Roles in the Courtroom Essay Example for Free

Roles in the Courtroom Essay Everyone has been in or seen a courtroom. If not personally, they have definitely seen one on television. Shows like Law Order and the First 48 gives the generalization of how a criminal is caught, brought to justice and it’s done all within one hour. Then there are civil court shows like Judge Judy and Judge Mathis, where you can see what actually happens in a court of law when someone is sued. All in all, when you watch these shows you never get the full effect of the roles each person in a courtroom plays to bring a person to justice. Some roles are more important than others, but people like Bailiffs, Judges or even Jurors all share an amount of responsibility in making sure that justice is served. In any courtroom you will see a Bailiff, Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, and a Judge. The Bailiff is usually a sheriff or a high- ranking police officer. Their presence alone keeps order in the courtroom amongst the audience all the way to the judge. A Bailiff’s role is simple. They swear in witnesses and they also play the go between man with the judge and jury. They call court to order and announce when the Judge enters the room. Their role is minimal but important still in its own way. Next are the Defense Attorney and the Prosecution whose duties and responsibilities are basically the same. They must gather and present evidence to the jury to discredit or give reasonable doubt that a crime was or wasn’t committed. The Defense is there to advice his client on the right plea to take. He is also there to make sure his client understands what is going on and make sure his client gets a fair and speedy trial. Other than that their duties are the same. They both are there to discredit the other. They both participate in jury selection and establish witnesses that will benefit their case. Both are responsible for presenting their case to the Judge and Jury, but if the case never reaches a trial it’s usually due to both sides plea-bargaining. This is ultimately the Judges decision but is usually the reason why some cases don’t go to trial. The Judge has a key role in the criminal justice system. He is elected into office by his peers and is ultimately the last person to make any decision in regards to a case. Although they don’t say much a Judge has a lot of duties and responsibilities and is one of the most important people needed in a courtroom. They are there from start to finish in any case. At the preliminary hearing they are responsible for making sure the accused is aware of their rights, they enter a plea of either guilty, not guilty or no contest, and the Judge also sets the bail. During the trial they decide what evidence will be allowed. Their understanding of the law is important when keeping order and how the court proceedings will be handled. During the trial the judge makes sure the accused rights aren’t violated. The Judge also makes sure that the jury understands what a person is charged with whether it is First –degree or second-degree murder. It is the Judges responsibility to make sure the Jury knows the difference. Last but not least they have control over the sentencing. This is the most important part aside from the Jury decision on whether or not the accused is guilty. Although The Judge’s role and responsibility seems to be the most important in the court, it is the role and respon sibility of the Jury that is needed more than anything. Everyone has the right to a trial by an â€Å"impartial† jury, which means that the trial will be fair. To be fair, some believe a person must be tried amongst a group of one’s peers. This means that they are from the same community/area. Sex, race and ethnicity have no bearings in any case, as far as jury selection. Jury’s bring diversity, different perspectives and views. It is up to the Defense and the Prosecution to make sure the right people are chosen, and that they will be more in favor of their case when presented in court. This is why Juror’s must go through a jury selection. People who will be beneficial to either the Prosecutions or Defenses case are kept and those who appear to have no bearings on the case aren’t selected. Once on the Jury they are given instructions by the judge on how the case will go, what they are to listen for, and what a person is charged with. Then they listen to the case and they are to determine if the accused i s responsible for their actions by a reasonable doubt. Meaning if there is any doubt in their mind that the accused is innocent, then the doubt is placed, and either they must be convicted of a lesser crime or the case must be dismissed period. All the evidence and witnesses presented in court is done with wondering how the jury will perceive it. Their impression on the evidence has the greatest impact and is ultimately what will determine the fate of the accused in all cases. That is why it is important that the Judge gives the verdict choices to the Jury and that he makes sure that the Jury understands them when they go to deliberate. They then return and give their verdict of guilty, not guilty to the offense the accused was charged or to a lesser charge period. Anyone can see that the Jury is important in any court proceedings. Jury’s will always have a key role in the court system and their role is most important. There are many roles and responsibilities in the court system. There are bailiffs, prosecutors, defense attorneys but the most important is the jury. Their roles and responsibilities are important and are needed to ensure that the criminal court system is run appropriately. That is why there is so much put into jury selection. They are the deciding factor in determining how long a person will be spending of their life in jail.

