Background You work as a paralegal in a public defender’s office. In an upcoming presentation to a local legislative committee, the public defender plans to address criminal justice issues, constitutional principles, cultural sensitivity, and diversity a

Week 5 - Final Paper

Building a More Just Society

[WLOs: 1, 3, 4] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Prior to beginning work on this assignment, please review the article Blended Sentencing Laws and the

Punitive Turn in Juvenile Justice (Schaefer and Uggen, 2016). In addition, please review resources

included in your Week 3 Annotated Bibliography assignment. Finally, examine the Building a More Just

Society case scenarios multimedia below.

Restart

Resume

Background

You work as a paralegal in a public defender’s office. In an upcoming presentation to a local legislative

committee, the public defender plans to address criminal justice issues, constitutional principles,

cultural sensitivity, and diversity awareness to promote social justice goals in local communities. You

have been asked to assist the public defender in preparing the presentation. To this end, you will

explore processes and issues in three criminal cases, applications for criminology, and relevant critical

perspectives toward the goal of building a more just society.

Your Task

The public defender hopes to gain funding to support programs that respond to criminal justice issues

and that promote a more just society. Earlier in this course, you had an opportunity to criminology

through the works of Messer et al. (2016), Salvatore (2017) and Zoutewelle-Terovan & Skardhamar

(2016). These authors consider how criminology may help to explain factors that associate with crime.

Recall for example the consideration of life course theory in Messer et al. (2016). To help the public

defender with preparation, you have been asked to create a paper between six and eight pages in

length. Your description of processes, explanation of issues, and analysis of critical perspectives will

provide the foundation for the public defender’s address to the local legislative committee, and thereby

promote support for programs and laws that address large societal problems and that promote the

social justice principles of equality, solidarity, and human rights to build a more just society.

The public defender has come across three distinct cases that highlight the criminal justice issues that

the legislature needs to address. Each case is preceded by a video summary that will comprise a

portion of the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee. To provide context for the

public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee, the initial part of your paper should explain

issues and describe processes about the following case scenarios:

Case No. 1: Juvenile Justice and Law Enforcement

Case Description (also included in the multimedia content)

Through the process of waiver, the defendant was transferred from the juvenile justice

system to the criminal justice system on drug related charges. If convicted, the defendant

could receive a prison sentence. The defendant resides in an impoverished community. The

public defender seeks funding for community treatment centers that respond to drug issues.

When in custody, the defendant claims that law enforcement asked incriminating questions

about the investigation. While the defendant’s parents were present during the custodial

interrogation, law enforcement did not communicate the right to remain silent in the primary

language of the parents of the defendant. It is uncontested that the parents have no

understanding of the English language. Think about how cultural sensitivity could inform

decisions on which officers are assigned to communities with diverse languages.

Issue and Process Summary

For this case, the processes include (1) waiver from the juvenile justice system to the

criminal justice system and (2) law enforcement communication with persons in custody.

Issues in this case include (1) drug related challenges for criminal justice and (2) law

enforcement communication in multilingual communities.

Please structure your paper as follows:

Title of your Paper

Summary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:

• Explain criminal justice issues in law enforcement (Case No. 1).

• Describe processes for juvenile justice (Case No. 1) and law enforcement (Case No. 1).

Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:

Case No. 1: Criminology

• Describe an application for criminology (consider life course theory, strain theory, or

another criminological theory) that addresses a drug-related criminal justice issue

relevant to Case No. 1.

◦ To assist you with this part, consider how a criminological theory could support a

criminal justice program or approach that addresses drug related challenges.

Cases No. 1 and No. 2: Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity Awareness

• Apply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness to a criminal justice issue

relevant to Case No. 1.

◦ To assist you with this part, consider how knowledge of cultural sensitivity and

diversity awareness could be applied to approaches relevant to law enforcement

communication in multilingual communities (Case No. 1).

Critical Perspectives

• Analyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to

one of the three cases.

◦ To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each

critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to

address the criminal justice issue.

Case No. 2: The Judiciary

Case Description (also included in the multimedia content)

In this case, the defendant claims that a juror was excluded based on race. The juror was in

the same, recognized protected racial group as the defendant and was struck by the

prosecutor with a peremptory strike (no reason stated for removing the juror from the panel).

When asked for reasons to strike the juror based upon objective information from what she

stated during voir dire, the prosecutor did not provide any reason at all and just asserted

that this was the choice for the preemptory strik The defendant asserts that the exclusion in

this case is in violation of constitutional rights and undermines the legitimacy of the trial

process. In this case, the record does not contain any information that would suggest an

alternative basis for the exclusion of this juror.

Please review the case summary of Foster v. Chatman (2016) available through the

webpage link under the “Required Resources” section and consider how the United States

Supreme Court addresses an issue of racial discrimination within the context juror

exclusion.

Issue and Process Summary

For this case, the processes include (1) juror selection and (2) juror responsibilities in a

criminal case. Issues in this case include juror exclusion by race.

Please structure your paper as follows:

Title of your Paper

Summary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:

• Explain criminal justice issues in the judiciary.

• Describe processes for the judiciary (Case No. 2).

Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:

Cases No. 1 and No. 2: Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity Awareness

• Apply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness to a criminal justice issue

relevant to Case No. 2.

◦ To assist you with this part, consider how knowledge of cultural sensitivity and

diversity awareness could be applied to approaches relevant to juror exclusion by

race (Case No. 2).

Critical Perspectives

• Analyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to

one of the three cases.

◦ To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each

critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to

address the criminal justice issue.

Case No. 3: Corrections

Case Description (also included in the multimedia content)

For this case, the defendant claims that the correctional facility conditions violate Eighth

Amendment rights, due to cruel and unusual punishment in the form of overcrowded cell

conditions. The defendant argues that cell conditions were highly unsanitary and

unacceptably crowded for a sustained period, in violation of constitutional rights.

Issue and Process Summary

For this case, the processes include monitoring of cell conditions. Issues in this case include

cell conditions within the context of the Eighth Amendment.

Please structure your paper as follows:

Title of your Paper

Summary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:

• Explain criminal justice issues in and corrections (Case No. 3).

• Describe processes for corrections (Case No. 3).

Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:

Case No. 3: Constitutional Principles

• Interpret constitutional principles relevant to social and criminal justice for an issue that

relates to Case No. 3.

◦ To assist you with your interpretation, consider how constitutional principles in this

context relate to goals for social justice and to goals for criminal justice.

Critical Perspectives

• Analyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to

one of the three cases.

◦ To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each

critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to

address the criminal justice issue.

The Final Paper

You will prepare a six- to eight-page paper that addresses the questions below which relate to each of

the three cases. To provide context for the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee,

the first section directs you to summarize issues and describe processes. As a reminder, each case

includes a process and an issue summary to assist you in your response in this first section. Note that

the Wright (2012) text includes helpful information on processes. Be sure to include at least five

relevant sources other than the textbook, at least three of which must be found in the Ashford

University Library. Of the five sources required (in addition to the textbook), three must be scholarly and

the remaining two may be either scholarly or credible. It is expected that you will draw resources from

your Week 3 Annotated Bibliography assignment, but you may select other resources if you choose to

do so.

Consider using Q for your library research and to access writing supports, and tutoring services

available to you. See the Guide to Installing and Using Q

(https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/dd00f749-7449-469c-9bd3-

1e6e269bd895/1/Guide%20to%20Installing%20and%20Using%20Q%20for%20Success.pdf) for more

information.

*Note: To access the Ashford University Library directly, click on the Writing Center and Library links in

your left navigation. Watch the Database Search Tips

(https://ashford.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/Database+Search+Tips/0_vj8u97hi) video for more and

see Searching the Ashford University Library document for assignment-specific search tips.

The Building a More Just Society paper

• Must be six to eight double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and

formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center

(https://awc.ashford.edu/index.html) .

• Must include a separate title page with the following:

◦ Title of paper

◦ Student’s name

◦ Course name and number

◦ Instructor’s name

◦ Date submitted

For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013

(http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/apa-formatting-word-2013) .

• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/academic-

voice) resource for additional guidance.

• Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end

with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.

◦ For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions

(http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/introductions-conclusions) as well as Writing a Thesis

Statement (http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/writing-a-thesis) , refer to the Ashford Writing

Center resources.

• Must use at least five sources in addition to the textbook, three of which must be found in the

Ashford University Library. Of the five sources required (in addition to the textbook), at least three

must be scholarly and the remaining two must be either scholarly or credible.

◦ The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources

(https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/e5359309-7d3c-4a21-a410-

44d59303ccef/1/Scholarly%20Peer-Reviewed%20and%20Other%20Credible%20Sources.pdf) table

offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a

specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor

has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment. The

Integrating Research (https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/5408ee9b-

e793-44d5-8a4d-e54bc6e72f74/1/Integrating%20Research.zip/story_html5.html) tutorial will offer

further assistance with including supporting information and reasoning.

• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within

Your Paper (http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/citing-within-your-paper) guide.

• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style. See the

Formatting Your Reference List (http://writingcenter.ashford.edu/format-your-reference-list)

resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.

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*Note: You are encouraged to integrate any feedback from your instructor and upload the assignment

to your ePortfolio .

Carefully review the Grading Rubric

(http://ashford.waypointoutcomes.com/assessment/22399/preview) for the criteria that will be used to

evaluate your assignment.

Waypoint Assignment

Submission

The assignments in this course will be submitted to Waypoint. Please refer to the instructions below to

submit your assignment.

1. Click on the Assignment Submission button below. The Waypoint "Student Dashboard" will open

in a new browser window.

2. Browse for your assignment.

3. Click Upload.

4. Confirm that your assignment was successfully submitted by viewing the appropriate week's

assignment tab in Waypoint.

For more detailed instructions, refer to the Waypoint Tutorial

(https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/dc358708-3d2b-41a6-a000-

ff53b3cc3794/1/Waypoint%20Tutorial.pdf)

(https://content.bridgepointeducation.com/curriculum/file/dc358708-3d2b-41a6-a000-

ff53b3cc3794/1/Waypoint%20Tutorial.pdf) .

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