Describe and Dispel Four Popular Myths about the US.Court System - Essay Example

However, there remain exceptions to this law which are used by prosecutors to their own advantage. The first being that this law can be used by the defendant only if his case, in the process of its trial, has received a clear conviction or acquittal, in the case of a mistrial or hung jury, the prosecution can press for the same charges again. Also, a ruling by the Supreme Court states that without infringing on the constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy, a person can be charged with a crime and the conspiracy to commit that crime, thus, opening doors to a double conviction on essentially the same offense.

Finally, the double jeopardy law holds no ground in the face of ‘separate sovereignty’ which concedes to the sentencing of the same individual to the same crime, tried separately in the state and federal courts. Myth 2: Myth of frivolous lawsuits Another myth which is popularly circulated is that of frivolous lawsuits. . Moreover, it is argued that these cases are causing large burden on the taxpayers in terms of the cost that these cases incur on the state. There are arguments favouring this myth that, tort system is affecting the industry in terms of the job losses that it creates as a result of litigations under the tort system.

In this context, there are several studies which on analysis of the economic cost of tort system on industries specially focussing on job loss confirms that the effect on the economy due to these cases are negligible. Another prominent argument, that these cases are being piled up in courts and are causing administrative delays are also proven wrong by studies in the area. Records on tort cases clearly suggest that there had been steady decline in the number of tort cases filed between 1992 and 2001 (Wenger, 2011).

There was an average decline of 15 percent in every year. Thus the argument against tort cases as administrative burdens is disproved (Wenger, 2011). Myth 3: Myth on economic cost of illegal migration Another myth that prevails within the US legal system is the legal policies based on immigrants. It has been argued that illegal migrants are causing large costs on the economy. There are arguments that illegal migrants are taking away jobs from the local citizens. However, the reality is that these immigrants are contributing to the US economy to a large extend.

There are studies which confirm that illegal migrants do not affect the job prospects of the locals. Here in this context, it must be noted that illegal migrants generally are less qualified with reference to their communication skills, education and other skills in comparison with the US citizens. Thus