Jasmin Finnie Sep 6, 2010 White Collar Crimes Professor . Kellam When it comes to criminal justice, the term "White Collar Crime" is brought up very often. What exactly is a White Collar Crime? White-collar crime is defined in terms of attitudes toward those who commit it. These crimes are punishable by law, however it is generally regarded by the courts and by sections of the general public as much less reprehensible than crimes usually punished by the courts.
The Differences between a Civil and Criminal Case Have you ever noticed that there are more criminal cases being mentioned on the news as opposed to civil ones? Or know that there is even a difference between the two? It is a common misconception that civil and criminal cases are one of the same. In our legal system they are two completely different cases, civil and criminal. A civil case is when the plaintiff decides to sue another person, organization, or a business, the individual being sued is also called the defendant.
95%of criminal offences are tried and dealt with in magistrates’ court. It also has the criminal jurisdiction to issue search and arrest warrants, decide on bail applications and sending trials to crown court where they will be tried before a judge and jury. The magistrates’ court has limited powers in passing judgement, which is a maximum of £5000 in fines, six months in prison or twelve months for concurrent offences. The magistrates are not legally qualified but are trained and made up of three people. They are not paid except for expenses but in some towns the magistrates’ court can be conducted by a full time, paid, legally qualified magistrate called district judge.
Criminal laws also have two written laws that are split up into two different categories. One is substantive criminal law, which explains different crimes and punishments. The other is procedural law, which employs orderliness as to what law to enforce based off of the substantive law. The purpose of criminal law is to create a standard protocol of demeanors. Courts exist only to prosecute the criminals to the full extent of the law.
This assignment will discuss the problems involved in measuring crime and defining crime and deviance. A crime consists of behaviour that breaks the law, e.g. Murder. Deviance is behaviour that differs from the norms and values of the wider society. Describing crime and deviance is varied across different cultures; history; social situations and place.
Misdemeanors are less serious crimes where punishment usually consists of a fine, probation, or just a few days imprisonment. The second layer of this cake would consist of less sever felonies. These cases would be first time offenders, petty robberies where no weapons were used, and fights that ended in assault charges. The punishment for these felonies are usually probation or in home incarceration. The third
A felony is defined "as a crime that has a greater punishment imposed by statute than that imposed on a misdemeanor" The Felony Law & Legal Definition (2013). Whereas a violent felony is defined as "a crime consisting of conduct that presents a serious risk of potential injury to another or is punishable by imprisonment for more than one year," The Felony Law & Legal Definition, (2013). Every State has different classifications for felony offense such as a class A, B, C, D or class one, two, three, four, and regardless of the type of felony, violent or non-violent a felony is a felony, they both have a perpetrator and a
These laws mean long prison sentences of up to life in prison without parole after conviction for a third felony. Major disadvantages of the three strikes laws include the imprisonment of alot of nonviolent offenders that could be better handled through less expensive community sanctions and
These guidelines have been established over many centuries. The sentence more often than not fits the crime, not so much the criminal. There is many times in which the courtroom players need to take into consideration the fact that although the sentence should fit the crime, the individual who has been accused may not have any criminal background and the crime that has been committed should be taken into consideration. An example of this would be an individual who writes a check that bounces in the amount of $50. In Arizona, this individual would go to jail if they did not take care of this.
This sentencing goal is critical due to the fact that different state has different sentencing laws. These are issues the American society deals with when a court sanctioned a cruel and unreasonable punishment. Structured Sentencing The public opinion of social justice wanted a different sentencing model that will determine fair justice to convicted criminals. Through criticism of its methods, the