Why America Should Legalize Prostitution - Assignment Example

Criminology Assignments

Introduction to Criminal Justice

The US Supreme Court formulated the Exclusionary Rule as an option to administer the Fourth Amendment among other constitutional violations laws. However, application of the Fourth Amendment rule has remained contentious (Siegel & Worrall, 2013). Its opponents argue that it only offers protection to criminals; however, the proponents of the law argue that it provides an efficient deterrent to misconducts by the police offers. Moreover, they note that the law ensures the judiciary keeps its integrity by making sure that illegally obtained evidence are not used in the judicial system.

Chapter 9

Appellants have problems in raising appeal issues. Most appellants are primarily advised to raise only a limited number of subjects. The problem with raising limited topics is that all the facts and arguments about the previous trial might not have been addressed (Mogin, 2014). Notwithstanding, the Appeal judges are advising that drafting briefs must be limited to only three issues. False claims argue that there is wisdom in the perception that attorneys who prefer raising every possible argument dilute the strength of the conventions that will most probably succeed. Judges such as Robert Jackson affirm that an appellate judge's openness to claims that a lower court blundered declines as the quantity of assigned mistakes/errors increases (Mogin, 2014). Generally, there are claims that the outcome the multiplicity of assigned errors enhances deficiency of confidence in any person. This notion has led to are contentions in the appeal process that relate to a trial judge erroneously authorizing a witness to answer compound or leading questions.

There is a significant need to limit the attempts to appeal cases that appellants' beliefs have not satisfied their needs. Litigating a case through appeal and trial is costly and time-consuming. After several months, or more often, several years spent on litigation, delivering a hostile view from the appellate court to the client is a challenging and in most cases considered an emotional decision. Specific rules should govern cases that need rehearing, and such rules should be set forth for filing and setting grounds for arguing the case. Additionally, such rules should insist on the contents of the case.

The time for filing a motion is likely to limit the threshold upon which a case can be appealed. Cases for rehearing needs to be tabled in the appeal court within a strict period, most preferably, 15 days of the request upon which rehearing is sought or within the set period by the appellate tribunal. However, the time limits for appeal motions for rehearing are not jurisdictional (Mogin, 2014). Nevertheless, when a satisfactory explanation for the tardiness is indicated, the court has the full discretion to compromise an untimely motion for rehearing on particular merits. The benefit of setting a strict period for filing a rehearing motion is that parties are not allowed to file more than one rehearing motion. This rule helps in limiting the emergence of subsequent motions; hence, the appellate court's decision on rehearing will not change the substance of the case or affect the original position of the trial courts.

Limits set on the appeal cases should also incorporate contents of the filed motion. Some rules have set forth the essential materials needed for rehearing. For example, a motion set for rehearing must state, with particularity, the facts or points of law, the perception of the movant, that the trial court misapprehended or overlooked in the original decision. It means that the appellate courts should not allow presentation of issues not previously mentioned in the trial proceeding (Mogin, 2014). Thus, the cases qualifying for appeal must not contain new issues, and they must avoid reassessing the merits of the trial court's decision. The repercussion of this limitation guide is that the justice assigned to the appellant will not have satisfied their needs of fairness by allowing them to exercise their right of providing satisfactory evidence over and above what was used in the trial courts or what the previous courts might have overlooked.

Chapter 14

Incarceration as a method of criminal punishment was only prevalent in the United States before the American Revolution. Earlier, penal imprisonment efforts continued in England as early as the 1500s (Morris & Rothman, 1997). Prisons were like dungeons. Moreover, other detention facilities existed since long before the revolution. Prison construction efforts in the U.S. were realized in three eras. The first started during the Jacksonian Era that was marked with an intense and elaborate use of rehabilitative labor and incarceration as the core penalties for several crimes. These forms of justice were applied even during the support of the American Civil War (Morris & Rothman, 1997). Secondly, prison systems began after the end of the Civil War and expanded during the Progressive Era that led to the introduction of new detention mechanisms such as indeterminate sentencing, probation, and parole. Finally, from the early 1970s, the U.S. involved the sudden historical expansion of the incarceration system at both the state and federal levels.

The ancient correctional systems used the ideology of the English Workhouse, which was first created as a "cure" for the idleness of the poor population (Morris & Rothman, 1997). Over an extended period, English reformers and authorities came to perceive the workhouse as a joint system for rehabilitating offender of all kinds. In the 1500s, the general wisdom England attributed idleness to property crime (Morris & Rothman, 1997). Idleness had been considered a status offense and the Parliament enacted the same in the mid-14th Century as the Statue of Laborers. By the dawn of 1530, English subjects accused of leading a "Vagabonds or Rogishe Trade of Lyfe" (Gritz, n.d.) faced mutilation and whipping, and the recidivists could even face death penalties.

Jeremy Bentham significantly influenced the code of moral punishment in the England. He used measurements such as extent, purity, productiveness, proximity, certainty, duration, and intensity to define the philosophy of punishment. Bentham assessed the concept of punishment to determine when it should be applied. His ideas helped in determining whether the act will generate more pain or more pleasure for the society. He commissioned legislators to define whether punishment could finally lead to more dangerous and new vices than those being punished. His concepts called required legislators to measure the pains and pleasures connected with any legislation and to create laws that focused on the creation of the greatest good for the largest number of individuals in the society.

