Political systems essays

Political systems essays In large societies existing in the world today, there are many different opinions when it comes to political decision-making. There have been many different political systems in the past. There exist two extreme positions. The Athenian democracy is a system in which all the citizens of an area participate in making decisions. One alternative to the Athenian democracy is the elite or absolute rule; a system in which there is one person who makes decisions for the country, hopefully in the countrys best interests. An alternative political system between the two extremes is the representative democracy in which you get to vote on the political party you would like to represent you. In a way this system leaves decision making up to professional groups of people, but still gives the people of the country some control over decisions made. The political party voted into power is given the right to make decisions for the country; if the citizens of the country wish to vote for another party, they may do so in the next election. Different societies in the world today believe that one system is the rational and politically correct one. A certain group of people might argue that an absolute ruler gives no political rights to its citizens, and it leaves the country open to corruption. This group may not support an Athenian Democracy because it is inefficient in societies today, because the societies are simply too large. Too much time would be spent deciding which goals and approaches to take. This would leave very little time to achieve these goals. The same society may support a Representative Democracy because they believe it is the only way to divide the power between Citizen and State fairly. A representative democracy is the best political system for all countries in the world today. A very controversial system still used today is the Absolute Monarchy. An absolute or elite ruler makes all the countrys decisions, for better or ...

The Appeals Process Stage of a Criminal Case

The Appeals Process Stage of a Criminal Case Anyone convicted of a crime has the right to appeal that conviction if they believe a legal error has occurred. If you have been convicted of a crime and plan to appeal, you are no longer known as the defendant, you are now the appellant in the case. In criminal cases, an appeal asks a higher court to look at the record of the trial proceedings to determine if a legal error occurred that may have affected the outcome of the trial or the sentence imposed by the judge. Appealing Legal Errors An appeal rarely challenges the decision of the jury, but rather challenges any legal errors that the judge or the prosecution may have made during the trial. Any ruling that the judge made during the preliminary hearing, during pre-trial motions and during the trial itself can be appealed if the appellant believes the ruling was in error. For example, if your lawyer made a pre-trial motion challenging the legality of the search of your car and the judge ruled that the police did not need a search warrant, that ruling can be appealed because it allowed evidence to be seen by the jury that would not have otherwise seen. Notice of Appeal Your attorney will have plenty of time to prepare your formal appeal, but in most states, you have a limited time to announce your intention to appeal your conviction or sentence. In some states, you have only 10 days to decide if there are issues that can be appealed. Your notice of appeal will need to include the exact issue or issues upon which you are basing your appeal. Many appeals have been rejected by higher courts simply because the appellant waited too long to raise the issue. Records and Writs When you appeal your case, the appellate court will receive the record of the criminal trial and all rulings leading up to the trial. Your attorney will file a written brief outlining why you believe your conviction was affected by legal error. The prosecution likewise will file a written brief telling the appellate court why it believes the ruling was legal and appropriate. Usually, after the prosecution files its brief, the appellant can file a follow-up brief in rebuttal. The Next Highest Court Although it does happen, the attorney who handled your criminal trial will probably not handle your appeal. Appeals are usually handled by lawyers who have experience with the appeals process and working with higher courts. Although the appeals process varies from state to state, the process generally starts with the next highest court in the system - state or federal - in which the trial was held. In most cases, this is the state appellate. The party that loses at the appeals court  can apply to the next highest court, usually the state supreme court. If the issues involved in the appeal are constitutional, the case can then be appealed to the federal district appeals court and eventually to the U.S. Supreme Court. Direct Appeals/Automatic Appeals Anyone who is sentenced to death is automatically given a direct appeal. Depending on the state, the appeal may be mandatory or dependent on the defendants choice. Direct appeals always go to the highest court in the state. In federal cases, the direct appeal goes to the federal courts.A panel of judges decides on the outcome of direct appeals. The judges then can either affirm the conviction and sentence, reverse the conviction, or reverse the death sentence.  The losing side can then  petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court.   Appeals Rarely Successful Very few criminal trial appeals are successful. Thats why when a criminal appeal is granted, it makes headlines in the media because it is rare. In order for a conviction or a sentence to be overturned, the appeals court not only must find that an error occurred, but also that the error was clear and serious enough to affect the outcome of the trial. A criminal conviction can be appealed on the basis that the strength of the evidence presented a trial did not support the verdict. This type of appeal is significantly more expensive and much more lengthy than a legal error appeal and even more rarely successful.