Criminal Justice Problems

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4/20/12 Legal Problems of The Poor M,W,F 1:25-2:15 Assignment #3 Please discuss the role that race, gender, and economic status play in the administration of justice, the enforcement of the law, and the perception of the legal system among people who are poor. Please describe what can be done to bring about a greater level of credibility of the justice system. Though many may not notice, race, gender, and economic status play a very important role in many areas of society such as the administration of justice, and the enforcement of the law. Blacks and whites play two completely roles in these areas, as do men and women. Also economic status can determine the kind of treatment you receive when dealing with these two areas of…show more content…
We live in a society in which your race can help determine what type of sentence you will be issued if ever incarcerated. For instance, whites are more likely to get the minimum sentence for a crime as opposed to a black person. In fact, some people allege that the American criminal justice system is racist. Moving on, gender plays a big part in the administration of justice. The treatment in the criminal justice system varies from male to female. Females are more prone to give out more lenient sentences as opposed to male judges. Part of that is because females are more understanding and nurturing than men are. For example with a female judge you may receive life in prison instead of the death penalty. On the other hand, with a male judge, the chances of receive the full punishment for a particular crime is much higher. When it comes to the enforcement of the law, on the receiving end, judges are much more lenient to women. They are more likely to get sentences that are less harsh, parole, etc. Men in general are more prone to be nicer to women. That also applies within the criminal justice system. For example, it’s extremely rare to hear of a woman who is on death row, even though they commit first degree murder just as men do. Ever since the ancient days, the criminal justice system has been more sympathetic towards…show more content…
There are a few things that can be done to bring about a greater level of credibility of the justice system. For instance, stricter sentencing for the rich would help a lot. Those who are wealthy don’t even fear the law because they know that no matter the crime, they can get off easy with the right amount of money. Also, we need to get better qualified public defenders. Either raise the qualifications to become one, or provide some kind of incentive to make them do a better job at representing a case. Being the fact that they are guaranteed pay by the state, they really don’t have to care too much about their client and their case. These are the lawyers the poor are usually stuck with. With these few steps, the credibility of the American criminal justice system can be
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