Heart of Darkness, Hollow Men, and Apocalypse Now Essay examples -- Mo

Similarities between Heart of Darkness, Hollow Men, and Apocalypse Now      Ã‚  Ã‚   In today's literary world there are many different texts that have interlocking literary meaning through their references to one another and to other works. I am going to compare and draw similarities between T.S. Eliot’s The Hollow Men, Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. These three sources have many different references to one another in different ways. In T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men, he begins the poem with the title and underneath the title he uses the famous line "Mistah Kurtz- he dead" from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. This famous line is said by one of the servants about Mr. Kurtz who dies and all of the natives were shocked by his death. Eliot uses this line at the beginning of the poem because he is drawing a comparison between the hollow men and Kurtz. He does this because Kurtz's idea of the civilization that he wanted to create didnÕt turn out the way he wanted it to in the end. Kurtz's ideas lead to his downfall in the movie Apocalypse Now. He is also considered as being hollow himself because of his ideas and inability to face reality. This is similar to the hollow men because they don't know what they will turn out to be. They have an idea of what they want to be but they know that will never happen. The hollow men really have no choice what they will be; they just let it happen. These hollow men are waiting t o go to "death's dream kingdom", but they donÕt know if they will ever get there. Eliot talks about these hollow men and these men can be compared to the people who are following Kurtz. They are all hollow people because they are following this radical figure and do not have i... ...Hollow Men. They show many similarities and there is reasoning behind the scene in the movie Apocalypse Now; where Kurtz is reading Eliot's poem. It all is tied together and has specific meaning. It shows that different literary sources can be used to help out other literary texts. Conrad's Heart of Darkness lays down the foundation of the character of Mr. Kurtz and then Eliot and Coppola portray this character through their pieces of art. Their literary meanings tie all of these works together to make them all unique in their own way. Works Cited Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. Norton. New York. 1963. Eliot, T.S. The Hollow Men. 1925. Jain, Manju. A Critical Reading of the Selected Poems of T.S. Eliot. Oxford University Press. New York. 1991 Southam, B.C. A StudentÕs Guide to the Selected Poems of T.S. Eliot. Faber and Faber. Boston. 1968.

Essay about abortion Essay

It is true that abortion may be the death of an innocent being. If that is correct, any woman who has had an abortion should be subject to the consequences of a premeditative first degree murderer, which could possibly be the death penalty. However, the question that truly forms the debate is this: Is the zygote really a human being? Surely there are signs that show life, but is it developed enough to function as a human? I contend that the fetus is not a right-possessing individual, until the point of birth. It cannot claim any rights, while it is still part of the mother. Being part of the mother, it is the mother’s. What happens to her body through the course of her pregnancy is her choice. Therefore, abortion is solely the mother’s choice, and outsiders should not block, or even oppose, her rights as an American. Certainly today’s society needs to clean up it’s act. In most young adults, good morals aren’t commonly used. But they do use their common sense. Young adults are fully aware of what they are getting into, they just aren’t sure of all the consequences. Education plays a big role in this issue. Being taught about birth control and planned parenting statistically helps the number of accidents that can cause abortion. Nevertheless, accidents will happen. Rape will still occur, there will be the rebels, the careless, and the clueless. People make mistakes every day. There should be something to fall back on in a case of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. Abortion can be for the well-being of both the mother and the potential child. A woman needs to take full responsibility of her actions. For instance, in a pregnancy, this can come in different forms. It can be when the woman decides to carry to term and be the child’s mother, or when she gives it up for adoption. She can also pay for her own abortion. As a result, the mother will be doing what she truly believes is morally right for the being growing inside of her. Of course the possibility of putting an innocent being to death, is seemingly absurd, and though one may not believe that the being is actually living, there is the possibility. Also, the child the woman is carrying may have the cure for cancer or AIDS. Or it could be the next serial killer. The being might very well deserve a chance at life. On the contrary, there are women  who truly aren’t ready to have a child. This is not only mentally, but physically and emotionally also. I admit that I will never get an abortion, but I strongly believe that it is a necessary option. Also if the child is impaired, has birth defects, Downs Syndrome, or any deadly or life-threatening disease that can be detected before birth, should it live? A woman needs to have the choice of how she wants her potential child’s life to be lived. A woman needs the options to be open. If she does not want to give the baby up for adoption, should she be forced to if she doesn’t have enough money to care for it? So, the mother should be entitled to any decision concerning the being living inside of her, because the chances are that the choice the mother makes will be beneficial. Surely there are people who will get into a pregnancy that have no idea what they are doing. They may get scared and decide to just have an abortion because they aren’t ready to have a child. A woman may feel that this will end all of her hopes and dreams for the future. They may or may not realize that there are other options such as adoption. However, what the woman decides to do, in my opinion, is completely her choice. The being that is growing inside of her body, is hers. Wendy McElroy says, â€Å"Everything beneath the skin is me; this is the line which no one has the right to cross without permission.†Say the world comes to where you can take one pill which would murder the growing being. Could she not have the right to swallow? Can a woman claim the right to her own body when she can’t even control what goes into it? People do not have contracts with their neighbors, friends, and relatives saying that they will not steal from one another or kill each other. Everyone’s body and property is theirs by right. If a fetus is granted individual rights, the contract is superfluous to those rights’ protection. If these rights are not being claimed, there is no possibility for contracts, because a contract is voluntary. So, giving rights to a fetus is useless because of the fact that it will be living inside of the woman, and if she has the right to rid it from her body and wants to do so, the being cannot even fend for itself in the argument at all, and will end up not having it’s way. Admittedly, the number of diseases that are passed genetically has slightly  decreased. Scientists have also been decoding human DNA. This can lead to pin-pointing the exact spot of birth defects and life-threatening diseases and fixing them. On the other hand, we have not yet reached that point in technology. Today testing is available for mothers to see if their potential child has any defects or disease. This greatly influences her decisions on whether to have the baby or not. There are so many factors that can affect the fragile time of pregnancy. There are endless possibilities of things that can be harmful to the growth and development of the baby. If the woman decides to go through with the pregnancy there are things that she can change about herself that can lessen the risk of defects. Such as smoking, drinking, drugs. The problem is that those things can mold the woman into being dependent on. If she chooses to continue to drink while she is pregnant, that is her choice, but she is not the only one who will be affected. If the woman feels that she would not want to have the possibility of her child being defected or doesn’t believe that she could make it with out drinking, she should have the option of abortion. In short, there are many ways that what the pregnant woman does that can change the outcome of her child, and she should be able to make her own decisions concerning the well-being of both herself and the unborn child. Obviously there’s the good side and the bad side to abortion. What seems to be happening today is that people are getting too worked up about something that may never be solved. Both sides of the issue are sketchy, and are very controversial. We may never actually come to a conclusion. On the contrary, we need to look at the laws and see if it is legally possible to ban abortion, or let it freely take place. The question is if the zygote or fetus should be considered a live being or not. Finally, what you believe is your choice. Think a little about what other people may be going through and if a forced pregnancy is even a possibility. Whether you side with me, or are against abortion, always be open-minded.

