Role of Research in Criminal Justice

Role of Research in Criminal Justice

Part 1

The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution pertains to states’ rights. It was ratified on December 15, 1791. The Tenth Amendment explicitly states the Constitution’s principle of federalism by providing that powers not granted to the federal government nor prohibited to the states, but by the Constitution are reserved, respectively, for the states or the people.

Currently, there are a number of states in contention with the federal government over immigration reform and enforcement of immigration laws.

Write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

Do you think the states should have a sovereign right to enact laws that mirror the federal law for the purpose of immigration violations? Why or why not? Explain in detail.

In your interpretation, how has the U.S. Supreme Court dealt with this issue? Explain.

In your own words, how does a federal republic function? Does the majority rule? Explain in detail.

Part 1 – 2

In this assignment, you will identify issues confronting modern law enforcement, corrections, and the court system; reflect on policies that currently impact those components of the criminal justice system; and point out problems that exist in today’s criminal justice system.

Consider situations in the criminal justice system that have developed in the past 10 years. These situations will have surfaced in public media pertaining to issues, problems, and policies of law enforcement, corrections, and the court system.

Tip: Finding these concerns is easily accomplished using media search engines of major news publication archives. The hardest issue will be to decide which ones to read. You can search for death penalty, juvenile boot camps, or plea bargaining, for example.

Think of a topic and then evaluate whether or not it is a public concern. If you begin to research a topic and can only find 4 or less articles on it, then do not select it for a research concern. You will need to select a topic for this assignment where sufficient information exists to research. There are a number of large newspapers and online news archives. Also, the major news agencies will have online archives for issues they have reported on. These are just a few suggestions. The limitations on this project are determined by your own creativity.

Assignment Guidelines

Address the following in 2–3 pages:

Identify at least 2 issues, problems, or policies in criminal justice for each of the following 3 components:

Law Enforcement

Corrections

Court System

This should result in the identification of a minimum total of 6 issues, problems, or policies.

Relate whether the areas identified are an issue, problem, or policy, and explain why.

Keep in mind they can be a combination.

The amount of attention paid by the media to the topics you selected may be an indicator of the level of concern the public holds regarding these topics.

However, it could also be an indicator of the agenda of that particular media outlet. Be careful, because the media outlet can be the driving force behind the issue, trying to make it a public concern.

Select 2 (out of the 6 or more you identified from the media search) of the issues, policies, or problems you found in terms of current public interest.

Select 2 topics that actually interest you, just to make the assignment more fun. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your research. You will find your end product is enhanced when you like what you are doing.

Create an annotated bibliography for the 2 research topics.

Find 8–10 peer-reviewed scholarly references (total) that pertain to your 2 topics.

Following each one of the individual references, prepare 2–3 sentences that describe what each reference is expected to contribute to your research.

It is not expected that you will read every word, but the abstracts should give you an idea of the content, and skimming through the document might also be helpful.

You may find other references later that better support and define your logic, but this is a start.

Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.