Core Components

Teshawna Butler unit 1 Feb14,2012

Discussion

There are three core components of the American criminal justice system police, courts, and corrections. The police job is to investigate and do the arrests and the modern justice process always begins with an investigation. During the investigation, if possible, the police must gather evidence at the scene of the crime, attempt to reconstruct the events the place during the incident. The police have two ways of arresting the offenders. First, some offenders are arrested at the crime scene with probable cause and second, most offenders is picked up later by an officer with an arrest warrant.

Courts have a few procedures also before continuing on to the sentencing/verdict part. The preliminary hearing is to initial court proceeding after arrest where charges are read to the defendant and bail is set. This hearing decides if a crime was committed, was there probable cause to believe that the defendant to committed this crime, and did it take place in the court’s jurisdiction. The preliminary hearing is similar the arraignment. When first appearing to court for each crime that is committed you must enter a plea and the defendant is informed of the charges and their rights this called an arraignment. Arraignments are also before court having jurisdiction in a criminal case. Then there is a trial for the examination of issues of fact and the law in a case to reach a judgment of conviction or acquittal of the defendant. Trials are governed by procedural law and precedent also the state must prove without any doubts that the defendant committed the crime. There are two ways to enter a trial either jury trials or bench trials. Last but not least, another step in the court process is sentencing, which pretty explains it all by its self. Sentencing is declared and is based on PSI report, victim impact statement, and sentencing hearing and can also be severed...