The Justice System in the United States
The structure
There are three main components of the justice system. They are composed of the department of police/ the law enforcement, the courts and the corrections.
The law enforcement
The law enforcement agencies consist of local, state and federal. The local agency comprises the police and sheriff department. State agency consists of state and highway patrol while the federal agency includes the FBI and the US Secret Service.
The local police jurisdiction is usually over crimes within their respective cities. The sheriffs have jurisdictions over their counties, state roads and state-wide crimes are handled by the state agencies and lastly the federal policing agency jurisdiction are over federal level crimes.(Robin,2019)
Law enforcement officers evaluate situations first before exercising their power of discretion (Robert, 2014) which ranges from frisking and searches, arrest among others.
Court system
The two main systems comprise of the state and federal which are both independent of the executive and legislative branches of government.
The federal court system consists of the district courts which have jurisdiction over federal law cases, the US Court of Appeal which have jurisdiction over cases that involve a challenge from district courts and the Supreme Court. The state courts have jurisdiction over high ranking cases.
The process that the courts adopt in a criminal case comprise of an initial appearance by the defendant, arraignment, trial, sentencing and appeals if any. However, the first step is usually an arrest made by the law enforcement officers. If the defendant is found guilty, one of the penalties can be imprisonment.
Correction system
There are private and public prisons. The main difference is in regards to money. Private prisons are run by private third party companies while the public prisons are run by the local, state and federal government. Private prisons often choose less violent offenders unlike public prisons.
Technology and criminal justice
Technology has aided in promoting transparency in law enforcement, the courts and the corrections. This is through various methods like the internet for instance where one can access cases, CCTV cameras in correction systems among others.
References
Robert, E. (2014). Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice: Police Discretion in Law Enforcement.
Robin, S. (2019). Power to Arrest p. p 123
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