Most criminal justice systems, despite being relatively flawed, offer aggrieved individuals the best platform for accessing justice.
Suspects and victims can resolve their differences through these systems. All branches of government depend on the criminal justice system to mitigate crime and uphold social control. The criminal justice system consists of the following departments: legislative, corrections, and courts. There is personnel in the criminal justice system that ensures the criminal justice system operates efficiently.
One of the most important people within the criminal justice system is the prosecutor. The prosecutor is an officer of the court whose main responsibility is to ensure criminals face the full force of the law. Also, the officer protects innocent people from unwarranted sentencing.
The prosecutor also determines the appropriate appeal bargains to enter and may request the court to dismiss the charges (Davis, 2009). Due to the exceptional duties, prosecutors have more discretion than other legal personnel does in the justice system. Objectivity and sound discretion are crucial attributes that these court officers need to embrace when performing their duties.
The Bar Association understands that prosecutors have crucial roles to play in the court, including the need to adhere to strict codes of conduct. They have to weigh up the significance of evidence, court resources, and policies of their office before presenting a case in court.
The Bar Association has set out and defined standards of professional conduct that prosecutors must adhere to in their course of duty. A prosecutor must comply with the established rule to convict an accused person, and not follow their convictions. The prosecutor must also evaluate the impact of the victim’s statements, which establishes the extent of damage that the suspect has caused (Davis, 2009).
Another vital individual within the justice system is the defense attorney. Many people view this personnel as agents of anti-justice in the criminal justice system. However, this popular view is inaccurate. Defense attorneys help ensure the courts upholds the rights of all individuals by the standard legal procedures.
Defense attorneys inform the defendants their rights and advocates for bail for their clients, whenever pertinent. The attorneys also negotiate with the prosecutor to have charges against their clients dropped or reduced. Another essential role of defense attorneys is researching to determine the best defense mechanisms that might persuade the judge’s decision (Davis, 2009).
The criminal and victim are other individuals that play significant roles within the criminal justice system. Both the criminal and victim have rights, and the prosecutor coordinates with the defense attorney to ensure the court protects the rights. The rights of the victims have changed considerably over the past two decades.
In the past few years, the main roles of the victim in the criminal justice system were to file complaints and be present for interviews, if the court required. In the contemporary criminal justice system, besides the traditional functions, the victim is a crucial source of evidence. They also have the right to make a victim’s statement in court.
On the other hand, the criminal’s main role is to work with their defense attorney to gather and present exonerating evidence in court. If the court convicts the criminal, they serve the punishment that the court has given. The judge, persecutor, defense attorney, criminal, and the victim should work together to deliver justice. However, various factors often prohibit the judge from delivering accurate and just rulings (Davis, 2009).
Victimization is the most common element in the criminal justice system that is an obstacle to the delivery of justice. The criminal often uses self-victimization to justify the illegal actions that they have perpetrated.
The role of self-victimization within the criminal justice system is to manipulate others to make the court incapable of convicting them of any charges.
Criminals achieve this objective by presenting information showing that they are victims of circumstances, and either the plaintiff or another person is the criminal. If they successfully provide evidence to support their claims, the court may punish an innocent party and set free a lawbreaker, which is a drawback in the criminal justice system (Morrison, 2008).
All individuals in the criminal justice system have clear-cut roles when it comes to sentencing. Foremost, the defense attorney’s role is to ensure their client gets the most appropriate legal treatment. The attorney aims at getting the least amount of punishment or no punishment for their client.
However, the prosecutor’s role is to ensure the judge gives the most severe punishment permissible under the law. The aim of the criminal is to get almost no punishment for the alleged crime. Besides, they need to follow the advice of their attorney. Lastly, the victim’s intention is to achieve punishment that assures them justice.
The court can use alternative sanctions to ensure all parties get justice in the most appropriate manner. The goal of alternative sanctions is to give a punishment that is fair and reasonable (Morrison, 2008). Alternative sanctions range from probation to imprisonment.
The courts often consider the sanctions for non-violent crimes. In this case, all parties in the criminal justice system give their recommendation regarding the effectiveness of using alternative sanctions as a better sentencing option. However, as in every court process, the binding resolution lies with the judge. In making the final decision, the judge has to evaluate whether the criminal is a threat to the safety of the public.
Notably, governments should take considerable care of the rights of victims and prevent victimization. Victimization is a threat to the existence of trustworthy institutions of justice. Therefore, it is essential that courts accord victims more rights than defendants with the objective of protecting defendants from being victims of weak judicial systems.
Apart from working hard to recognize the rights of victims, the court should adopt advanced technology as a tool for enhancing just decision-making.
Experts in technology have revealed that DNA testing can indicate whether an accused person is a criminal (Morrison, 2008). Over-dependence on witness statements is dangerous, given the increasing rate of lack of ethics in the society. As a result, it is inappropriate to give technology a less prominent role in the criminal justice system.
In addition to advanced technology, another crucial element of an efficient criminal justice system is competent judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors. Victims cannot get justice if these officials lack quality education and resources.
Moreover, lack of moral values among the officers is another critical threat to the criminal justice system. When corruption, nepotism, racism, and other vices crop into the justice system, victimization can thrive in the system and lead to failure to deliver justice. Therefore, the courts should adopt advanced technology and recruit morally upright and competent staff to deliver justice to all people.
References
Davis, R. C. (2009). Securing rights for victims a process evaluation of the National Crime Victim Law Institute’s victims’ rights clinics. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.
Morrison, Y. (2008). The DNA gave it away: Teens solve crime. New York: Children’s Press.