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Criminal procedure
Criminal trials and convictions
Rights of the accused
Fair trial  · Speedy trial  · Jury trial
Counsel  · Presumption of innocence
Exclusionary rule (U. Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated Criminal law. The rights of the accused is a class of rights that apply to a person in the time period between when they are formally accused of a crime and when they are either convicted or acquitted The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the Rule of law. Speedy trial refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to defendants in criminal proceedings Right to counsel is nowadays generally regarded as a constituent of the Right to a fair trial, allowing for the defendant to be assisted by counsel (i The presumption of innocence being innocent until proven guilty is a legal Right that the Accused in Criminal trials has The exclusionary rule is a legal principle in the United States, under constitutional law, that holds that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of S. )
Self-incrimination  · Double jeopardy (Not E&W)
Verdict
Acquittal  · Conviction
Not proven (Scot. Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a Crime for which a person can then be Prosecuted. Double jeopardy (non bis in idem is a Procedural defense (and in many countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico and India In Law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a Jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge In Criminal law, an acquittal is a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict In Law, a conviction is the Verdict that results when a Court of law finds a Defendant guilty of a Crime. Not proven is a Verdict available to a court in Scotland. Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts )  · Directed verdict
Sentencing
Mandatory  · Suspended  · Custodial
Dangerous offender (Can. In Law, a directed Verdict is ruling by a Judge presiding over a Jury trial typically made after the plaintiff has presented all of her evidence In Law, a sentence forms the final act of a Judge -ruled process and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function A suspended sentence is a legal construct Unless a minimum punishment is prescribed by law the Court has the power to suspend the passing of sentence (generally A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence imposing a punishment (and hence the resulting punishment itself consisting of mandatory custody of the convict either in prison In Canada, England and Wales, certain convicted persons may be designated as dangerous offenders and subject to a longer or indefinite term of imprisonment E&W)
Capital punishment  · Execution warrant
Cruel and unusual punishment
Post-conviction events
Parole  · Probation
Tariff (UK)  · Life licence (UK)
Miscarriage of justice
Exoneration  · Pardon
Related areas of law
Criminal defenses
Criminal law  · Evidence
Civil procedure
Portals: Law  · Criminal justice

A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where judicial discretion is limited by law. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. An execution warrant or death warrant is a warrant which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death ( Capital punishment) on an individual Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Probation is the suspension of all or part of a jail sentence the Criminal who is "on probation" has been convicted of a crime but instead of serving jail Under the criminal law of England and Wales, a tariff is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite Prison sentence must serve before that person becomes In the British criminal justice system a life licence specifies the conditions under which a prisoner sentenced to life in jail may be released Exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a Crime is later proved to have been innocent of that crime A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that Courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a " Civil action " as opposed to Judicial discretion is the inherent power of the Judiciary to make legal decisions according to their Discretion. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Typically, people convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison. In the sociological field, crime is the breach of a rule or Law for which some governing authority or force may ultimately prescribe a Punishment A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of Mandatory sentencing laws vary from country to country.

Contents

History

In 1973, New York State introduced mandatory minimum sentences of 15 years to life imprisonment for possession of more than four ounces (103g) of a hard drug. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Hard and soft drugs are loose categories of non-prescription Psychoactive drugs This distinction is used in both official and casual discourse Similar laws were introduced across the United States, and at the Federal level, the United States federal courts are guided by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The United States federal courts are the system of Courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the Federal government of the United States The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for convicted defendants in the United States federal court system [1] See War on Drugs for more information about U. The War on Drugs is a prohibition campaign undertaken by the United States government with the assistance of participating countries intended to reduce the Illegal S. drug laws.

Both Singapore and Malaysia have mandatory death penalty for certain offences, most notably the possession of a certain amount of illegal drugs. Singapore For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and (See Capital punishment in Singapore). Capital punishment is a legal form of Punishment in Singapore. In the past Taiwan also had a large number of offences that carried a mandatory death penalty, although most of these laws have been relaxed somewhat in recent years. Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia.

