Players of the Court
The criminal justice system refers to the set of processes and agencies proven by governments to manage crime and enact penalties on persons who violate laws. To accomplish this role, criminal justice systems contain five components, among them being courts with judges as the main role player, prosecution, where prosecutors take charge, and defense lawyer. This paper discusses the roles and responsibilities of the judge, lawyer and prosecutor in a criminal justice system.
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The Roles and Responsibilities of Prosecutor, Lawyer, and Judge
Normally, a suspect is arrested by the police, after they have gathered enough evidence to permit the arrest. After the arrest, the police handle the case file prosecutor; together will all the gathered evidence. Prosecutor refers to a lawyer that represents the federal or state government lawyer in the court, in the entire court proceedings; from the initial accused appearance in court up to the point where the accused is sentenced or acquitted. After receiving the evidence from the police force, the prosecutor evaluates it and makes a decision on whether to drop the case or file charges.
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When the prosecutor decides to file the case, he or she presents the court with the evidence, cross examine the witnesses, and make a decision on whether to discuss appeal bargains with the offender at any time following the filing of charges, Prosecutor normally contain great freedom or pleasure to decide on how a case should be prosecuted. Although the prosecutor does not work on behave of the victim but the state, a victim can obtain more information regarding the case from the prosecutor. While doing all this, the prosecutor should focus on enhancing justice rather than convicting the offender (American bar, 2017).
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Once the case is filed, an offender is permitted the right to a lawyer, commonly regarded as the defense lawyer. This lawyer defends the offender over the case of the government. Defense lawyer can either be assigned to the offender by the court or hired by the offender. Lawyer assignment only happens to offenders who cannot manage to hire their own lawyers. The defense lawyer’s main role is to represent the accused in the court. The lawyer in this case gathers evidence to prove the accused innocence. Defense lawyer also cross-examine the witness to ensure no false testimony is given to victimize the accused. Defense lawyer works closely with the offender with intention of gathering the counter evidence to nullify or weaken the prosecutor’s argument (Victimofcrime.org, 2008).
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Basically, after a case is filed by the prosecutor, the case is assigned to a judge, who will examine the prosecutor and defense lawyer arguments, evidence and witnesses, and use them to make a ruling. The judge main role is to ensure that the law is implemented during the trial, and to supervise the court proceedings. The judge always has an upper hand on deciding on the offender’s fate. The judge may make a decision to release the accused before trial, especially after the first court hearing when the accused is informed of the charges. The judge at this stage may also consider releasing the accused in bond, recognizance, or bail. In case the judge finds that there is no enough evidence to support the case, the judge may release the defendant and close the case. He or she also reject or accept plea agreements, sentence the offender who is found guilty, and oversee trials (Victimofcrime.org, 2008).
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