Law

The cases of Amanda Knox and Michael Fay offer good opportunities to compare criminal justice systems. Both were young US citizens accused of crimes in other countries. These cases illustrated the differences between the US criminal justice system and those of other nations. Consider such factors as a pretrial release, the burden of proof, right to appeal, and type of punishment. Prepare a report in a 4- to 5-page Microsoft Word document responding to the following questions: What were the alleged crimes involved? Summarize both the cases. Did the court system use an adversarial or inquisitorial method? Explain. What were the final outcomes of the cases? Provide a legal ground for the outcome and justify your answer with appropriate research and reasoning. In what ways did the process differ from how it would have occurred in the United States? In what ways was the process similar to that in the United States? Explain with proper reasoning. Support your responses with examples. For more information on Pretrial Release read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bail

Alternatives to Incarceration Overview A recent study illustrates that nearly two million juveniles are processed through juvenile courts across the United States each year. Depending on the nature of the crime, juveniles may face detention or incarceration if they are convicted. Given the fact that many courts are reluctant to incarcerate criminal offenders, judges often consider alternatives to incarceration. The driving force behind these alternatives is to save taxpayer money yet still demand offender accountability and impose sanctions for criminal behavior. In this assignment, you will examine alternatives to incarceration for juveniles. Preparation Use the Internet or the Strayer University databases to research the use of sanctions other than incarceration or detention for juvenile offenders Instructions Write a 2–3 page paper in which you:Examine the underlying historical and economic reasons behind the quest for alternatives to committing juveniles to detention centers. Describe three alternatives to incarceration that juvenile courts currently use. Provide examples of such alternatives in practice to support the response. Discuss the significant societal and individual benefits of imposing sanctions or punishments that do not involve removing an offender from his or her family or community. Use at least three quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not qualify as academic resources. For more information on Incarceration read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imprisonment

How do laws differ between Canada and the U.S. regarding prostitution?  Why do you think the law is so different in the two countries?  How have other countries addressed this issue recently? How does Canadian law compare with the Nevada laws on prostitution?   What, in your opinion, is the best way to address prostitution?  500 words 2 references APA Format For more information on Canadian Law read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Canada

Summarize three Supreme Court decisions that you believe have had the most impact on our society. Provide a rationale for your response. Build on a classmate’s post by asking questions, offering thoughtful ideas, or sharing personal connections. Be sure to demonstrate respect for classmates’ comments. You may choose to use the following additional resource to assist you in completing this discussion: Supreme Court of the United States.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, legal same-sex marriage is the law of the land. Many people are still unhappy about the decision and some fear that in complying with the law they will be forced to violate their sincere religious beliefs. You’ve no doubt heard of cases in which, for example, courts have held that refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple is unconstitutional discrimination A fact that many have missed about the bakery or photography cases is that these cases are not about federal law, and are in fact unrelated to the question of whether same-sex marriage is or is not legal. These cases are based on state laws adopted by state legislatures that establish sexual orientation as a protected class. So in those states it’s illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples just as it’s illegal to discriminate against African-Americans or women or disabled persons. In Texas, it’s not illegal to discriminate against same-sex couples because sexual orientation has not been added to the list of those protected from discrimination. So a Texas bakery can refuse service to a same-sex couple with impunity. Texas’s argument is that the Obergefell decision mandated that the state perform same-sex marriages but did not explicitly mandate that states offer the same benefits to married same-sex couples that are offered to married opposite-sex couples. Texas officials (the governor, lt. governor and attorney general) believe that discriminating — treating same-sex couples differently from opposite-sex couples — should be the state’s choice. The basic anti-discrimination principle in the Civil Rights Act is that “public accommodations” (such as restaurants, theaters, hotels, etc.) cannot discriminate against members of protected classes of people. A restaurant, for example, cannot refuse to serve African-Americans or women, even if they have a sincerely held belief that African-Americans or women are undesirable. Some people’s sincerely held religious beliefs long included the belief that African-Americans were cursed by God (the biblical “mark of Cain”) and thus discrimination against them is ordained, or at least approved of, by God. That belief was an important element of the supreme court case Newman v. Piggie Park (1968). If someone’s sincere religious belief mandates that they discriminate against African-Americans and courts have said that’s not OK, should sincere religious beliefs be the basis for discrimination against other groups of people, like homosexuals? [From the Piggie Park decision:  “The free exercise of one’s beliefs, as distinguished from the absolute right to a belief, is subject to regulation when religious acts require an accommodation to a society. Undoubtedly, [the restaurant owner] has a constitutional right to espouse the religious beliefs of his own choosing; however, he does not have the absolute right to exercise and practice such beliefs in utter disregard of the clear constitutional rights of other citizens.” Remember, we’re talking about laws that have to apply to everyone. No particular set of religious beliefs can bind everyone else, as we separate church and state in America. Anti-discrimination laws generally have exemptions for religious institutions. So churches may refuse to host gay weddings if they choose. For-profit wedding chapels are not similarly protected (here’s one story from a conservative perspective and a liberal perspective) as they are generally considered to be public accommodations. Some have asserted that the logic of forcing a baker who objects on religious grounds to bake a wedding cake for gay marriage is the same as forcing an African-American baker to bake a cake for a KKK wedding or a Jew to bake a cake for a Nazi wedding. That’s not actually an accurate analogy. The KKK is not a protected class, because adhering to political philosophy is not an immutable characteristic of a person. Neither is the Nazi party. Any baker, black or white, can therefore refuse to bake a cake for a KKK wedding, or any Jew for a Nazi wedding, without being accused of legal discrimination. Question So, what do you think? Should any business owner, or even any government official, be empowered to deny service to same-sex couples on the basis of their sincerely-held religious beliefs? Remember you need to make your “Initial Post” of at least 250 words For more information on Religious Freedom read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion

Choose a country that utilizes the inquisitorial system and compare it against the system used in the United States. Then, respond to the following: Which system do you think better protects the defendant? Which system seems to have a better chance of getting to the “truth”? Justify. Are there any aspects of the inquisitorial system that could be brought into the adversarial system to improve it? Explain. Should the same system be used for both criminal and civil cases, or would it be better to have one system for criminal matters and the other system for civil matters? Why or why not? For more information on Inquisitorial System read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system

Understanding Terrorism – Week 4 Assignment Case Study Two – Oklahoma City, 1995 Begin by reading the article on the trial of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols. For this Case Study, address the following:·  Using the article and Martin, Chapter 7, what was the ideology espoused by McVeigh and Nichols?·  What are some of the primary reasons that McVeigh adopted this ideology?·  Briefly explain the core of McVeigh’s defense. What are the weakest points of the FBI’s investigation? Your submission will not exceed 3 pages, excluding the Title Page and Reference Page. You will use APA Standard Format (1″ Margins, Times New Roman, 12-point Font, and Double Spacing. No extra space between paragraphs). Other than the Martin textbook, no outside references are required; however, you are free to include sources if you choose to do so. For more information on Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols read this:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing

Occupational and Safety and Health Law of 1970 (OSHA) this week.  This groundbreaking law took decades to become a reality, and its importance to the safety and health of employees in the workforce cannot be underestimated.  After researching the subject include in your response the following questions: Why was OSHA needed in the workplace?  Provide some background on its history. Do you think OSHA is working and why? What type of OSHA training have you experienced in the workplace? Does your employee do all they can to provide a safe and secure working environment? There is lots of information available on OSHA to review.  For more information on OSHA read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSHA

Compare and contrast the inevitable discovery and independent source exceptions to the Exclusionary Rule. Is this distinction crucial in a criminal proceeding? For more information on Exclusionary Rule read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusionary_rule

Find and summarize a news story about a transnational crime Post your case summary and the link to the news story about the case, then address the following: Which specific crimes were committed? Explain. How would you evaluate the level of cooperation between countries in fighting this type of transnational crime (for instance, if your case involves money laundering, how well do the countries involved in the case actually work together)? Explain. Are there countries that seem to allow or even facilitate this kind of crime? If yes, provide examples of how such crimes or criminals have been facilitated. Which law enforcement agencies in the United States are tasked with fighting this type of transnational crime? 300 words For more information on Transnational Crime read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnational_crime