Elements of the Legal System: Courts and Juries - Essay Example

Their other duty is to resolve conflicts that arise between individuals, companies and government units. The courts also act as a form of checks and balances for the government (Barkan and Bryjak, 2010). In an Adversarial model of criminal courts, the defense lawyer and prosecutor work independently to push for their clients’ rights and innocence. Both attorneys in this model are normally out to outdo each other and eventually win the case. The use of fiery rhetoric is a major characteristic of this model.

The consensual model is very different from the adversarial approach as it based on the argument that all parties in the court case have a similar goal or goals. In this model, society is seen as a cooperating agent, which cooperates for the common good. All the parties involved in the case normally come together to share ideas so as to quickly and efficiently conclude the case (Sanders and Young, 2000). The crime control and due process models were proposed by Herbert Parker as a representation of the two opposing value systems that operate with the realms of criminal justice.

Proponents of both models recognize the values of the criminal justice system as espoused in the constitution. The due process model holds that in any court system, a person cannot be deprived of liberty, life or property without legal procedures and safeguards (Zalman, 2002). This means that the individual who is suspected and charged with having committed a crime has a right to be protected by the court system. This model is based on the value of crime repression. In the due process school of thought, there is some room for error, since the police are not always right.

A person who has been charged in a court of law is considered innocent until proven guilty by the system. Individuals can make appeals and plea bargains when they feel that proper justice has not prevailed in court (Barkan and Bryjak, 2010). The crime control model holds that “the repression of the