An Analysis Of Edith Hamilton s Mythology - 1073 Words

Depicted to be the most important theme within Edith Hamilton s Mythology, Moira is the decided fate of mortal man chosen by the Gods that tower above in Mount Olympus. Thus, fate is a reoccurring theme within Greek storytelling. The Greeks needed an explanation for the elements in their life, such as earthquakes, thunder, storms, the moon and the sky. Human nature dictates that an answer must be nominated for the unknown, for that emptiness to be filled. Even in the tale of the Argonauts, this curiosity must be fed. Therefore Gods and Goddesses were a perfect fit within their lives. For example Zeus, king of the Gods was able to launch lightning from his hands at the Earth below. A man is unable to flee from his Moira, or his destiny. Another crucial theme to the storytelling within Edith Hamilton s Mythology is the destruction of the self with indulgence in Hubris. Hubris is the arrogance found within the human and can corrupt a man. For example, within the story of Niobe, Niobe sa ys themselves to be like the Goddess Leto. By comparison Niobe lifts herself onto her level of authority. The Gods are angered and strike Niobe s children dead, completing the circle of hubris that ends in defeat by the Gods. When it comes to hubris, in the end the one at fault will realize the error of their ways. However, when they realize this, it is usually too late. In the case of Niobe, her children join Hades in the underworld and can never return home. She is left alone, and thusShow MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1279 Words   |  6 PagesMonumental Texts (An Analysis of the Three Most Important Texts Studied This Semester) Literature affects every aspect of our lives. The great, classic writers teach timeless, valuable life skills. Shakespeare was the greatest writer of all time. His writings mainly consisted of dramas and sonnets. Romeo and Juliet, as well as, A MIdsummer Night’s Dream were written about the same time period. He was able to inter relate everything that wrote. For example, the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe couldRead MoreHistory and Moral Development of Mental Health Treatment and Involuntary Commitment10378 Words   |  42 Pagescommitment has been developed and created through the history of mental illness and the constructs of society. Government policy has been created to treat mental illness and this philosophy of mental illness and its treatment goes as far back as Greek Mythology. The belief about mental illness has changed throughout history and at times thought to be due to, possession of demons, reversion to an animalistic level of consciousness, a sinful state of the s oul, a chemical imbalance, and as reported recently