The Cheshire Murders

We began watching the HBO documentary on the Cheshire murders. What do you think should be the process and procedure for investigating crimes like those committed by the men in the documentary?  What information should be available to the public? How can we, as outsiders, account for the lack of continuity and corroboration by and between those who were in charge of the investigation and in charge of informing the families of the victims?

- I believe when a police system is handling a crime such as the Cheshire murders that the information gathering stage is most crucial to the entire process. While yes as a police system you do not want to get too many people involved about the case because shaping public opinion about a case once the case arrives at court. However that does not excuse the lack of transparency within the law system. As private citizens we should demand more information be brought to the public attention as it is discovered, this could not only aid in the handling of cases with outside help but could also help boost public confidence in the police system and possibly make the victims feel like the wrongs that occurred to them aren't simply being brushed under the rug or simplified but handled seriously and they feel as if they still matter in the investigation. When something like the Cheshire murders happens to a family it can leave them feeling powerless and through steps like this the system can help enpower its citizens and make them feel like they can always be able to seek out justice for themselves. 

The Ukraine

Although the scope of this class is one of American Law, what (if any) international laws exist to determine the course of action of the international community? Under what conditions can a country redraw its borders? Under what conditions should a country be able to redraw its borders? 

Many countries have created laws following the second world war that keep the  countries borders where they are in order to keep the balance and not allow tyranny once more. However I do believe that if the country allows certain territories to be exchanged to other countries in exchange for  resources or good it can be allowed. However if the takeover is forceful or leaves the smaller country in a lesser condition it then becomes  a tense situation and it should be dealt with by the UN as a whole.

American Law Blogpost #4

1. While I do believe that mitigating circumstances should be taken into account when examining  possible responses to a crime, I do not believe that it should be used to undermine the severity of the actual crime committed. Komsarvjesky seemed completely competent in killing the  family and if he was competent enough to do that  then he should be held responsible for his crimes and face his punishment, a crimes a crime and therefore he should have to deal with the consequences, mitigating factors or not.
2. The prosecutors choose to not simply allow the accused party to get a life sentence because they wanted to seek a death sentence for the two men. I believe the public unrest for the death of these two men was too hard to pass up allowing for sentence that would greatly satisfy the public. The benefits of allowing a guilty plea and avoiding a trial and death penalty which would save the state a lot of money in order to carry out the appellate process and the use of the death sentencing.
3. I believe that mental health should be better understood by society in order to handle individuals who have the ability/instability in order to commit these crimes and if said crimes do occur our society should have the proper examinations in place for the individuals to find a strong motive for the crimes and be able  to better understand what can trigger these crimes in the future.

Where Did Law Begin?

When looking at the History of law, the best place to begin ones reading is looking into the history of Hammurabi code. The code made the principle outline of an eye for an eye mentality, and that if one wrongs you that you must gain rightful vengeance against them in order to keep things fair. If one broke your leg you may have there's broken as well.

Some key questions that come up when one is looking at this issue is
1. Could this type of system work today
2. Could you ever say, kill a man if he or she killed a loved one of yours?
3. Why do you think this type of law code no longer exists?

To read the article
http://www.ancient.eu.com/article/68/

Looking back on the Trial

            The trial that we went through before we left for break had a large build up in the fact that the majority of the time that we spent on it was used to practice what we were going to say and how we were going to handle the questions presented towards us.
                  My favorite aspect of this trial was practicing my performance as officer Fred Vincent.  I was really expecting some harsher questions about my characters possibly racist bigotries. However I do believe that everyone in the trial worked very hard and didn't slack off to just get a grade. The trial was good because it had a basic outline but offered deeper issues when you really look at it.
              At the end of the day the trial was very interesting and full of interesting topics and ideas and i wished we had more available time do more in the future, because this was my favorite activity that we have done.

Eminent Domain

Eminent Domain is when the state reserves the right to take hold of ones private property for the use of public services, this can only happen however if said group gives the private individual just compensation for the property being taken.
In theory I do believe that Eminent domain is a fair idea due to the person at least getting just compensation for there property, however if a person is giving up a ;large piece of land just having a lot of money doesn't guarantee that the person will find new land, so I think if one were to include the guarantee of new property equal in value i think the whole idea would wort much better.

Should the cops be able to do......

  If you were a police officer, And you knew that there was corruption occurring within your office, what would you do?  What could you do? Often the public simply sees the cops as the corrupt officers they tend to be portrayed as nowadays. However, I feel the need to investigate corruption in the system is necessary, but if would like to ask if its actually effective?
     In a system where many cops are corrupt and corruption runs deep in many departments , investigation into corruption can often be limited and non effective due to not enough necessary assistance being available. It's take a lot to reshape a system and therefore while internal investigations should be a responsibility, I don't really see them as a viable option or solution to the issue.