Several Quakers have participated in the transformation of the criminal justice systems of their era (Gritz, nd). Quakers believed that humans are subject to change. They focused on changes that enhance the likelihood of positive change, for example, improved prison conditions, increased education opportunities, and help in managing violent impulses.

Chapter 15

The prisoners managed their feelings of powerlessness and frustration in several ways. First, some detainees fought or rebelled with the guards. For example, an inmate may contact a psychosomatic rash when he learned that his request for parole was denied. Additionally, the inmates may react by applying the emotional breakdown approach as a method of escaping the situation. Others managed their feeling by being good prisoners.

Three types of guards emerged from the Stanford Prison Experiment (Zimbardo, 2016). They included the open but tough guards who strictly followed the prison regulations. The second group comprised of the good guards who never punished the prisoners and did little favors for the welfare of the inmates. Finally, the third group was made up of the guards that were inventive, arbitrary, and hostile in their manners of prisoner humiliation. This last group of guards seemed to enjoy sufficiently the power they exercised. `

The study was ended because the entire setup had developed an overwhelmingly powerful scenario in which prisoners were behaving and withdrawing in pathological ways (Zimbardo, 2016). The situation also reported sadistic behaviors for some of the guards. Even the "good" wardens felt helpless to arbitrate, and none of the wardens quit while the test was in progress. The report indicates that no guard ever arrived late for his shift, left early, called in sick, or asked for extra pay for overtime sessions. The abrupt termination of the study was conducted because of two reasons:

• Some of the guards were escalating their abuses in the middle of the night when they believed they were not being watched
• Christina Maslach strongly objected the test when she saw the prisoners being paraded on a toilet run, legs chained together, and bags over their heads, and palms on each other's shoulder.

The results of the Stanford Prison Experiment prove that prisoners undergo inhumane treatments while serving their jail terms. The study findings enhance the understanding of how prisons dehumanize people, transforming them into objects, and imparting in them feelings of hopelessness. Regarding guards, the research realized how ordinary individuals could be ready to change from good to evil.

Chapter 16

Procedures to be followed by police officers when questioning juveniles

• Notify the juvenile of their Miranda Rights
• Determine the exact point when the juvenile is taken into custody
• Identify whether the individual is reasonable enough to be put into custody
• Determine whether the circumstance of the case warrants a Miranda notification
• Inform the juvenile that they are free to leave whenever necessary, and they can refuse to answer any question
• Attempt to inform the minor’s guardian or parent about the juvenile’s whereabouts, status, and release information
• Conduct interrogations and interviews reasonably and in a way that safeguards psychological wellbeing, welfare, and health of the juvenile
• No more than two police offers should be involved in the formal interrogation or interview of a minor.
• Formal interviews and interrogations will continue only as long as needed to acquire information regarding the matter of concern.
• Identify any obvious conditions likely to cause unreasonable stress or discomfort of a juvenile in custody.

Chapter 17

Everyone's expectations are likely to be shattered when he or she visits a brothel and observe that well-regulated, legalized prostitution can be both profitable and safe. Individual states in the U.S. only permit prostitution in licensed venues or brothels that test workers regularly for sexually transmitted infections (Fuchs, 2013). While the first time visitors of brothels are not the first to perceive legal prostitution as relatively safe, the United States should officially legalize prostitution as a safe and viable profession.

Prostitution aids in the reduction of violence against women. Prostitutes in the U.S., mostly women, are susceptible to abuse from their trackers and male customers. Research on San Francisco prostitutes determined that 68% of female prostitutes have since been raped, and 82% have since been assaulted along their lines duty (Fuchs, 2013). A different study of Colorado Springs' prostitutes determined that there are chances a prostitute citizen is 18 times more likely to be killed than non-prostitutes of their race and age are. Sex workers who experience violence may be reluctant to inform the police since they engage in illegal activities. However, prostitutes in licensed brothels can employ people to provide backup when they are attacked.

Therefore, legalizing prostitution would enhance better lives for the sex workers. Illegal prostitutes often face pressure from their agents and customers in matters related to the use of protections such as condoms. Legalized prostitution, on the other hand, requires sex workers to get tested for STIs and use condoms. States such as Nevada have their sex workers undergo monthly tests for HIV and syphilis and weekly tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea (Fuchs, 2013). Nevada also outlines a strict regulation for the mandatory use of condoms in all brothels. Criminalizing sex work can drive prostitutes underground; something that makes them less likely to engage in safe sex practices. Criminalization also increases vulnerability to HIV by fueling discrimination and stigma, limiting access to sexual health and HIV services harm reduction services and condoms, and undesirably affecting the self-esteem of prostitutes as well as their ability to make informed decisions about their health.

In conclusion, sex work is indisputably a victimless crime. While individual advocates contend that sex workers are victims of their agents and customers, the profession can be a victimless crime if the workers sell their merchandise of their personal volition. It can also be argued that there is little sense in arresting an individual who is a victim of her own. The prostitution profession should not be a crime. Sex workers are not engaged in committing inherently harmful acts. While the prevalence of STIs and other detriments are probably in the practice of prostitution, criminalization is a definite way of exacerbating instead of addressing such effects.