Legal Scholar

Question 1

Discretion in the U.S. criminal justice system was at one time defined by Roscoe Pound, a legal scholar and educator (1960) as follows: “an authority conferred by law to act in certain conditions or situations in accordance with an official’s or an official agency’s own considered judgment and conscience.” Discuss the following:

• Do you think there is too much discretion in the criminal justice system? Explain.
• Are there certain jobs or roles in the criminal trial process (from investigation through appeal) that have more discretion than other jobs or roles?
• Is there too great a concentration of discretion in particular jobs or roles in the criminal justice system?
• Do you think it would be desirable to limit the amount of discretion in the criminal justice system? If so, how would you do this? What might be the effects?

Reference

Pound, R. (1960). Discretion, dispensation and mitigation: The problem of the individual special case. New York University Law Review 35. 925, 926.

Question 2

The thesis is “Mandatory minimum sentencing should be done away with. every crime, individual, and situation is different. We shouldn’t hold them up to one set of written guidelines, especially when it comes to non violent offenses”.

Must be MLA Format

Must follow assignment sheet attached.

Be sure to read through the assignment sheet to make sure you have everything, but these are some things to consider before you submit the paper:

• You have an argument
• Paragraphs are between 1/2 to 3/4 of a page
• You have at least 1 quote from 6 sources and all quotes are three lines or less
• Quotes do not occur at the end of a paragraph
• No first/second person
• You have a Works Cited
• No questions in the paper
• You have proofread the paper for errors