Description
Final Paper
Write a paper that details the entire criminal justice process for a felony criminal charge filed in a state court. Your paper will:
- Summarize all of the steps between arrest, pre-trial, trial, and appeals (both state and federal appeal possibilities).
- Explain the contingencies for each stage of the proceedings and address all possible outcomes.
- Analyze how constitutional protections for the defendant work at each stage of the proceeding.
- Evaluate whether the system effectively deals with criminal prosecutions, or whether changes or improvements are required.
- Provide recommendations to make the system more fair and ethical for all those involved.
For help completing this assignment,
please reference the Sample Paper.
The paper must be eight to ten pages in length and formatted according to APA
style. You must use at least five scholarly sources (at least two of which can
be found in the Ashford Online Library) other than the textbook to support your
claims. Cite your sources within the text of your paper and on the reference
page. For information regarding APA, including samples and tutorials, visit the
Ashford Writing Center, located within the Learning Resources tab on the left
navigation toolbar.
Writing the Final Paper
The Final Paper:
- Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
- Must include a title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
- Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
- Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
- Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
- Must use at least five scholarly resources, including a minimum of two from the Ashford University Library.
- Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
- Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
Explanation & Answer
Running head: LEGAL MATTERS
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Legal Matters
Institution Affiliation
Date
LEGAL MATTERS
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Introduction
According to Simon, and Bartels, (2012), the criminal justice is made up of different
steps from the time a statement is made to the time the ruling is done on such a statement. Some
of the important steps in the process are arrest, pre-trial, trial and appeals. The following are the
process a criminal justice process passes through.
ARREST
An arrest happens when one is denied the freedom to move as they may wish by a police
officer. This means that the police officer gains authority over someone and directs them. An
arrest does not necessarily have to include someone being handcuffed but in most cases a police
officer will handcuff the suspect on grounds of the fact that the suspect did not voluntarily accept
arrest or when a police officer feels that it is unsafe for the suspect not to be handcuffed. Usually
police officers have a right to be a little physical to people who are restraining arrest but this
force is not always needed and in most cases it never even comes to play when a particular
suspect voluntarily accepts to be arrested and does not restrain.
An arrest is usually brought about by some circumstances. The circumstances under
which an arrest can take place include things like when there has been an issuance of a warrant
of arrest, when a police officer observes a crime taking place and when a police officer has a
probable cause to arrest.
i.
When there is a warrant of arrest
A warrant of arrest means that the arrest is lawful. The police officers are given a
document that shows the need for someone to be under their custody as criminal justice process
begins (McConville, McConville-Wilson, and Wilson, 2002). These documents are issued by
LEGAL MATTERS
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judges or magistrates and it is advisable that the officer charged with the responsibility of
arresting someone shows the document to the suspect before arresting them. A warrant of arrest
usually has sections under which the crime alleged to have been committed is identified, the
individual alleged to have committed the crime is clearly identified, the location of such an
individual is clearly defined and permission granted to the police officers to make the arrest.
ii.
When a police officer observes the crime
This usually takes place without some background information about the suspect and also
happens randomly. A police officer could be just anywhere and observes a crime taking place.
An example of this is how a police officer may see a robber snatch someone’s handbag. When
this kind of occurrence takes place, the police officer can arrest the robber right there due to their
observance of the crime taking place. Another example of a kind of arrest that might take place
due to a police officer’s personal observation is when a police officer might see a driver driving
reckless and after stopping them and gauging their alcohol intake finds out that the person has
taken more alcohol than what is allowed in a particular state for someone who wishes to drive.
Such a person can be arrested because of driving under t...