Cja 305 - Victims and Crimes Evaluation

Victims and Crimes Evaluation

Mark Weston

CJA/305

September 13, 2017

Professor Vestiba

                 The following paper will cover the roles of the defense attorneys, prosecutor, victim and the accused. While discussing each one of these roles, I will cover the goals of alternative sanctions, rules of sentencing associated with multiple roles and any professional recommendations or opinions in terms of the victims rights.

        A defense attorney has many roles and I’m going to cover them. One of the first rolls the defense attorney has is to support the offender in public and give them a fair chance to protect themselves from any unjust government intervention outside of law. A defense attorney has an obligation to give his or her best effort for their defendant’s welfare. Another role of the defense attorney is to be an officer of the court and to be true to himself, client and the court. A defense attorney can also hold information in a confidential manner to protect his defendant’s rights and privileges and so his client or himself cannot be miss represented.  It’s also a defense attorneys responsibility to make sure the information he receives and obtains is not only accurate but is based on factual evidence and can be produced if possible or necessary so that his client can have an opportunity to have justice served. A defense attorney isn’t just an advocate for his client, his role is much more important in our justice system.

        After hearing the roll at the defense attorney, what is the role of the defendant or alleged criminal? If you are ever unlucky to be in the seat of the accused or alleged criminal, good luck. Hopefully you have the money for a great defense attorney for starters. The role of the criminal was to break the law and get caught. By breaking the law, the criminal has done harm to someone else whether that be, physically, psychologically or even emotionally. The criminal may have destroyed property or broken many laws but ultimately the role of the criminal it is to do harm and then ultimately work with his defense attorney to try and save himself.

        It’s unfortunate when anyone becomes a victim of a crime. Hopefully law-enforcement does a great job and finds the perpetrator to serve justice. Victimization is an important part of the process.  Victims work with the prosecutor and have roles in the case that might help the prosecution case. It’s important to remember that not every victim wants to remain silent. Some victims want to stand up and be heard. When the victim stands up, it makes all the difference in the world for the prosecution. A defense attorney can have a serious dent in his case after having the victim voice his case or have a hearing for damages that his client may have done. A victim can have an emotional impact on a courtroom or case. Whenever a case can become emotional, I defense attorney and an accused can have harsher sentences thrown down his way. A victim can have a strong impact and a prominent role.