Part 1
Three Branches of Government
The federal or sometimes called the national government, as set up by the U.S.
Constitution, consists of three distinct branches in the government:

The legislative branch

The executive branch

The judicial branch
The Legislative Branch
The legislative branch of government collectively called the Congress
consists of the House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Each
state has two senators elected to go to the Senate, making a total of 100. The
House of Representatives has 435 members, with each state having the
number of elected representatives dependant on the number of people in the
state
This branch of government makes the federals laws for the country and
also allocates the money to make sure the national government can function,
but also funds different programs which go to the various states and the
District of Columbia.
The legislative branch impacts every part of the country, including the
criminal justice system by the laws that are passed. There are the criminal
laws, the sentencing laws, and procedural laws having to do with criminal
justice. In addition, it is the branch that allocates funds which the correctional
system depends on to function. The day-to-day running of the federal prison
system, the payroll, not to mention the maintenance of the prison buildings
and erection of new prisons—all come from the legislative branch.
The Executive Branch
The executive branch consists of the president, vice-president and
Cabinet level departments such as Department of Homeland Security,
Department of State, Department of Justice, and Department of the Treasury.
The president is the head of the executive branch and appoints the other
Department heads. The executive branch ensures that the laws of the country
are enforced and that the homeland is secure, as well as being the “face” of the
U.S. around the world in political and other matters. The president is the
commander in chief of the United States Military as well, which is one of the
most important duties.
The executive branch, through the Department of Justice, has
prosecutors and entire departments that go after law breakers. The Attorney
General of the United States is head of this department, and there are other
attorneys general in the different federal districts all over the U.S. The
Department of Justice also oversees the jails, and prisons both state and
federal regarding such issues as lack of proper medical care by the corrections
systems, or jail officials. The president can also grant executive pardons for
crimes, which usually, but not always, are federal white collar crimes.
The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch is made up of the United States Supreme Court and
lower federal courts. The Supreme Court has nine Justices appointed by the
president, is the highest court in the country, and as such, hears only certain
types of cases. The main function of the courts is of course, to hear disputes
over the constitutionality or the interpretation of laws passed by the legislature.
The Supreme Court, especially, hears cases that have to do with state or
federal laws that are challenged as unconstitutional whether state or federal.
The judicial system has a huge impact on the criminal justice system
because the system of trials and sentencing is an integral part of criminal
justice. But, also the judicial system hears appeals, which can overturn the
conviction or sentence (or both) of an offender if something went wrong in the
trial or even the arrest, resulting in a violation of the law or of the person’s
constitutional rights. The correction system as well is affected by the judicial
system because of the constitutional rights that prisoners maintain while
incarcerated. They can, and often do, appeal alleged violation of rights to the
court system.
Executive Pardons
I think it is entirely appropriate for the president and the governors to
have the power of pardoning selected offenders. Many times people are
convicted in the “heat of the moment” due to public outrage, politics, or even
laws passed that were later changed. There are also special circumstances
that can be considered during the course of a pardon. Either the president or
a governor would have the good sense and discretion not to just “hand out”
pardons to anyone, but to judiciously make proper decisions to pardon those
deserving of such. It is a type of “last resort” by a non-interested party that
was not involved in the initial case and is something that should be preserved.
Significant Issues with Federal Government and Criminal Justice
One of the most significant issues with the federal government and the
criminal justice system is the drug sentences. For example, a lot of debate has
gone on in recent years about the difference between the sentences for
powdered cocaine vs crack cocaine. The reason is that crack cocaine is used
more in the black community and the sentences were much harsher. This has
caused some of the laws to try to equalize the sentences, but there is more to
be done. In addition, the extremely lengthy sentences for some drug offenses
have tended to drastically increase the prison population, while some of these
same offenses now carry a much lesser time.
With the budget problems and the reluctance of legislatures and the
public to allocate more money to prisons programs, there are few drug
treatment programs, or any other programs which could prepare the inmates
for successful release. In many areas, inmates cannot be paroled until they
finish a treatment program which either does not exist, or is reduced to the
point of a waiting period of years to be admitted. This is just another reason
for the “drug offenders” to be crowding the prisons when possibly treatment,
along with a more flexible release program would lessen the overcrowding and
equalize the “drug sentences” to comport with other crime sentences.
Another issue of course, is funding for the exploding prison population.
Most of the prisons are beyond capacity, causing problems for the corrections
staff, but also precipitating lawsuits because of the overcrowding. It is a
danger to the corrections staff to have more than the allotted number of
inmates in a facility. The funding for building new prisons is understandably
limited, partly because the public does not feel that it is a priority. In other
words, the frequent public perception is that if there are 3 inmates to each cell
instead of the recommended 2, that is the inmates’ problems. But, in reality, it
ties up the courts with lawsuits and puts a strain on the staff which is often
not increased as the prison population increases.
References
Comparing the Articles and the Constitution. (2005). Retrieved August 22, 2012,
from The U.S. Constitution: http://www.usconstitution.net/constconart.html
Government. (2005). Retrieved August 22, 2011, from National Constitution
Center: http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop govt.html
Three Branches of Government. (n.d.). Retrieved August 22, 2012, from Harry S.
Truman Library: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/teacher
lessons/3branches/1.htm