Exam Content
The U.S. courts have evolved from their humble beginnings of replicating English courts into a complex institution and an integral part of the justice system. For this assessment, you explore due process, types of courts, post-conviction review (relief), and sentencing as they relate to a specific court case you research. This assessment focuses on a few issues those in the criminal justice field face. You may be called on to consider these issues, too, if you pursue a career in criminal justice.
Imagine you are a judicial assistant for a superior court judge. As an alumnus, you’ve been asked by your university to write an article for the criminal justice department’s journal, read by students and alumni, based on a court case you’ve observed as part of your job.
Conduct an internet search for a current example of a case to use for this assignment. Do not use any cases you have previously used for another assignment in this course.
Write a 700- to 1,050-word article for the journal and address the following:
Crime Model
Was the crime control or due process model of punishment used in the case? Do you agree with it? Explain your answer.
What are some of the issues related to due process?
Type of Court
Which court dealt with the case? Was it a federal court or a state court?
What are some of the challenges faced by federal courts?
Sentencing
What was the sentence given in the trial? What are the sentencing guidelines for the crime committed in the trial (refer to the sentencing guidelines of the state the trial was held)?
What are some of the issues related to sentencing? Were there any issues raised in this case? If so, what were they? If not, in your opinion, could any issues have been raised?
Post-Conviction Relief
Was there an appeal or post-conviction relief (review)? What is the law in the state of the trial for post-conviction relief (review)?
Differentiate post-conviction relief (review) and appeal. Compare post-conviction relief (review) to the Innocence Protection Act of 2004. Please do not confuse the Innocence Protection Act with the Innocence Project. You are to deal with the former, not the latter.
Remember: You must select a criminal case tried in the United States that went to a verdict, optimally a verdict of guilty so that you can better address the rest of this assignment. If you choose a trial that ended in an acquittal, you must still discuss the appeals process and post-conviction relief but you’ll have to do it in more general terms. Do not select a case that ended in a plea bargaining and/or did not reach a verdict. Don’t spend too much of your time discussing the facts of the case except as to how that might affect the sentencing and the due process or crime control model. Do not select a case merely because you think there was a miscarriage of justice and you want to express your outrage.
This paper is designed to help teach you about what happens after a defendant is convicted– the relief sought after the verdict and the appeals process after that (which is why it is better to use a case where the defendant was convicted).
Cite a minimum of 3 sources.
Format your paper according to APA guidelines.
Submit your assignment as a Microsoft Word document.
