Recent orders
Criminal and Civil Law
Criminal and Civil Law
The civil court system refers to the process through which civil law suits are adjudicated, with the main bone of contention in most cases being a violation of civil rights. This process usually differs greatly to the criminal process, as not only are juries rare, but in most cases the process is initiated by individuals or organizations, whereas in criminal cases the government usually initiates proceedings. In most cases, civil actions result in personal benefit to the individual, with the suit arising due to individual or organizational disagreements, although at times governments or its subdivisions may be party to civil suits (Ides & May, 2006). The processes also differ in terms of the penalties imposed by the courts; in criminal courts, the penalties include fines, prison sentences, execution, and other punishments such as probation, civil courts usually impose fines, either simply to reimburse damages caused, or to act as punitive damages and therefore by extension discourage any similar behavior by others in the future (Burke, 2006). In essence, these fines are not designed to punish the wrong doer, but rather to compensate for damage done, as well as to discourage any such future behavior.
Civil penalties differ from criminal penalties in the sense that they are not designed to punish as opposed to penalties under criminal law, but rather to compensate. As such, these penalties usually expressly involve imposition of fines as well as other penalties, but no prison sentences (Scheb, 2002). Further, even though both civil penalties and criminal punishments take into account the harm done, and punishment or penalties are meted out proportional to the harm done, civil penalties also take into account what the perpetrator stands to gain, as well as a number of other factors. For instance, if a manufacturer violates a section, the penalty is calculated based on the savings the business made through the violation, any previous history of such violations, the size of their business, the effect the penalty will have on their ability to continue with business, as well as any efforts the business made to rectify the violation. Civil penalties are therefore imposed in most cases with only the victim in mind, with penalties imposed being aimed at rectifying the wrong done to them, or compensating them for it, whereas criminal punishments are simply focused on the wrong done and punishing the perpetrator for the crime. In addition, it is fair to say, based on the descriptions above, that the imposition of civil penalties is therefore a much more elaborate process than criminal punishments, as a number of factors have to be taken into account. In civil cases, the level of proof is quite low and falls on the plaintiff, compared to criminal cases in which the burden of proof squarely falls on the state and is quite high (“beyond reasonable doubt”)
Further, civil courts may also impose other penalties, such as requiring the individual or organization to remedy their mistake, impose community orders, such that the individual is forced to provide unpaid labor, disqualify an individual from being able to act in a given capacity (Moxon & Hedderman, 1994).
In cases where both the criminal court system and the civil court systemare involved, the punishments should not correlate in any way. This is based on the fact that these two processes are essentially aimed at achieving different objectives (Johns, 2006). Civil proceedings focus on rectifying the damages done and compensating the individual or organization harmed (victim), while criminal proceedings are aimed at punishing the perpetrator for his/ her actions, thereby also discouraging any similar behavior. The punishments or penalties imposed by these two systems cannot be related, as criminal punishments cannot substitute for civil penalties, while civil penalties cannot substitute for criminal punishment.
References
Burke, P. (2006). The Criminal Law, And Its Sentences, In Treasons, Felonies, and Misdemeanors: WithA Supplement Including All Statutable Alterations And Additions Down To The Present Time.Oxford University Press.
Ides, A. & May, C. (2006). Civil Procedure: Cases and Problems. Aspen Publishers.
Johns, M. (2006). The United States Legal System: An Introduction. Carolina Academic Press
Moxon, D. & Hedderman C. (1994). Mode of Trial Decisions and Sentencing Differencesbetween Courts. The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice 33(2), 97-108
Scheb, J. (2002). An Introduction to the American Legal System. Cengage Learning.
“U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, Frequently Asked
Questions”. Retrieved from
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/faq.htm
Criminal activities are observed by many as an integral part of the society
Introduction
Criminal activities are observed by many as an integral part of the society. This means that is difficult to live in an environment where there is no any breaking of the law. This is the main reason why governments of the world have established elaborate systems of justice for the purpose of fighting any social evils. All these are aimed at maintaining social harmony and protecting the citizens against malicious people. However, many systems of justice have not been effective in fully combating the incidences of crime as it has been soaring. This is the reason why there was a need to establish alternative systems such as the restorative justice to assist in the change of behavior.
Restorative justice has been defined as the process of seeking to fulfill the needs of the victim and also that of the offender (McCold, 1999).This is however contrary to the normal systems of justice which are aimed at fulfilling the demands of the constitution while ignoring that of the victim. In this social type of justice, the concerned authority realized that the only way to find a lasting solution is by getting to the root cause of an offence from the offenders side.
In this system of juvenile justice, the victim and the offender are both given the active role in determining the healing process (Morris, 2001). This is contrary to the conventional means where the focus is on the satisfaction of the needs of the law and the community by administering punishment to the offenders. Observation has shown that this has not been a successful way as far as curbing criminal activities is concerned. Several sociological theories state that every behavior has got a motivation and is committed to satisfy a specific need.
Therefore, in order to win the juvenile delinquency issues, there is need to tackle the motivating behavior from the offenders part. Punishment is sometimes said to suppress the undesirable behaviors only for sometime. It does not provide the absolute solution to the matters pertaining to behaving in the desirable way.
