Burglary and possession of illegal drugs is a serious offense punishable under the federal laws of the U.S (Herring, 2017). Crime Is a serious offence and necessitates the U.S government to use $586 per person in crime related investigations. There are three components in the U.S criminal justice system responsible for maximum maintenance of peace amongst its citizens; namely the police, courts and corrections. This essay paper will discuss the steps that Smith will follow from arrest to sentencing.
The first component is the police. They are responsible for maintain peace and order in the U.S territory (Wilson, 2020). From the Smith example, police will answer the call from the reporter and go where Smith is allegedly breaking. After arriving at scene of crime, the first step, the police will tell Smith to surrender and raise his hands. At the crime scene, the police will take pictures of the alleged burglary. After searching Smith’s pockets, the police will find heroine in one of his pockets. The police will seize the heroine as an evidence of presence of illegal drugs.
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The second step is to arrest Smith for two accounts. The first chargeable account is illegally breaking into someone’s house while the other account is possession of illegal drugs such as heroine. The police will tell Smith of the accounts he has committed and arrest him. At this point, they will tell Smith that if he doesn’t have a lawyer, the federal state will provide one for him. Herring (2017) affirms that U.S federal laws enable a victim to be given a state lawyer if he lacks one.
The third step is putting Smith in a courts cell before being arranged before a jury. Under the U.S Penal code on crime, an arrested victim must be presented before a judge within 48hours and his chargeable accounts read to him (Wilson, 2020). The fourth step is when the police spresent Smith to the court. This is where the second component of the criminal justice systems takes precedence. After being read of his offenses, Smith will either accept the charges or deny.
The two offenses that Smith committed are punishable under criminal law: Misdemeanors. Because of the weight of the evidence presented by the police, Smith will automatically be held guilty by the court. Under Federal laws Proposition 47, Burglary offense will attract a jail term of six months while the second offense of possession of illegal heroine will attract a jail sentence of three to five years in prison ( Monaghan, 2020). Smith will be sentenced to a total sum of between six months to five years in prison.
The sixth step happens when Smith may feel that the charges and sentencing were unbiased from the jury. He will have a maximum of ten days to file an appeal to the court of appeal or the appeal will be forfeited (Wilson, 2020). After filing the appeal, the police will also present the evidence to the court of appeal. After 48 hours, Smith will be presented to the appeal court. The hearing of the case will happen, the jury will analyze the evidence presented and ultimately make a ruling either to drop the charges or affirm jail sentence of Smith.
The seventh step is when the court of appeal will serve Smith the number of years that he will stay in prison. At this juncture, the third component of correction sets in. Smith will serve at least three years in prison for the offences he committed. During the jail term period, the correctional facility will holistically shape Smith by enabling him utilize his talents and skills ( Monaghan, 2020). Smith will have a variety of programs to do including carpentry, playing chess and advancing his education. After the elapse of his jail term, Smith will be out of the criminal justice system a corrected person.
References
Herring, J. (2017). Criminal law . Macmillan Education.
Monaghan, N. (2020). Criminal law . Oxford University Press.
Wilson, W. (2020). Criminal law . Pearson.
