Reference no: EM131581816

This assignment is to demonstrate your mastery of how the criminal justice system works. This assignment is designed to give you an opportunity to display your knowledge of the parts and processes of the criminal justice system. The more specific and detailed the paper is, the more effective it will be in demonstrating your understanding of the system.

Step 1. Select one of the three Case Studies below. Where there is more than one person arrested/charged in that case, please focus on ONE of the subjects for the purpose of this research paper.

Step 2. Describe the process that the offender would go through in the criminal justice system, beginning with arrest. For purposes of this assignment you are to assume that the offender will be eventually convicted, thus your paper should also include all stages in the criminal justice process subsequent to conviction. Upon conviction, you must also determine the probable sentence the offender will receive, (institutionalization or community-based supervision); explain why the sentence you have chosen would most likely occur, and what the offender can expect in light of this sentence. Students who exhibit mastery of this project and how the system works will also provide a probable alternative to the selected sentence, fully explaining "why" this alternative could also occur. In essence, this paper will track the offender from removal from the community by police, to return to the community free of imposed supervision.

Step 3. Conclude your analysis by discussing what you believe to be the weakest link in the criminal justice process and the strongest link in the process. Provide explanations to support your assessments for both. Careful critical thinking is required. Invest considerable effort in thinking about what you have learned over the course of the term in addressing this final aspect of the mission.

The sources you are to use to obtain information for your descriptions of the criminal justice process include the course reading material and two peer-reviewed journal articles. As an academic paper it must contain APA formatted citations throughout the paper whenever information is being presented from a source.