San Diego State University US Justice System Discussion
1) Describe the history of the U.S. justice system, and the principles it was founded upon. What changes do you see in today’s approach to crime and justice?
Use the GCU Library for sources (https://library.gcu.edu/ )
Adler, F., Laufer, W., & Mueller, G. O. (2018). Criminology (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education ISBN-13:9780078140969 (Find the book if you can)
The DQ response must be at least 250 words and should have at least one reference in APA format
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2) Write a 100-word response to each student in first person as if you were writing it to the students. Talk about how you agree with their ideas and add your own thoughts. Make sure it’s respectful.
Student 1) After the United States (U. S.) gained independence from British rule, the U. S. Constitution was created to change the English Common Law system (The history of American criminal justice). The tenets that the U. S. justice system is established upon come right from the Constitution. The Founding Fathers formed the Constitution and contained language that they wished would guarantee justice is equal and fair for all people. As time changed, there came a demand for a government body that controlled the justice affairs of the United States. According to (About DOJ), on July 1, 1870, the United States Department of Justice was established. The Department of Justice moved from one freelance employee to several government agencies (About DOJ). All these agencies are now part of what is called the United States justice system, which comprises of three parts: law enforcement, the court system, and the corrections system (The history of American criminal justice). From the inception, the role of the U. S. justice system was to “deal with all criminal prosecutions and civil suits in which the United States had an interest” (About DOJ).
In the United States today, the U. S. justice system does essentially similar thing. Though, crime has become so devastating, that there is always a build-up of cases to prosecute. The criminals appear to be perpetrating crimes more rapidly than law enforcement can arrest them. Additionally, some law enforcements have used their positions as a protection to commit crime themselves. Subsequently, residents have become skeptical of law enforcement. Likewise, the courts are not regarded as a place where justice is fair and equal for all people. Several people would say that justice is not fair, but discriminatory because of the apparently unfair delivery of justice for African Americans and people of color. Furthermore, there are some corrupt judges in the court system who do not abide by the rules. Some individuals can bribe their way out of trouble, which is fraudulent and completely not fair. According to (The history of American criminal justice), corrections department has become congested. It used to provide programs and other benefits to prisoners, but due to the congestion situation, prisons are just a place to shelter criminals.
References:
The United States Department of Justice About DOJ. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2021, from https://www.justice.gov/about
The History of American criminal justice [Video file]. (2008). Retrieved July 16, 2021, from https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=96349&xtid=115850
Student 2) In 1789, The United States had tasked one person to work part time and the responsibilities according to Department of Justice were “to prosecute and conduct all suits in the Supreme Court in which the United States shall be concerned, and to give his advice and opinion upon questions of law when required by the President of the United States, or when requested by the heads of any of the departments, touching any matters that may concern their departments.” It was big responsibility to handle and it wasn’t until 1870 that more people helped with the workload and it was what we see today as the US Justice system.
From what I see and what I understand about crime and justice in todays day of age is that there is a lot of red tape to make a change. With important issues that are taking place in the United States today there is a long drawn out process to make sure that we are enforcing justice and making sure that crime is down. I feel that when we are addressing these issues, the DOJ is not listening to the people that have been affected. It is almost like a game of telephone because lowest part of the organizational chart to the Attorney General there can be information that is missing. The biggest change in todays approach is just there is more people to speak with to make a change.
Reference
The United States Department of Justice About DOJ. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2021, from https://www.justice.gov/about