Three strikes law

Main article: Three strikes law

In 1994, [California] introduced a "three strikes law", which was the first mandatory sentencing law to gain widespread publicity. Similar laws were subsequently adopted in most United States jurisdictions. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In Law, jurisdiction (from the Latin ius iuris meaning "law" and dicere meaning "to speak" is the practical Authority The law requires imprisonment for a minimum term of 25 years after a defendant is convicted of a third serious felony.

A similar 'three strikes' policy was introduced to the United Kingdom by the Labour government in 1997. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the [1] This legislation enacted a mandatory life sentence on a conviction for a second "serious" violent or sexual offence (i. e. a 'two strikes' law), a minimum sentence of seven years for those convicted for a third time of a drug trafficking offence involving a class A drug, and a mandatory minimum sentence of three years for those convicted for the third time of burglary. The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global Black market consisting of the cultivation manufacture distribution and sale of illegal Drugs The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (c38 is an Act of Parliament, by which the United Kingdom aims to control the possession and supply of numerous drugs An amendment by the Labour opposition established that mandatory sentences should not be imposed if the judge considered it unjust. The Labour Party is a Political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century it has been since the 1920s the principal party of the

According to figures released by the British government in 2005, just three drug dealers and eight burglars received mandatory sentences in the next seven years, because judges thought a longer sentence was unjust in all other drug and burglary cases where the defendant was found guilty. However in 2003 a new 'two strikes' law was enacted (effective April 4, 2005), requiring courts to presume that a criminal who commits his second violent or dangerous offence deserves a life sentence unless the judge is satisfied that the defendant is not a danger to the public. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 (2003 c44 is a wide ranging Act of Parliament introduced to modernise many areas of the Criminal justice system in England Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [2] This resulted in far more life sentences than the 1997 legislation. In reponse to prison overcrowding, the law was changed in 2008 to reduce the number of such sentences being passed, by restoring judicial discretion and abolishing the presumption that a repeat offender is dangerous. The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (2008 c4 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of

Australia’s Northern Territory in March 1997 introduced mandatory sentences of one month to one year for the third offence regarding property and theft. The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the center of the mainland continent as well as the central northern regions They were later adopted by Western Australia. Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent.

Arguments for and against mandatory sentencing

Adherents of mandatory sentencing believe that it reduces crime and ensures uniformity in sentencing. Potential criminals and repeat offenders are expected to avoid crime because they can be certain of their sentence if they are caught.

Opponents of mandatory sentencing argue that judges lose control over sentencing and cannot apply discretion given the particular facts of a case (i. e. whether a drug defendant was a kingpin or low-level participant). In addition to fairness arguments, they believe that treatment is more cost-effective than long sentences. They also cite a survey indicating that the public now prefers judicial discretion to mandatory minimums. [3]

Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and some other countries employ a system of mandatory restorative justice, in which the criminal must apologize to the victim or provide some form of reparation instead of being imprisoned for minor crimes. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Restorative Justice is commonly known as a Theory of criminal justice that focuses on crime as an act against another individual or community rather than the state In Jurisprudence, reparation is replenishment of a previously inflicted loss by the criminal to the victim In serious crimes, some other form of punishment is still used.

People sentenced to mandatory sentences

Footnotes

  1. ^ Text of the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997 and Text of the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 from The Stationery Office
  2. ^ Text of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and Text of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 from The Stationery Office
  3. ^ Arguments advanced by Families Against Mandatory Minimums

References

External links

Morton Robert Berger is an Arizona High school teacher who was sentenced to 200 years in prison (without the possibility of Parole) for the possession of Wilson v State was a Georgia court case brought about to appeal the aggravated Child molestation Conviction of Genarlow Wilson (born Chantal Watts McCorkle (born 1968 Slough, England) is a British citizen Richard Paey is a Florida man who was incarcerated in 2004 for drug trafficking The Stationery Office ( TSO) is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office The Stationery Office ( TSO) is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office
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