Our Criminal Justice System

Our Criminal Justice System

Criminal Justice is very important in today's society. I always wonder why so many people watch TV shows like Law and order, CSI, and so many others just like them. Most people think that watching Law and Order is how the criminal just system is carried out. To some extent, yes, but there is a lot more than you would predict. In this paper, we will discuss the importance of our justice system, what it is, and the different components that are put in place.

Criminal Justice is defined as a set of rules and regulations that people must follow in order to not break the law. There are two main systems that cover our criminal justice system: state and federal. Our state system controls the crimes that are committed within the state's boundaries. Most people break laws on the state level and go to their state prison if convicted. Some state violations are: drunk driving, and battery. State law system controls crimes that are committed on federal property or in more than one state Although the State laws are passed by state legislatures and signed by a state's governor, the U.S. Supreme Court is the final arbiter of federal law. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Secret Service, are just a few of the federal agencies that can place people in the federal prison. Most people do not break federal laws as much as state laws. For example, only a few people break federal laws like counterfeiting and espionage, whereas some people are quick to break laws like assault, and larceny.

When talking about criminal justice, there are five major components: Law enforcement, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, and corrections. The first one is law enforcement, of which is when a police officer comes and ask what happened and take notes on their documenting pad. This helps, in most cases, to clarify what happened, who might be guilty, and how to make things right. If there were not any law enforcement officials around, then people would get hurt and also we would not know whom to accuse or how we would get the justice that we need. The next component is the prosecution aspect, where the police will have taken their findings to the Prosecution just to see what type of deals can be made, what kind of sentencing will be made, and also if there is enough evidence to prosecute. These are the people that usually take the state or federal side in court even when the person that the crime happened to doesn't want to file charges.

Another component is the Defense Attorneys, Whom are the people that the accused get for their defense in court, to help them stay out of getting any charges put against them, by convincing a jury not to convict. Sometimes defense attorneys are appointed to the defense because the defense cannot always afford an attorney. The courts are another component where people go in order to be heard by a judge and jury. This is also where sentencing takes place. Last but not least are the corrections officers, who are people that oversee prisoners and people on probation to make sure that they stay out of trouble.

Having a criminal justice