There are three main processes of restorative justice for the juvenile that have been provided. The first one is the arranged meeting between the offender and the victim in the presence of a qualified and experienced mediator (David, 2003). He facilitates the communication between the two parties with an aim of seeking to have a lasting solution. In this meeting, the offender is expected to repair the relationship with the victim, pay any damages or return any stolen commodities. He is also expected to apologize for any offences caused to the victim.
The second process is done in the presence of family members of the both parties. This stage is known as the family group conferencing which recognizes the important role of the parents, friends and the professionals that are closely linked to the offender. This is imperative especially if the offender is still dependent on the family and friends for survival as he shall take the advice given to them seriously.
The final stage in establishing a lasting solution in any juvenile delinquencies is by involving the wider circle of the community in several conferences. At this point, the victims or their close associates are given an opportunity to confront the offender with an aim of establishing the cause of the offence and pursuing any accrued damages.
In conclusion, restorative justice for the juvenile has been observed to be one of the most effective means of acquiring lasting solution. This is owing to the fact that it is aimed at getting to the root cause of the problem by involving both the victim and the offender. In the event of any damage, the offender has to apologize and later on required to pay reasonable damages.
References
McCold, P. (1999). Restorative justice practice – The state of the field. Paper presented at Building Strong Partnerships for Restorative Practices Conference, Burlington, VT, USA. Retrieved December 6, 2007, from HYPERLINK “http://www.restorativepractices.org/library/vt/vt_mccold.html” http://www.restorativepractices.org/library/vt/vt_mccold.html
Morris, G. (2001). Restorative conferencing. In Bazemore, G. & Schiff, M. (Eds.), Restorative community justice: Repairing harm and transforming communities (pp. 173–197). Cincinnati, OH: Anderson Publishing Co.
David, P. (2003). A survey of assessment research on mediation and conferencing. In L. Walgrave (Ed.), Repositioning Restorative Justice (pp. 67–120). Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.
Reflection on the Interview Process
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Instructor’s name
Course name
Date
Reflection on the Interview Process
The interview was done via a phone call to a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic working at the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). She was so friendly and cooperative during the whole interview process. The interview comprised of eight questions touching on different areas such as the drive to do nursing, the schooling requirements, and professional life as a nurse. I think the answers I received from this exercise were good and shed enough light on different aspects of the nursing profession.
I learnt enough things from this interview. One lesson learnt was some of the different reasons that drive people into doing what they love most. For this interviewee, her passion for becoming a nurse started long time ago as a young child, while for me the desire grew after my high school years. After I had done well in my high school level, I realized nursing was one of the best courses I would do because I would not lack a job opportunity and I would be contributing to a healthier nation through healthcare.
I also learnt about different schooling requirements for different levels in nursing. One can begin from humble beginnings and become whoever they wish to become. For instance my interviewee started from being a HOSA club member in high school to a nurse assistant and grew her way up to a registered nurse years later. For others, they can start from community level or jump straight to a degree in nursing all of which are essential.
Additionally, I also learnt about how to behave as a nurse and what the nursing profession entails. For instance this interviewee commented that she could overstretch to any lengths just to make sure her patients are well cared for and handed over to the next shift nurses before she could call it a day. I am also called to be selfless as a nurse because at the end of the day, quality care and health outcomes are of more concern to nurses than other things.
From the passion my interviewee had, I believe this is a profession I want to pursue to be at her level or more. Just like her, I am also delighted to see other people happy, smile and satisfied hence nursing is the only profession I can think of that can help me achieve that. Apart from that, I have gained some knowledge that nursing is not just about the happy side of life but a call that needs one to be strong enough because there are situations where outcomes will not be as desired but one has to dust and stand up for another day and another challenge.
This interview did not change my perception and desire to be a nurse. In fact it has strengthened it because I have heard from an expert in the field about the good and bad side of the profession. I believe with the right education, knowledge and skills gained from this college, I will be more than ready to embrace the bright side and mitigate the bad side hence attaining holistic goals for myself and patients. I have also had a desire to become a nurse for sometimes now and I think it will only be fair to myself if I embrace the challenge and pursue nursing to attain my future goals. Of course I want to be in a rewarding profession despite the challenges I may face because at the end of the day I will be delighted that I did the best I could and the right thing to everyone around me.
I have learned a lot from this interview but the most conspicuous idea I’ve come out with is that, one need not to give up no matter what. Even if the challenge is finances, one can start small and eventually attain their dream. It doesn’t matter where you began, but what matters is that you never gave up and you eventually attained your hearts desires. Like for her she began way in high school just as a club member and after that finances did not deter her from pursuing her dreams. She enrolled to a community training college for a nursing assistant role and here she is as a RN and working with one of the best clinics in the country. Furthermore, she is not done yet and still ready to enrol for a Masters degree and a PhD in nursing later soon. The best thing about this journey is that she is doing what she loves the most and so nothing can stop her from becoming who she wants to become in the future. We share similar sentiments and I am sure if I don’t give up, I can reach where she is and beyond with time.