CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Yesterday & Today
By: Jose Del Valle
ENG 1105 Online
May 6th, 2011
INTRODUCTION
The criminal justice system has been going
through a constant change since
the beginning of time. This system has been
noted to date back to the Bible days in
the form of the Ten Commandments, but
started to change dramatically faster
towards the 1750s in Italy and Rome.
OUR AMERICAN JUSTICE TIMELINE
1900
1950
1960
1970
1980
1919
1931
1950s
1967
1979
President’s
Commission on
Law
Enforcement
and the
Administration of
Justice studies
America’s crime
problem
National Institute
of Justice, the
research and
development
agency of the
U.S. Department
of Justice is
established
The Chicago
Crime
Commission is
created
National
Commission of
Law
Observance and
Enforcement is
established
American Bar
Foundation
sponsors
studies on law
and legal
institutions
EARLY CRIMINAL CODES
In the early times of Criminal Justice, the system was
composed of codes. Three of the most important codes
and changes are:
• Babylonian and Sumerian Codes
• Roman and Greek Codes
• The Middle Ages
BABYLONIAN AND SUMERIAN CODES
The law of Babylonia has had an immense effect upon that of nearly all the
countries of Europe. The greatest work of this nation was the production of
the system of laws. These systems were necessary for the extension of
commercial activity in the city. The use of these judicial functions, at least
in matters of the law, seems to have been in the hands of hierarchy. The
Babylonian code was also responsible for what we know today as “trial jury
system” created by the “Common Law.”
ROMAN AND GREEK CODE
The Romans are known to be the people who have devised the
most perfect legal system which the world has ever known.
• “Laws of the Twelve Tables” was the first text created by the
Romans
• It was dated back to the mid-fifth century B.C.
• That tablets proposed that the laws should be written so that
magistrates and judges don’t apply them arbitrarily
• Today, Roman laws are no longer applied in legal practices,
although some countries like South Africa are still based on the
old “ius commune,” which is Latin for “Common Law.”
THE MIDDLE AGES
The Middle Ages brought forth a new wave of codes and
laws. This reformed system was packed with:
• New laws
• Rights for offenders
• Rights for the victims
• New forms of punishment
THE MIDDLE AGES (CONT.)
Different forms of punishment were beginning to show more and more during the
Middle Ages. A common punishment was payment to the victim’s family or the
victim him/herself, also known as “wergild,” which is was a value placed on
every human being and every piece of property. If property was stolen, or
someone was injured or killed, the guilty person would have to pay “wergild” to
the victim's family or to the owner of the property. Other forms of punishment
included:
• Mutilating
• Branding
• Execution
OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, TODAY
MODERN THEORY
Our Criminal Justice system operates mostly by the following
forms:
• No human law or justice can preempt “natural (or God’s) law”
• Absolute rights are God given
• God has place on every civil authority the responsibilities to
ensure that absolute rights are not infringed
• Upon citizens, the government is additionally with protection of
citizenship (relative) rights
MODERN THEORY (CONT.)
This theory was used to create order in society at the expense of liberty.
By eliminating the burden of proof on the prosecution to produce
evidence of “intent” to do harm, the government is free to create a third
classification of law under which they can impose “sanctions” on the
accused. As criminal law developed in the 20th Century, our American
Jurisprudence shifted further away from the common law principle that a
crime was composed of two elements, “Actus Rea,” (Guilty deed) and
“Mens Rea.” (Guilty Mind)
TODAY’S JUSTICE SYSTEM
COMPONENTS OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM
The contemporary criminal justice system is society’s instrument of
social control. Today the system can be divided into three main
components:
• Police: Investigates crimes and apprehends suspects
• Courts: Where a determination is made whether a criminal
suspect is guilty as charged
• Corrections: Which treats and rehabilitates offenders as well as
incapacitates them so that they may not repeat their crimes
COMPONENTS OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM (CONT.)
Police
Corrections
Courts
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSEMBLY LINE
The criminal process is seen as a screening process in
which each successive stage—pre-arrest investigation,
arrest, post-arrest investigation, preparation for trial or
entry of plea, conviction, disposition—involves a series of
routinized operations whose success is gauged primarily
by the ability to pass the case along to a successful
conclusion. According to this view, each of the 13 stages
is a decision point though which cases flow.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSEMBLY LINE (CONT.)
Police
•
•
•
•
•
Crime
Initial Contact
Investigation
Arrest
Custody
1
2
3
4
5
Courts
•
•
•
•
Charging
Arraignment
Bail, Plea Negotiations
Trial and Sentencing
6
7
8
9
Corrections
•
•
•
•
Corrections
Release Decision
Post Release
Rehabilitation
10
11
12
13
CONCLUSION
The history of criminal justice can be a massive world of information.
With each step towards the closing of the research, more and more
information becomes of great interest, especially for those pursuing a
career in criminal justice. The journey through this paper has taught me
a lot of insider information that I might need in my future goals as a
criminal justice student. Although these findings are encouraging,
nagging questions still remain about the precision of the earlier days in
the justice system.
REFERENCES
•
DiIulio, John. No Escape: The Future of American Corrections. New York: Basic
Books, 1991.
•
Garland, David, Mike McGuire and Rod Morgan. Of Crimes and Criminals. Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 2002.
•
Lea, John. 2004. 26 May 2011
<http://lcjb.cjsonline.gov.uk/Cambridgeshire/1534.html>.
•
Packer, Herbert. The Limits of the Criminal Sanction. Stanford, California: Stanford
University Press, 1975.
•
Perez, Jacob. Tracking Offenders. Statistics. Washington D.C.: Bureau of Justice,
1994.
•
Walker, Samuel. Sense and Nonsense About Crime. Belmont, California: Wadsworth,
1985.