Criminal Justice - Revision history

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Nicole: Created page with "The United States has fifty-one separate criminal justice systems—each of the 50 states and of the federal government. Criminal laws vary substantially across these differen..."

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Created page with "The United States has fifty-one separate criminal justice systems—each of the 50 states and of the federal government. Criminal laws vary substantially across these differen..."

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The United States has fifty-one separate criminal justice systems—each of the 50 states and of the federal government. Criminal laws vary substantially across these different jurisdictions. Perhaps the most significant example is the variation in the death penalty, in which 38 states and the federal government have statutes allowing for executions and 12 states do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in Florida, in Pennsylvania, or in federal court, for example, may be put to death, while someone convicted of the same crime in West Virginia or Iowa cannot.

Other differences between states, and between the states and the federal government, are less dramatic but nonetheless important. For example, some states allow for the use of marijuana to treat certain medical conditions while other states and the federal government prohibit its use entirely. There is also substantial variation in the manner in which sanctions are imposed and in the length of incarceration for similar crimes. The federal government and some states, for example, operate under sentencing guidelines that require judges to impose a sentence within a narrow range established by statute. In other states, judges are given wide latitude in determining sentencing outcomes. Similarly, the federal government generally imposes longer sentences for gun and drug offenses than many state governments.

For most of the country’s history, criminal justice was almost exclusively the province of state and local governments. State governments created criminal laws, and local police and prosecutors executed those laws. In the early years of the republic, the federal government handled primarily cases that were uniquely federal concerns, such as piracy, counterfeiting, and smuggling.

Several developments in the twentieth century contributed to the creation of new federal crimes, as well as the growth of federal jurisdiction over what had traditionally been state crimes. The invention of the automobile, for example, resulted in the National Motor Vehicle Act in 1919 (also known as the Dyer Act), which prohibited driving stolen cars across state lines. Moral crusades led to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, also known as the Volstead Act or Prohibition, which outlawed the production and sale of alcohol (the amendment was later repealed with the adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933).

In the latter half of the twentieth century, the lines between federal and state criminal jurisdiction have further blurred as Congress has made gun and drug possession, carjacking, and fraud federal offenses. There is now little distinction between state and federal criminal jurisdiction in terms of substantive laws.

However, federal authority to prosecute criminals far surpasses the resources provided to federal investigative agencies and prosecutors. Thus, the vast majority of criminal defendants are still arrested, charged, and sentenced in state courts.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| '''BIBLIOGRAPHY:'''
Lawrence M. Friedman, ''Crime and Punishment in American History'' (New York: Basic Books, 1993); Herbert Jacob, ''Justice in America: Courts, Lawyers and the Judicial Process'' (Boston: Little, Brown 1984); and Daniel Richman, “The Changing Boundaries Between Federal and Local Law Enforcement,” in ''Boundary Changes in Criminal Justice'', vol. 2 (Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, 2000).
|}

==== Lisa L. Miller ====

SEE ALSO: [[State Courts]]; [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:13, 3 May 2018
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	In addition to crime policy, federalism shapes the quality and structure of police operations. While the federal government often seeks to incorporate state and local police into its various public security initiatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that the [[Tenth Amendment]] bars the federal government from issuing [[mandates]] to state and local police; police participation in a [[National Security\|federal public-security initiative]] thus requires the consent of the affiliated state or local government. In the early twenty-first century, this constitutional limitation on federal government authority facilitated the practice of “[[Sanctuary Cities\|immigrant sanctuary,]]” in which state and local governments restricted police participation in federal immigration enforcement activity.		In addition to crime policy, federalism shapes the quality and structure of police operations. While the federal government often seeks to incorporate state and local police into its various public security initiatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that the [[Tenth Amendment]] bars the federal government from issuing [[mandates]] to state and local police; police participation in a [[National Security\|federal public-security initiative]] thus requires the consent of the affiliated state or local government. In the early twenty-first century, this constitutional limitation on federal government authority facilitated the practice of “[[Sanctuary Cities\|immigrant sanctuary,]]” in which state and local governments restricted police participation in federal immigration enforcement activity.
−

	{\| class="wikitable"		{\| class="wikitable"

