Criminal Law and the Supreme Court

Courts are established social, political, and judicial institutions necessary for the manifestation of justice and the maintenance of law and order. The courts are part of the judicial branch of government, as outlined in Article III of the United States Constitution. Courts are the arenas in which the law is tried and applied. Judges are the presiding officers of the court. The United States Supreme Court is the most fundamental court because has "the authority to decide the constitutionality of federal laws and resolve other disputes over them," (United States Courts, 2012). This is true even though even though the court does not expressly enforce that law; enforcement is the province of the executive branch.

The courts play a huge role in the criminal justice system. The dual court system of the United States (U.S.) was established through the U.S. constitution. The court systems have a multiple purposes and elements of court. Federal and state court system is what makes up the dual court system of the U.S. Today the U.S. court system is what it is today because of previous legal codes, common law, and the precedent it played in the past. Making the U.S. court system a vital role in the criminal justice system..

Leading U.S. supreme court cases in criminal justice: Briefs and key terms is a source reference with respect to criminal law, constitutional law, and criminal procedure. The major focus of this book includes explained mandates of over 1000 U.S. Supreme Court cases and this book details key terms and definitions.

    In light of this topic, another portion of the original writing, “...excessive fines” can be discussed. Rather than all acts leading to the same punishment, there are varying levels of severity to each issue. A very common example of this would be tax evasion. (1) Tax evasion essentially means filling out tax forms with knowingly incorrect figures and data. (2) As a direct result of tax evasion, convicted criminals are presented with penalties varying from either 1-5 years in prison or a $100,000 fine maximum. Once again, variables play a tremendous role of importance in this form of punishment. Often times, tax evasion is played off into a fine and while incarceration is still a prevalent issue it is far less more

When imposing legal sanctions we must consider the criminal act committed. The importance of this consideration lies in fact that the punishment should fit the crime. We would not want to sentence a child to life imprisonment for stealing a candy bar any more than we would we want to sentence someone convicted of murder to six months community supervision. Granted, these examples are extreme; however, they do help to make sense of proportionality and how it affects sentencing.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America which defines the structure of national government and dictates the capacity of its powers and limitations. The U.S. Constitution maintains its purpose as the fundamental application of law in the United States where all other laws are measured against it. Furthermore, the Guarantee Clause of Article 4 specifies each state to maintain a degree of sovereignty over its own forms of government (U.S. Const. art. IV, § 4). State constitutions mirror the design of the federal constitution and contain extended provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

Chapter 11 Article 1 The Supreme Court could soon deliver a crushing blow to the Sixth Amendment

Over the years, the Supreme Court has changed along with the situations and controversies of the time period. The interpretations and connotations of many amendments and constitutional clauses have grown and evolved throughout history, and it is the job of the justice system to adapt to match these changes. As different situations and scenarios have presented themselves, the justices of the Supreme Court have wrestled with moral, judicial, legal, and societal reasons to make decisions regarding the rights of the accused. In many situations, there is not always a clear-cut divide between right and wrong. This provides various challenges for the court system, as its members are forced to make decisions based on a plethora of justifications.

When it comes to the United States, (U.S), the majority of the American people love their seconded amendment rights. As stated in the textbook, Constitutional Law and the Criminal Justice System by J. Scott Harr, Karen M. Hess, Christine Orthmann, the second amendment of the United States Constitution, for the most part, protects the U.S. citizens rights to “keep and bear arms” (Harr, Hess, Orthmann, & Kingsbury, 2015, p. 167). That being said, each state in the U.S. will vary in their firearms laws. For instance, some states make it easier for their residence to purchase or use a firearm; other states may have stricter laws that require a more scrutinized screening process. To be more specific, most states vary in elements, such as the exceptions to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, the waiting period on purchasing firearms; if someone needs a license to own or purchase a gun; if registration is required; and if a record of the firearm sales is sent to the local police. Other factors that will differ from state to state would include, if some firearms are permitted or not allowed to be sold or owned by a state, the concealed carry laws, hunter protection laws; range protection laws, and finally, not all states have firearm injury lawsuit preemption.

The United States court system is the institution were all the legal disputes in the american society are carryed out and resolved. However, one single court is not enough to resolve every single dispute in society and that is why the court system is made up of two different courts, the federal courts and the state courts. Moreover, the federal and state courts are made up of several divisions made to handle legal disputes differently depending on its seriousness. For example, the state court is made up of trial courts of limited jurisdiction and probate courts were cases and disputes originate and then move up to trial courts of general jurisdiction, intermediate apellate courts, and courts of last resort respectively depending on the case.In contrast, the federal court consists of district courts, territorial coutrs, tax court, court of international trade, claims court, court of veterans appeals, an courts of military review which then move on to courts of appeals respectively and may ultimately end up in the United States supreme court. In addition, cases from state court may also appeal into the federal court system but not the other way around.

There are many different reasons a person can find themselves in a court as the defendant.

This paper examines the role of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in protecting the intellectual copyright of recordings from illegal downloading, which continues to be a major problem for the recording industry despite repeated efforts to stop this practice by consumers. This role of the RIAA relates to the business and economic aspects of the recording industry and illegal downloads from online platforms. The RIAA’s role in addressing illegal downloading has involved lobbying governments for enforcement of copyrights, litigation against private parties (individuals and organizations), engaged in illegal downloads, and marketing campaigns encouraging customers to refrain from engaging in illegal downloads. The paper begins with a background on how the technological developments led to the problem of illegal downloads before examining the role of the RIAA in curbing this practice. The analysis then concludes with the finding that the RIAA has been deficient in curbing this practice, resulting in significant losses in sales, revenues, and profits for the recording industry.

“Before the days of YouTube and the Internet, a band 's chances of striking it big depended on record companies. If a band was lucky enough to get a record deal, it gained access to a label 's vast resources and connections. The company paid for the band 's studio time, … and got its music played on the radio, reaching millions of record buying Americans” (Majerol, 1). Now, anyone with talent can post a video of themselves and become an internet sensation, only to then receive a deal with a label to continue growing their career. The issue is, with the Internet came digital downloading, and with the growing popularity of digital downloading came illegal downloading, known as Digital Piracy, which has affected the music industry greatly. This issue affects everyone involved in the Music Industry. From the small CD store owner to the Artist on stage, everyone has and continues to be affected by the growing popularity of digital downloading services. Artists, producers, and songwriters lose an estimated 12.5 Billion USD every year to illegal digital music services. Further, the economic impact from [digital downloading] is an estimated loss of 2+ Billion USD (Storrs, 1). This money affects the “little guys” in the industry and the average worker within the industry.

Piracy, the government call this a crime, other people would call it a response against mega businesses. Whatever piracy is should not remove the fact that the government has laws against piracy, and many wonder what the appropriate punishment for people who don 't follow these laws should be. I like many others, believe that music piracy should not be punished so severely, but of course, like many things in life, this topic won’t have a black and white answer. The point of view of both sides of the fence have a reason for what they do, then it must be known, what type of punishment should music pirates face?

Ever since the start of illegal music downloading there has been an ongoing debate. As with any controversy, there are those whose positions stand at one end of the spectrum or the other and also those who are moderate or nonchalant. Many believe that downloading a song without paying for it is not only illegal, but also immoral. None-the less, people continue to download songs, rationalizing that the record companies are getting what they deserve after years of overpriced CD's or that the artists won't really miss the money. Some people are not sure what to make of the situation, sympathizing in some respects with either side. There are several proposed solutions to this problem, but it has become obvious that there is not easy or clear