Criminal Justice Careers

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Criminal Justice Careers CRJ201: Introduction to Criminal Justice Dr. Michael Pozesny Cindy Terhaar 21 February 2011 Criminal Justice Careers The field of criminal justice is very broad and contains many different professions with each profession having its own interesting aspects. Anyone considering a job in the criminal justice field would benefit from researching each profession to decide which would be the best fit for them. First, it is a good idea to narrow down the choices to a few specific careers, and then it will be easier to conduct more in depth and focused research. For this paper, I chose to research three careers within the criminal justice field. I chose careers that I was most interested in and conducted research in order to find a description for each. The three careers I chose to research were paralegal, canine officer, and forensic scientist. These three careers appealed to me the most and I will explain a little about each one in the following paragraphs. Paralegal Job description: A paralegal is basically the assistant for the attorney. They are also called legal assistants. However, they are explicitly prohibited from carrying out duties considered to be within the scope of practice of law, such as setting legal fees, giving legal advice, and presenting cases in court. Furthermore, the job includes helping lawyers prepare for closings, hearings, trials, and corporate meetings, investigating the facts of cases and ensure that all relevant information is considered, identifying appropriate laws, judicial decisions, legal articles, and other materials, and preparing written reports that attorneys use in determining how cases should be handled. Paralegals may also help prepare the legal arguments, draft pleadings and motions that are filed with the court, obtain affidavits, and assist attorneys during trials. They also
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