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The United States has an array of criminal justice systems: one at the federal level, fifty at the state level, and thousands at the level of city and county government. Hence, the notion of an American “criminal justice system”—a single, large and sprawling institutional monolith—fails to account for the basic structure of American federalism.
+The United States has an array of criminal justice systems: one at the federal level, fifty at the [[State Courts|state level]], and thousands at the level of city and county government. Hence, the notion of an American “criminal justice system”—a single, large and sprawling institutional monolith—fails to account for the basic structure of American federalism.
 One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is [[Capital_Punishment|capital punishment policy]]. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West (see also [[Furman v. Georgia|''Furman v. Georgia]], (1972)).''
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 Last updated: May 2018
-SEE ALSO: [[State Courts]]; [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]
+SEE ALSO: [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]
 [[Category:Policy Areas]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The United States has an array of criminal justice systems: one at the federal level, fifty at the state level, and thousands at the level of city and county government. Hence, the notion of an American “criminal justice system”—a single, large and sprawling institutional monolith—fails to account for the basic structure of American federalism.
-One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is [[Capital_Punishment|capital punishment policy]]. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West (see also [[Furman v. Georgia|''Furman v. Georgia, (1972)).'']]
+One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is [[Capital_Punishment|capital punishment policy]]. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West (see also [[Furman v. Georgia|''Furman v. Georgia]], (1972)).''
 Other differences between the states and between the states and the federal government are less dramatic but nonetheless important. For example, some states such as Colorado and Washington have decriminalized recreational use of [[marijuana]] while other states and the federal government continue to prohibit the drug. There is also considerable variation across the states and the federal government in terms of the manner in which sanctions are imposed and in the severity of criminal penalties. The federal courts and several state courts operate under sentencing guidelines that require judges to impose a sentence within a narrow range established by statute. In other states, judges are given wide latitude in determining sentencing outcomes. Similarly, the federal government generally imposes longer sentences for gun and drug offenses than many state governments.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The United States has an array of criminal justice systems: one at the federal level, fifty at the state level, and thousands at the level of city and county government. Hence, the notion of an American “criminal justice system”—a single, large and sprawling institutional monolith—fails to account for the basic structure of American federalism.
-One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is capital punishment policy. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West.
+One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is [[Capital_Punishment|capital punishment policy]]. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West (see also [[Furman v. Georgia|''Furman v. Georgia, (1972)).'']]
-Other differences between the states and between the states and the federal government are less dramatic but nonetheless important. For example, some states such as Colorado and Washington have decriminalized recreational use of marijuana while other states and the federal government continue to prohibit the drug. There is also considerable variation across the states and the federal government in terms of the manner in which sanctions are imposed and in the severity of criminal penalties. The federal courts and several state courts operate under sentencing guidelines that require judges to impose a sentence within a narrow range established by statute. In other states, judges are given wide latitude in determining sentencing outcomes. Similarly, the federal government generally imposes longer sentences for gun and drug offenses than many state governments.
+Other differences between the states and between the states and the federal government are less dramatic but nonetheless important. For example, some states such as Colorado and Washington have decriminalized recreational use of [[marijuana]] while other states and the federal government continue to prohibit the drug. There is also considerable variation across the states and the federal government in terms of the manner in which sanctions are imposed and in the severity of criminal penalties. The federal courts and several state courts operate under sentencing guidelines that require judges to impose a sentence within a narrow range established by statute. In other states, judges are given wide latitude in determining sentencing outcomes. Similarly, the federal government generally imposes longer sentences for gun and drug offenses than many state governments.
