Each branch of the U.S. government has been granted their authority and power by the U.S. Constitution. The legislative branch is comprised of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Both of these branches together form Congress and their primary function is to make and pass laws. They also have the power to create amendments, or changes to the Constitution. The executive branch consists of the President, his Vice President, and the appointed secretaries that head the 15 executive departments, also known as the President’s Cabinet. Their main responsibility is to enforce all of the established laws and those that are passed by Congress. The judicial branch interprets all of the laws and prosecutes those people that violate these laws. It consists of the Supreme Court, 7 categories of lower courts, special courts that handle military law, claims, taxes, and there are court support organizations. Their job is to apply the law in a fair and equal manner and serve the citizens of America by upholding justice through punishment that is enacted by sentencing and judgment. ("Usa.gov," 2012)
Each component of the three branches of government directly impacts the criminal justice system through the law. The criminal justice system is responsible for abiding by these laws as set forth by each form of government. Their purpose is to “judge suspects' guilt or innocence and determine punishment when they are guilty of crimes.” (Spellbinder, 2012) The correctional system is influenced by each branch of government as well. They house those persons who have been found guilty of breaking the laws established by the federal and state
governments. These criminals have their sentences set by the judicial system and the correctional system confines them to serve as a form of justice, punishment for the crime or crimes committed, and also to protect the rest of the public from the potential dangers these criminals pose to society. (eHow Contributor)
Personally, I have mixed feelings about the authority to grant pardons. The President has almost unlimited pardoning power and state governors have only certain limitations on their power to allow pardons on criminals that have been convicted of murder or rape with substantial evidence. I understand that our founding fathers granted the President this power for a reason, but I also believe that there should be at least some limitations or circumstances that restrict this absolute control. If Congress requires two-thirds of a majority vote, then there should be some type of system in place, for instance, a two-thirds majority vote between the President, Vice President and Cabinet members. One historic pardon that doesn’t sit too well in my mind was the blanket pardon that President Gerald Ford granted to his former President, Richard Nixon. This happened before Nixon was indicted over recording conversations in the White House and his connection to the Watergate scandal. I believe that President Ford’s decision to grant this pardon was manipulated by his friendship with Nixon. To me, this was a scandal in itself and unjust in its entirety. ("e-ssortment: Your source," 2011)
Overcrowding of prisons and funding are a couple of important issues that plague our criminal justice system and the government.
According to (Montaldo, 2011), there were over 2 million prisoners that
were incarcerated in the state and federal prisons back in 2003. The expenditures to house these prisoners is catastrophic and that doesn’t even include attorney fees for public defenders or the salaries paid to judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, staff, and the construction of court buildings, police precincts and correctional facilities.
References
eHow Contributor. (n.d.). ehow. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5087269_role-correctional-system.html
e-ssortment: Your source for knowledge. (2011). Presidential pardon vs. pardon by governors. Retrieved from http://www.essortment.com/presidential-pardon-vs-pardon-governors-40436.html
Montaldo, C. (2011). about.com. Retrieved from http://crime.about.com/od/prison/a/bjs040720.htm
Spellbinder, M. (2012). Purpose of the criminal justice system. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_6394980_purpose-criminal-justice-system.html
Usa.gov. (2012, Mar 07). U.S. federal government. Retrieved from http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/federal.shtml