AN OVERVIEW OF THE AMERICAN LEGAL SYSTEM

 Branches of Government  Legislative  Executive  Judicial  Levels of Government  Local  State  Federal

 3 Primary Components  Police  Courts  Corrections  3 Levels of Each Component  Local  State  Federal

 Law Enforcement  Activity governed by a criminal code  Includes arrests, investigations, traffic tickets, etc.  Order Maintenance  Governed by Sir Robert Peel’s Nine Principles of Policing  Quality of life issues  Includes controlling crowds, gatherings, traffic  Public Service  Catchall category  Includes animals, neighborhood issues, abandoned vehicles, other public needs

 Largest portion of police responsibility  Largest portion of police expenditures  12,766 local departments  Municipal Police Departments  Sheriffs’ Departments  Tremendous variation in department size

 Smallest portion of police responsibility  49 state police agencies  Responsibilities  Highway Patrol  State Law Violations  Special Jurisdiction

 Special Policing Issues  Federal Bureau of Investigation  Immigration and Customs Enforcement  Secret Service  Drug Enforcement Administration  Many others  Narrow Jurisdictions  Established by Congress or the President

 Crime Investigation  Arrest Law Violators  Gatekeeping  Court Transport  Court Security

 Tremendous variation among jurisdictions  Functions  Protect society from criminal offenders  Dispute resolution  Levels  Local  State  Federal

 Responsibilities  Probation and Parole  Community Corrections Programs  Institutional Corrections  Theories of Criminal Sentencing  Retribution  Rehabilitation  Deterrence  Incapacitation  Reintegration

 Local  City and County Jails  Short-term housing  State  Largest portion of corrections system  87.5% of prison population  Federal  U.S. Bureau of Prisons  Federal Probation

 Legislative Branch  Congress  Created by Article 1  Authority includes taxation, court creation, war declaration  Executive Branch  The President  Created by Article 2  Authority includes enforcement of laws, acting as commander-in-chief, executive office appointments  Judiciary Branch  The Supreme Court  Created by Article 3  Power of judicial review

 Separation of powers between the state and federal governments  10 th Amendment  Any power not given to the federal government  Reserved to the states or the people  Comity: when one government defers to the other’s authority

 A court’s legal authority to decide a case  Subject Matter Jurisdiction  Civil law jurisdiction  Criminal law jurisdiction  Other special jurisdiction  Juvenile law  Probate law  Family law

 Courts of Limited Jurisdiction  Lack the power to hear a full range of cases  Specialized jurisdiction  Inferior courts  Courts of General Jurisdiction  Have the power to hear a full range of cases  Adhere to formal court procedures  Judges must be licensed attorneys  Hear appeals from inferior courts

 Courts of Original Jurisdiction  Court that first hears the case  May be of limited or general jurisdiction  Courts of first instance  Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction  Hear appeals from courts of original jurisdiction  Appeals are based upon errors of law  Courts of intermediate appellate jurisdiction  Courts of last resort  State Supreme Courts  U.S. Supreme Court

 Law  Provides relief through damages  Civil and criminal law  Equity  Used when there is no remedy available through the law  Provides relief through injunctions

 Form of justice used in the U.S.  Two parties to the dispute  Opposing one another  One will win and one will lose  Zero-sum game  Contrast with inquisitional justice  Government gathers evidence of defendant’s guilt  Fewer people charged with crimes  Assumption of defendant’s guilt