-The federal government did not have a meaningful role in criminal administration until the twentieth century. For most of U.S. history, criminal justice was under the near-exclusive province of state and local governments. State governments enacted criminal laws and local police and prosecutors enforced those laws. In the early years of the republic, the federal government limited its involvement in criminal justice to issues that were uniquely of federal concern such as piracy, counterfeiting, and international smuggling.
+The federal government did not have a meaningful role in criminal administration until the twentieth century. For most of U.S. history, criminal justice was under the near-exclusive province of state and local governments. State governments enacted criminal laws and local police and prosecutors enforced those laws. In the early years of the republic, the federal government limited its involvement in criminal justice to issues that were uniquely of federal concern such as piracy, counterfeiting, and international smuggling (see [[Dual Federalism]]).
-Several developments in the twentieth century contributed to the enactment of new federal crime statutes and a corresponding expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction. The invention of the automobile, for example, resulted in the National Motor Vehicle Act in 1919 (also known as the Dyer Act), which prohibited the transport of stolen cars across state lines. Moral crusades in the early twentieth century led to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment (also known as the Prohibition Amendment), which outlawed the production and sale of alcohol, as well as the Mann Act, which targeted inter-state prostitution rings feared to enable “white slavery.”
+Several developments in the twentieth century contributed to the enactment of new federal crime statutes and a corresponding expansion of federal criminal jurisdiction. The invention of the automobile, for example, resulted in the National Motor Vehicle Act in 1919 (also known as the [[Transportation Policy|Dyer Act]]), which prohibited the transport of stolen cars across state lines. Moral crusades in the early twentieth century led to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment (also known as the Prohibition Amendment), which outlawed the production and sale of alcohol, as well as the Mann Act, which targeted inter-state prostitution rings feared to enable “white slavery.”
-The increased complexity of American crime over the course of the twentieth century together with national moral crusades led to expansion of the federal government role in criminal administration. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the line between the federal and sub-federal roles in criminal administration began to blur after Congress made gun and drug possession, carjacking, and fraud federal offenses. The federal criminal code now overlaps substantially with that of the states.
+The increased complexity of American crime over the course of the twentieth century together with national moral crusades led to expansion of the federal government role in criminal administration. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the line between the federal and sub-federal roles in criminal administration began to blur after Congress made gun and drug possession, carjacking, and fraud [[Commerce among the States|federal offenses]]. The federal criminal code now overlaps substantially with that of the states.
-In addition to crime policy, federalism shapes the quality and structure of police operations. While the federal government often seeks to incorporate state and local police into its various public security initiatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Tenth Amendment bars the federal government from issuing mandates to state and local police; police participation in a federal public-security initiative thus requires the consent of the affiliated state or local government. In the early twenty-first century, this constitutional limitation on federal government authority facilitated the practice of “immigrant sanctuary,” in which state and local governments restricted police participation in federal immigration enforcement activity.
+In addition to crime policy, federalism shapes the quality and structure of police operations. While the federal government often seeks to incorporate state and local police into its various public security initiatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that the [[Tenth Amendment]] bars the federal government from issuing [[mandates]] to state and local police; police participation in a [[National Security|federal public-security initiative]] thus requires the consent of the affiliated state or local government. In the early twenty-first century, this constitutional limitation on federal government authority facilitated the practice of “[[Sanctuary Cities|immigrant sanctuary,]]” in which state and local governments restricted police participation in federal immigration enforcement activity.

