Due Process Model Within The Criminal Justice System

The Due Process Model Within the Criminal Justice System
Abshire
College of Southern Nevada

Using the Due Process Within Our Criminal Justice System
Introduction
Prior to the American Revolution, no distinct American legal system existed. Each colony operated independently. Criminal codes, punishment, and courts varied from colony to colony. By the beginning of the Revolution, reformers had already wanted to establish a more unified and professional legal system. When the founding fathers crafted the Constrictions in 1787, and the Bill of Rights in 1791, they wanted to provide uniformity, but they also wanted to protect the liberties of the new-found colonies from the new federal and state governments. The United States Constitution

Some people think that the government should be more punitive when it comes to crime, that criminals should be caught and punished swiftly and harshly in order to protect society as a whole, while others believe that individual rights should be protected and that the criminal justice system needs to insure that individual rights are preserved. In 1964, a paper entitled, “Two Models of the Criminal Process”, was written by Herbert L. Packer that outlined these two thoughts for our society. Today, our criminal justice system is mainly based on the concept of the “Due Process

That question can be debated over and over, and depending on who is asked about it, many different opinions on the subject will emerge. Society needs to consider the various weaknesses and strengths of the two models. They must then ask if the Crime Control Model can be used in the pursuit of due process and if so, combine the strengths of the two models while also recognizing and avoiding the weaknesses and potential dangers to our society. With our prisons over crowed, we are looking for ways to reduce them and still protect society. If we were using only the Crime Control Model we would have to build more prisons, hire more officers and the cost of that would be astronomical, not only financially, but also to our social wellbeing. Using only the Crime Control Model, I believe we would be taking a step back in time where all it took was for someone to say one did something wrong and one would be punished without any type of due process. Throughout history we have always had criminals in our society and we know that when it came to punishment not everyone was treated the same. Many criminals where not given the opportunity to have any type of trial, let alone any type of due process. We may not have a perfect criminal justice system with the Due Process Model, but it’s the one we have now. The Due Process Model helps to protect the rights of