BackgroundYou work as a paralegal in a public defender’s office. In an upcoming presentation to a local legislative committee, the public defender plans to address criminal justice issues, constitutional principles, cultural sensitivity, and diversity awareness to promote social justice goals in local communities. You have been asked to assist the public defender in preparing the presentation. To this end, you will explore processes and issues in three criminal cases, applications for criminology, and relevant critical perspectives toward the goal of building a more just society.Your TaskThe public defender hopes to gain funding to support programs that respond to criminal justice issues and that promote a more just society. Earlier in this course, you had an opportunity to criminology through the works of Messer et al. (2016), Salvatore (2017) and Zoutewelle-Terovan & Skardhamar (2016). These authors consider how criminology may help to explain factors that associate with crime. Recall for example the consideration of life course theory in Messer et al. (2016). To help the public defender with preparation, you have been asked to create a paper between six and eight pages in length. Your description of processes, explanation of issues, and analysis of critical perspectives will provide the foundation for the public defender’s address to the local legislative committee, and thereby promote support for programs and laws that address large societal problems and that promote the social justice principles of equality, solidarity, and human rights to build a more just society.The public defender has come across three distinct cases that highlight the criminal justice issues that the legislature needs to address. Each case is preceded by a video summary that will comprise a portion of the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee. To provide context for the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee, the initial part of your paper should explain issues and describe processes about the following case scenarios: Case No. 1: Juvenile Justice and Law EnforcementCase Description (also included in the multimedia content)Through the process of waiver, the defendant was transferred from the juvenile justice system to the criminal justice system on drug related charges. If convicted, the defendant could receive a prison sentence. The defendant resides in an impoverished community. The public defender seeks funding for community treatment centers that respond to drug issues.When in custody, the defendant claims that law enforcement asked incriminating questions about the investigation. While the defendant’s parents were present during the custodial interrogation, law enforcement did not communicate the right to remain silent in the primary language of the parents of the defendant. It is uncontested that the parents have no understanding of the English language. Think about how cultural sensitivity could inform decisions on which officers are assigned to communities with diverse languages.Issue and Process SummaryFor this case, the processes include (1) waiver from the juvenile justice system to the criminal justice system and (2) law enforcement communication with persons in custody. Issues in this case include (1) drug related challenges for criminal justice and (2) law enforcement communication in multilingual communities.Please structure your paper as follows:Title of your PaperSummary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:Explain criminal justice issues in law enforcement (Case No. 1).Describe processes for juvenile justice (Case No. 1) and law enforcement (Case No. 1).Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:Case No. 1: CriminologyDescribe an application for criminology (consider life course theory, strain theory, or another criminological theory) that addresses a drug-related criminal justice issue relevant to Case No. 1.To assist you with this part, consider how a criminological theory could support a criminal justice program or approach that addresses drug related challenges.Cases No. 1 and No. 2: Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity AwarenessApply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness to a criminal justice issue relevant to Case No. 1.To assist you with this part, consider how knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness could be applied to approaches relevant to law enforcement communication in multilingual communities (Case No. 1).Critical PerspectivesAnalyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to one of the three cases.To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to address the criminal justice issue. Case No. 2: The JudiciaryCase Description (also included in the multimedia content)In this case, the defendant claims that a juror was excluded based on race. The juror was in the same, recognized protected racial group as the defendant and was struck by the prosecutor with a peremptory strike (no reason stated for removing the juror from the panel). When asked for reasons to strike the juror based upon objective information from what she stated during voir dire, the prosecutor did not provide any reason at all and just asserted that this was the choice for the preemptory strik The defendant asserts that the exclusion in this case is in violation of constitutional rights and undermines the legitimacy of the trial process. In this case, the record does not contain any information that would suggest an alternative basis for the exclusion of this juror.Please review the case summary of Foster v. Chatman (2016) available through the webpage link under the “Required Resources†section and consider how the United States Supreme Court addresses an issue of racial discrimination within the context juror exclusion.Issue and Process SummaryFor this case, the processes include (1) juror selection and (2) juror responsibilities in a criminal case. Issues in this case include juror exclusion by race.Please structure your paper as follows:Title of your PaperSummary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:Explain criminal justice issues in the judiciary.Describe processes for the judiciary (Case No. 2).Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:Cases No. 1 and No. 2: Cultural Sensitivity and Diversity AwarenessApply knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness to a criminal justice issue relevant to Case No. 2.To assist you with this part, consider how knowledge of cultural sensitivity and diversity awareness could be applied to approaches relevant to juror exclusion by race (Case No. 2).Critical PerspectivesAnalyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to one of the three cases.To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to address the criminal justice issue. Case No. 3: CorrectionsCase Description (also included in the multimedia content)For this case, the defendant claims that the correctional facility conditions violate Eighth Amendment rights, due to cruel and unusual punishment in the form of overcrowded cell conditions. The defendant argues that cell conditions were highly unsanitary and unacceptably crowded for a sustained period, in violation of constitutional rights.Issue and Process SummaryFor this case, the processes include monitoring of cell conditions. Issues in this case include cell conditions within the context of the Eighth Amendment.Please structure your paper as follows:Title of your PaperSummary of Issues and Processes Section. Please address each of the elements below:Explain criminal justice issues in and corrections (Case No. 3).Describe processes for corrections (Case No. 3).Case Assessment Section. Address each of the following prompts:Case No. 3: Constitutional PrinciplesInterpret constitutional principles relevant to social and criminal justice for an issue that relates to Case No. 3.To assist you with your interpretation, consider how constitutional principles in this context relate to goals for social justice and to goals for criminal justice.Critical PerspectivesAnalyze two critical perspectives on a criminal justice issue of your choosing relevant to one of the three cases.To assist you with your analysis, consider potential merits and limitations for each critical perspective, and how the critical perspectives may provide insights on how to address the criminal justice issue.The Final PaperYou will prepare a six- to eight-page paper that addresses the questions below which relate to each of the three cases. To provide context for the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee, the first section directs you to summarize issues and describe processes. As a reminder, each case includes a process and an issue summary to assist you in your response in this first section. Note that the Wright (2012) text includes helpful information on processes. Be sure to include at least five relevant sources other than the textbook, at least three of which must be found in the Ashford University Library. Of the five sources required (in addition to the textbook), three must be scholarly and the remaining two may be either scholarly or credible. It is expected that you will draw resources from your Week 3 Annotated Bibliography assignment, but you may select other resources if you choose to do so.