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 Lawrence M. Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American History (New York: Basic Books, 1993); Daniel Richman, “Violent Crime Federalism,” Crime and Justice (Vol. 34. No. 1, 2006); David Garland, Peculiar Institution (Harvard University Press, 2010); Robert Mikos, “Medical Marijuana and the Political Safeguards of Federalism;” 89 Denv. U. L. Rev. (2011-2012); Trevor Gardner, “Immigrant Sanctuary as the Old Normal,” Columbia Law Review (2018); Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 935 (1997); Lopez v United States, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
 |}
+<br>
-Trevor G. Gardner
+Trevor G. Gardner (2018)<br>Lisa L. Miller (2006)
 Last updated: May 2018

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The United States has fifty-one separate criminal justice systems—each of the 50 states and of the federal government. Criminal laws vary substantially across these different jurisdictions. Perhaps the most significant example is the variation in the death penalty, in which 38 states and the federal government have statutes allowing for executions and 12 states do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in Florida, in Pennsylvania, or in federal court, for example, may be put to death, while someone convicted of the same crime in West Virginia or Iowa cannot.
+The United States has an array of criminal justice systems: one at the federal level, fifty at the state level, and thousands at the level of city and county government. Hence, the notion of an American “criminal justice system”—a single, large and sprawling institutional monolith—fails to account for the basic structure of American federalism.
-Other differences between states, and between the states and the federal government, are less dramatic but nonetheless important. For example, some states allow for the use of marijuana to treat certain medical conditions while other states and the federal government prohibit its use entirely. There is also substantial variation in the manner in which sanctions are imposed and in the length of incarceration for similar crimes. The federal government and some states, for example, operate under sentencing guidelines that require judges to impose a sentence within a narrow range established by statute. In other states, judges are given wide latitude in determining sentencing outcomes. Similarly, the federal government generally imposes longer sentences for gun and drug offenses than many state governments.
+One example of the decentralized quality of American criminal justice can be found in crime policy where the nation’s various governments often differ as to appropriate and effective criminal justice policy. The most compelling example of inter-jurisdictional variation is capital punishment policy. Thirty-one states and the federal government permit government executions. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia do not. Thus, a person convicted of first-degree murder in federal court or in a state court in Florida or Pennsylvania may be sentenced to death, while someone convicted of the same offense in West Virginia or Iowa would not be eligible for capital punishment. State-level variation in death penalty policy has produced a skewed regional distribution of state-sponsored executions: between 1976 and present, 82% of executions performed by government took place in the South, 12% in the Midwest, and 6% in the West.
-For most of the country’s history, criminal justice was almost exclusively the province of state and local governments. State governments created criminal laws, and local police and prosecutors executed those laws. In the early years of the republic, the federal government handled primarily cases that were uniquely federal concerns, such as piracy, counterfeiting, and smuggling.
+The federal government did not have a meaningful role in criminal administration until the twentieth century. For most of U.S. history, criminal justice was under the near-exclusive province of state and local governments. State governments enacted criminal laws and local police and prosecutors enforced those laws. In the early years of the republic, the federal government limited its involvement in criminal justice to issues that were uniquely of federal concern such as piracy, counterfeiting, and international smuggling.
-Several developments in the twentieth century contributed to the creation of new federal crimes, as well as the growth of federal jurisdiction over what had traditionally been state crimes. The invention of the automobile, for example, resulted in the National Motor Vehicle Act in 1919 (also known as the Dyer Act), which prohibited driving stolen cars across state lines. Moral crusades led to the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment, also known as the Volstead Act or Prohibition, which outlawed the production and sale of alcohol (the amendment was later repealed with the adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933).
+The increased complexity of American crime over the course of the twentieth century together with national moral crusades led to expansion of the federal government role in criminal administration. In the latter half of the twentieth century, the line between the federal and sub-federal roles in criminal administration began to blur after Congress made gun and drug possession, carjacking, and fraud federal offenses. The federal criminal code now overlaps substantially with that of the states.
-In the latter half of the twentieth century, the lines between federal and state criminal jurisdiction have further blurred as Congress has made gun and drug possession, carjacking, and fraud federal offenses. There is now little distinction between state and federal criminal jurisdiction in terms of substantive laws.
+In addition to crime policy, federalism shapes the quality and structure of police operations. While the federal government often seeks to incorporate state and local police into its various public security initiatives, the Supreme Court has ruled that the Tenth Amendment bars the federal government from issuing mandates to state and local police; police participation in a federal public-security initiative thus requires the consent of the affiliated state or local government. In the early twenty-first century, this constitutional limitation on federal government authority facilitated the practice of “immigrant sanctuary,” in which state and local governments restricted police participation in federal immigration enforcement activity.
 {| class="wikitable"
 |-
 | '''BIBLIOGRAPHY:'''
-Lawrence M. Friedman, ''Crime and Punishment in American History'' (New York: Basic Books, 1993); Herbert Jacob, ''Justice in America: Courts, Lawyers and the Judicial Process'' (Boston: Little, Brown 1984); and Daniel Richman, “The Changing Boundaries Between Federal and Local Law Enforcement,” in ''Boundary Changes in Criminal Justice'', vol. 2 (Washington, DC: Office of Justice Programs, 2000).
+Lawrence M. Friedman, Crime and Punishment in American History (New York: Basic Books, 1993); Daniel Richman, “Violent Crime Federalism,” Crime and Justice (Vol. 34. No. 1, 2006); David Garland, Peculiar Institution (Harvard University Press, 2010); Robert Mikos, “Medical Marijuana and the Political Safeguards of Federalism;” 89 Denv. U. L. Rev. (2011-2012); Trevor Gardner, “Immigrant Sanctuary as the Old Normal,” Columbia Law Review (2018); Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898, 935 (1997); Lopez v United States, 514 U.S. 549 (1995).
 |}
-==== Lisa L. Miller ====
+==== Trevor G. Gardner
-Last updated: 2006
+Last updated: May 2018
 SEE ALSO: [[State Courts]]; [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]
 [[Category:Policy Areas]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:44, 28 September 2017
Line 20:		Line 20:

	SEE ALSO: [[State Courts]]; [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]		SEE ALSO: [[State Courts]]; [[USA PATRIOT Act of 2001]]
		+
		+	[[Category:Policy Areas]]