinese Policing: History and Reform. New York: Peter Lang.
