Jury nullification is the right of any jury during a trial to decide the guilt of the defendant even if the judge has already found the defendant guilty of charges and has decided the punishment. The jury can overturn the judge’s verdict and allow the defendant to go free without serving any time for the guilty verdict. This is if they believe that the guilty verdict is unjust for the crime that was committed or the law that is being served upon the defendant. Ethnicity based jury nullification is when the jury would be composed of a specific race based on what race the defendant. This way, the jury would allow the defendant to go free based on the fact of race to prove a point to the criminal justice system that they need to stop going after minorities.
Racism is the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics or abilities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. Racism has evolved throughout the years. From the Los Angeles Rodney King beating to the slaying of Michael Brown in St. Louis, law enforcement officials continue making racism an issue within the world. People don’t always understand what the officer faces, though. Police Officers must make quick determinations of wrong doing in most situations.
Plea Bargains Andrea Dennis-Hart September 23, 2009 Tony Stroud A plea bargain according to Black’s Law Dictionary is the process whereby the accused and the prosecutor in a criminal case work out a mutually satisfactory disposition of the case subject to court approval. It usually involves the defendant’s pleading guilty to a lesser offense or to only one or some of the counts of a multi-count indictment in return for a lighter sentence than that possible for the graver charge (Black, 1991, p. 798). Many plea bargains need to get the approval of the court, but some may not be; this is when prosecutors may drop charges in exchange for a guilty plea. There are different forms of plea bargains. All involves some form of sentence reduction.
The tutorial discussion this week was essentially discussing how the system operates and some of the flaws within the system such as false convictions which come about through human error or in extreme cases racial bias (Alberto F. Alesina, Eliana La Ferrara, 2011). There was also discussion about the members of the jury and if they are qualified or competent to decide he guilt or innocence of an individual based on their opinions and perceptions of the trial. My view on the criminal justice system is that overall the system is adequately effective in terms of providing a fair trial for the accused and well suited to punish individuals based on viable evidence and the judgment of experienced judges and magistrates. These issues reflect the interests of the JSB173 unit because the unit focuses on a fair trial through either the
Racism is not only a police problem; it is a problem this entire country faces every day. In order to solve the problem of racist cops, we must first solve the problem of racist societies. Racial profiling is difficult to prove. A reason behind this is many encounters of racism and racial profiling go undocumented, or attempted to be documented too late. “From a legal Point of view racial profiling is tricky because it can be difficult to prove.
This is also a system of check and balance that hopefully will contribute to a fair trial. Peremptory challenges are challenges that are allowed by the court to the attorneys which give them the power to eliminate a juror for no reason at all with only two exceptions race or gender. Opening Statements Each lawyer outlines the main points of the case to the jury, putting the best interpretation on the case. Both in voir dire and in opening statements, lawyers also try to make good personal impressions on jurors. (Zalman,
Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice July Wright University of Phoenix Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice CJA 423 Shomari Gilford March 25, 2011 Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice Capital Punishment or the death penalty is one of the most controversial issues on American soil, exceeded by only those condemned to the wages of this unquestionable sin. Minorities such as Hispanics and African Americans, aggregate this continuous barrage of discrimination. Racial minorities are inexplicably prosecuted for violent crimes. It has become a debatable issue for a long period of time. Some people still believe that being born as a Hispanic or African American means becoming less of a person which is quite unfair for it is not the
If the only reason to pull someone over depends on his or her race, this causes a discriminatory impact. Police departments begun to review data on stops and change police officers behaviors, arguments and attitudes towards the leading of stereotype based discriminatory treatment. (Racial profiling, 2012) This researcher frowns much upon racial profiling but with surveys conducted every day on who is likely to commit a crime, and what age, and what sex, and what minority group then people tend to lean towards these surveys proving that race is a huge part of crime involvement. In conclusion, criminal profiling works as an investigative tool to help solve crimes. Criminal profiling has come a long way and still needs a lot of improvement.
I have the same opinion that racism still is present in the United States due to the fact that many races discuss other races, and at the largest part of the time, it is not good. The use of credit history to panel potential employees, which is still a common practice, can have a top-heavy blow on minorities. Although a number of states are creating things to limit discrimination against the unemployed and those with poor credit, we have a extensive way to go prior to these actions being done away with. With the intense lack of correspondence in seizures and imprisonment rates among the ethnicities, some have recognized that using convictions and arrest to prohibit people from service may have a contrasting bang on minorities. On the other hand, a large amount of states currently permit unlawful accounts to be utilized to reject experienced candidates.
Law Enforcement is making arrest every minute from different ethnic groups. Law enforcement officer’s relationship with different ethnic groups has been a rocky road for a very long time because of cultural differences and social differences. Sometimes the lines of communication seem to be strained between officers and minorities. Many minorities feel as though the officers patrol their communities with an iron fist instead of with compassion or equality. The police today must contend directly with a number of issues that carry a racial subtext both in fact and in perception: crime, drugs, disorder, civil unrest, and police brutality.