1 / 15

California’s Judiciary

California’s Judiciary. POSC 140 Braunwarth. Organization of the Courts. Two levels: Trial and Appellate courts What do we call trial courts? Superior Courts now includes municipal courts What are the Appellate courts? District Courts of Appeals and The California Supreme Court.

ostinmannual
Télécharger la présentation

California’s Judiciary

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. California’s Judiciary POSC 140 Braunwarth

  2. Organization of the Courts • Two levels: Trial and Appellate courts • What do we call trial courts? • Superior Courts • now includes municipal courts • What are the Appellate courts? • District Courts of Appeals and • The California Supreme Court

  3. Judging the Judges • States began electing judges in the early 1800s. • Suffered under British judges • Distrusted Political Elite • Most states have some type of election, many of them partisan

  4. Judging the Judges • Appellate justices face voters every 12 years in non-partisan elections • Superior court judges are elected to 6-year terms • Why not in partisan elections? • Democrat and Republican judges tend to differ in views on punishment • Why not “politicize” the elections? • Should we elect judges at all?

  5. County District Attorney • Represents the people of California • Brings charges against suspects • Investigates and Prosecutes all Felonies • Prosecutes all Misdemeanors (except in SD) • Oversees 310 Deputy DAs (Prosecutors) • Assisted by 81 DA Investigators (DAIs) • Most cases are plea-bargained; good idea? • Only reasonable way to prosecute case load

  6. District Attorney • Elected Office • Little Oversight • Supposed to Seek Truth and Justice, but • Huge pressure for convictions, especially for high-profile cases (i.e. cop killers) • Potential Problem? • Are occasional abuses; • DDA Burt prosecuting Officer Hartless’ killers • “Mad Dog” Charles Kirk in S.F.

  7. District Attorney • SD has highest prosecution rate in CA 91% • Many Programs for protecting the community • Child Abduction, Elder Abuse, Hate Crimes, Victim Assistance, Consumer Fraud, High Tech Crime, Identity Theft, Gangs, Bad Checks, Online Crime, Stalking

  8. Issues: Crime Control • California is 6th most violent state • Behind Florida, South Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana, and Illinois • Why so high here? • Urbanization: many young males, poverty, residential segregation, gangs • Despite “build more prisons” rhetoric, • Crime largely dependent on these economic and demographic trends

  9. Issues: Crime Control • What has been our response to rising crime rates? • Get tough on crime! • Determinative Sentencing: • 1976: Uniform Sentencing Acts • 1996: Three Strikes Law • Death Penalty • All limit the discretion of judges • Is little talk about crime-control policy other than societal retribution • Is this good or bad?

  10. Issues: Death Penalty • Does the Death Penalty deter crime? • No, what are some other cons? • Expensive (more than life imprisonment) • Is it administered fairly (race, class)? • Are mistakes made? • Jailhouse informants, incompetent counsel, etc. • Illinois freed 17 while killing 12 • Gov. commuted all death sentences

  11. Death Penalty • U.S. is only Western democracy and one of the few developed nations that use the death penalty • What are the arguments for the death penalty? • It’s popular, 78% Californians want it • Our individualistic culture emphasizes retribution and punishment

  12. Issues: Juvenile Crime • More young people are getting involved in more serious crimes • Prop 21: Prosecutor, not judge decides whether to try youth as adults • Is this a good idea? • Can youths be rehabilitated? • Once do hard time, little hope for reconciliation with society

  13. Issues: Incarceration • Expensive: must be secure, constant supervision, medical services, food, rehabilitation, etc. • How can we defer prison expenses? • Privatization of Prisons: good idea? • Mixed reviews, labor costs are high • Put the inmates to work? • Prison-Industrial Complex • What are the pros and cons?

  14. Criminal Justice • The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world • Most inmates are incarcerated for non-violent crimes • Why do we incarcerate? • Alternatives? • Why not make incarceration has hard as possible (no TVs, correspondence courses, exercise equipment, etc.)?

  15. Criminal Justice • If lock up more criminals for longer sentences, people feel safer • In our haste to lock up are we overlooking constitutional protections? • Racial profiling, Illegal searches, etc. • Prison rates doubled in 1990s: Are we more lawless or less tolerant? • These are all issues the judiciary must decide

More Related