Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense

Assignment 2
Suggested Revision

Assignment 2: Courts, Prosecution, and the Defense

Due Week 7 and worth 200 points

The courts have one of the most
important roles in the Criminal Justice system. They are responsible for the interpretation
and application of law when crimes are committed and they help to bring resolve
to disputes between people, companies, and units of government.

In preparation for this
assignment, please carefully review the following cases.You will be assigned ONE of these examples to
do your paper on:

Case #1 – Police Officer Betty
Shelby shooting of Terrence Crutcher

Case #2 – Police Officer Roy
Oliver shooting of Jordan Edwards

Case #3 -Police Officer Jeronimo Yanez shooting of
Philando Castile

Case #4 -Baltimore Police Department and the death of
Freddy Gray

Case #5 – Police Officer Peter
Liang shooting of Akai Gurley

Case # 1 – Completed if your
last name starts with A-D

Case # 2 – Completed if your
last name starts with E-H

Case # 3 -Completed if your last name starts with I-M

Case # 4 -Completed if your last name starts with N-S

Case # 5 – Completed if your
last name starts with T-Z

Based on your understanding
from the readings in chapters 7-9, write a three to four (3-4) page court
report in which you:

1.Summarize the case, including a
detailed description of the crime that took place. The summary of the case MUST be done in a
factual manner.Do NOT insert your
personal opinions. In this exercise, you are an official of the court and you
are presenting the facts of the case only!

2.Describe the key characters in
the case and the roles they played.

3.Explain the charge(s) against
the defendant(s) and the evidence presented to justify the charge(s). Indicate
whether or not the defendant was offered some form of plea deal prior to the
court date.

4.State whether any witnesses
were called in the case. If so, identify the witness(es) and provide a
rationale as to why they were called.

5.Highlight the outcome of the
case (verdict) and take a position on whether the verdict was appropriate based
on the charges. Remember to look at legal issue verses training issues.Poor training does NOT always mean the act
was illegal!!

6.Include at least one (1)
additional quality reference in addition to the case file presented.

Your assignment must follow
these formatting requirements:

·Follow standard court report format, using the sample provided for
reference.

·Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the
student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover
page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page
length.

The specific course learning
outcomes associated with this assignment are:

·Explain the development of American courts and illustrate the
concept of the dual-court system.

·Distinguish between the various courtroom participants, and
describe the stages in a criminal trial.

·Use technology and information resources to research issues in
criminal justice.

·Write clearly and concisely about criminal justice using proper
writing mechanics Using Strayer Writing Standards (SWS)