What is justice?
- the maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments.
- just treatment of all members of society with regard to a specified public issue, including equitable distribution of resources and participation in decision-making.
What is criminal justice?
- Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other crimes, and moral support for victims. The primary institutions of the criminal justice system are the police, prosecution and defense lawyers, the courts and the prisons system.
The criminal justice system consists of three main parts:
- Law enforcement agencies, usually the police
- Courts and accompanying prosecution and defence lawyers
- Agencies for detaining and supervising offenders, such as prisons and probation agencies.
In the criminal justice system, these distinct agencies operate together as the principal means of maintaining the rule of law within society.
[I would add a fourth - the legislature, which decides what activities are legal and illegal, whether they are criminal or civil infractions, felonies or misdemeanors, and what the appropriate punishment is for them.]
What is a felony?
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious.[1] The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resulted in the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods, to which additional punishments including capital punishment could be added;[2] other crimes were called misdemeanors. Following conviction of a felony in a court of law, a person may be described as a felon or a convicted felon.
- Murder.
- Voluntary manslaughter.
- Rape.
- Mayhem.
- Attempted murder.
- Assault with an attempt to rape, murder.
- Assault with a deadly weapon.
What is a misdemeanor?
A misdemeanor (American English,[1] spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions (also known as minor, petty, or summary offences) and regulatory offences. Typically, misdemeanors are punished with monetary fines or community service.
- Minor drug offenses, such as possession.
- Drunk driving.
- Petty theft, including shoplifting.
- Minor or simple assault or battery.
- Trespassing.
- Vandalism.
- Minor sex crimes, including solicitation, prostitution and indecent exposure.
- Resisting arrest.
Punishment.
Incarceration
Felonies: A felony conviction, like a misdemeanor conviction, may not result in time behind bars. But felonies carry potential imprisonment that ranges from time in prison (a year is often the low end) to life in prison without parole or even death. As with misdemeanors, states may also subdivide felonies by class or degree.
Misdemeanors: Many states classify misdemeanors under different categories depending on the seriousness of the crime and its punishment. In most cases, if a misdemeanor is not classified by a letter grade in the section defining it, the misdemeanor is classified as follows:
- Class A: if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is one year or less but more than six months.
- Class B: if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is six months or less but more than thirty days.
- Class C: if the maximum term of imprisonment authorized is thirty days or less but more than five days.
However, some states do not classify misdemeanors by categories. Thus, the sentencing is made on a crime-by-crime basis.
Additional Punishments:
The consequences felons face in most states include:- Disenfranchisement
- Exclusion from obtaining certain licenses,
- Ineligibility to hold office in a labor union (a provision of the Landrum–Griffin Act of 1959)
- Exclusion from purchase and possession of firearms, ammunition, and body armor
- Ineligibility to serve on a jury
- Ineligibility for government assistance or welfare
- Removal (deportation) (if not a citizen)
What is civil justice?
- The civil justice system allows a person or entity (the plaintiff) to sue another person or entity (the defendant) over some form of harm or wrongdoing. If the court rules in favor of the plaintiff, they are typically awarded damages or a form of compensation from the defendant. Civil justice can encompass various legal disputes such as divorces, child support, class action lawsuits, employment rights, property claims, and personal injury, to name a few. The system is in place to help individuals hold others accountable for wrongdoing. However, civil cases do not involve prosecution or potential jail time, unlike criminal cases.
