Criminal Justice Case Studies

For this weeks assignment I have selected one of three case studies to write about. I am going to use this courses reading materials to understand a little bit better about the criminal justice system and how it could play out in one of this particular case. I will discuss from the moment of arrest of the individual involved and charges he could face and why. I have decided to chose case study one implicating John Burke on murder charges of Joseph Ronan. As with all cases I 'm sure, there is more than meets the eye. Although particular information regarding what had actually happened in the home of Ronan is not public, we do know that police had sufficient evidence to charge Burke and arrest him. Apparently Burke had had a robbery in his own

I believe that there are a number of weak links within the current justice system. One of which is troublesome is the number of unsolved homicides in the United States. There seems to be several different speculations as to why this may be. Strom and Hickman (2010)(6p4) suggests that is could be because of the lengthy backlog of the forensic laboratories. Another theory they offer is that law enforcement on the scene may not have the training necessary to collect evidence correctly (6p4). Or it could possibly be that law enforcement do not deem the evidence collected at a crime scene crucial to the case and do not send to the forensic labs in the first place (6p4). I believe that perhaps more extensive training for law enforcement could help in providing them with a more in-depth understanding of how to collect evidence as well as deciding on whether it is relevant to their case. Also, more funding needs to be provided to either open up more forensic lab and/or provide a larger

The justice system is an extensive process in order to successfully sentence offenders fairly on all levels of crime or to exonerate the innocent persons. I strongly believe that when viewing the criminal system as whole it is quite effect in spite of it 's downfalls and criticism. Considering the extensive length and the many different court dates of accession in court alone helps to do just that. Also, ethics and discretion of the hard working people in the justice system provides an overall fair and unbiased system across the board. The strength and effectiveness comes in numbers and individuals of different beliefs and backgrounds, thus enabling the elimination of bias. As in the case of Burke 's offense, I consider everything from the police officer gathering evidence at the scene of the crime, to the judge residing in the court room, on to the defense attorney and prosecutor, all have an understanding and extensive training on their responsibility for upholding the code of ethics and when to use discretion, which will ultimately result in his case like all cases of being fair