CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE
Eclpse1
crj306week1discussion2.docxAnswer your designated question below. Be sure to support your answer with scholarly sources and the text.
Respond to this question if your last name begins with the letters A-L.
What is jurisdiction and how does it affect criminal prosecution?
Can the type of crime determine jurisdiction for a court? Distinguish between federal and state courts for criminal cases.
Respond to this question if your last name begins with the letters M-Z.
Do the police always need a search warrant to conduct a legal (admissible) search according to the Fourth Amendment? Fully explain your answer.
List at least three exceptions to the warrant requirement and give examples of each.
THIS ASSIGNMENT IS COMPLETED ABOVE, YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT IS TO:
Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts. One of your responses must be a response to the question that you are not required to answer in your initial response.
Remember; do not merely agree with your classmates without additional information. A substantive response advances the discussion in a meaningful way; merely agreeing with your classmates is not a substantive response.
PROVIDE FEEDBACK ON TWO CLASSMATES POSTS. THE LENGTH MUST BE 200 WORDS EACH POST. THERE ARE TWO FEEDBACKS YOU MUST DO. MUST BE POSITIVE FEEDBACK, PROPER GRAMMAR/SENTENCE STRUCTURE, AND ANY OUTSIDE SOURCES YOU USE THAT RELATES TO THE FEEDBACK FROM THE STUDENT MUST BE PROPERLY CITED/SCHOLARY SOURCE.
First Discussion Response from Kevin Davis
Respond to this question if your last name begins with the letters A-L.
What is jurisdiction and how does it affect criminal prosecution?
Can the type of crime determine jurisdiction for a court? Distinguish between federal and state courts for criminal cases?
Jurisdiction is defined as the right, power, or authority to administer justice by hearing and determining controversies; power; authority; control: to have military jurisdiction over the occupied territories. It also explains the extent or range of judicial, law-enforcement, or other authority: a case under the jurisdiction of the local police and the territory over which authority is exercised (Free Dictionary, 2014). Jurisdiction describes the legal authority to hear a legal matter and make an official ruling. Jurisdiction establishes where each trial will take place. There are three factors to consider when deciding which court will try the case: geographic location, type of crime, and subject. When individuals are arrested by the police they must decide who they will be tried by. The legal system must first determine the location where the case will be tried. The criminal justice system is made up of three separate divisions: police enforcement, court system, and criminal corrections.
Federal courts receive jurisdiction over bankruptcy appeals, maritime-related cases, lawsuits between two individuals who do not live in the same state, and other federal matters. Anytime a case involves a federal issue, the federal court has the authority to try that case. In some situations, both a federal and state court may have valid jurisdiction claims, and the lawyer who files the lawsuit chooses where the case will be heard. The highest court in most states is the State Supreme Court, which re-tries cases that have been appealed. Unlike other courts, they have the power to refuse to hear any case brought before them. This power, known as discretionary jurisdiction, means they can either approve a case, or have it sent to an appellate that must accept it (National Museum of Crime & Punishment, 2014).
References:
TheFreeDictionary (2014). http://www.thefreedictionary.com/corpus+delicti
Wright, R. (2013). Introduction to Criminal Law and Procedure; Published by Bridgepoint Education, Inc., 13500 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92128.
(National Museum of Crime & Punishment, 2014).http://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/jurisdictions
Second Response from Andrew Sensel
Respond to this question if your last name begins with the letters M-Z.
Do the police always need a search warrant to conduct a legal (admissible) search according to the Fourth Amendment? Fully explain your answer.
List at least three exceptions to the warrant requirement and give examples of each.
Police do not always need a warrant to conduct a search of a person or property. There are always extenuating circumstances and precedence has been set for how police may use searches without needing a warrant. One of the most used is search incidental to arrest which is done part for officer safety and also part to secure any possible concealed evidence or evidence linked to another crime (Wright, 2013). For example, a search of an individual who is arrested on traffic charges is searched and CDS or paraphernalia is found on their person, that new evidence of a crime can yield additional charges for the individual. This is one of the most common warrantless searches utilized by police. A consent search is conducted when an individual gives permission for an officer to search their person or property without a warrant, but it must follow three requirements which are standing the person has authority over the property), voluntary (consent is not coerced), and knowing (was consent given knowingly) (Wright, 2013). This search is often successfully used because according to Wright (2013), many people are less likely to refuse a request for consent to search and may not always realize that they can refuse if the officer has no probable cause. Finally there is the plain view or a plain touch doctrine which states that any evidence seen in plain view or felt during pat searches is admissible for further crimes only if the initial intrusion was warranted or if its incrimination was apparent from touch or view (MacIntosh, 1994). These are three examples of how a search warrant may not always be necessary for police while carrying out their normal duties.
Reference:
MacIntosh, S. M. (1994). Fourth amendment – The plain touch exception to the warrant requirement. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 84(4), 743-743. Retrieved from the ProQuest database.
