Question

Describe the history of the U.S. justice system, and the principles it was founded upon.

Answer 1

The law system in the US originated from Great Britain in its early forms. It goes back to the initial 13 colonies when the first colonists brought a set of laws and values to be practiced in a new culture. Since America's settlement was mostly achieved by England individuals, it was only natural to mirror the legislation of a fresh foreign land as those of the ancient nation. To look at the roots of American law, we need to look at the roots of English law, dating back to the early 11th century.

It was a moment when Americans in this new territory found out how to coexist. Of course, when they made the journey over, many of whom the first Americans were carried with them, but not all things were the same and many, many things changed as America progressed.

Our contemporary criminal justice system is the consequence of several evolutionary modifications that have taken place in society since the beginning of the United States. Over the years, Americans have created processes for instituting and enforcing society's laws and assigning accountability and punishing offenders.

Today, police, courts and corrections are performing those tasks. This framework was missing from the early stages of the criminal justice system in the United States.

Indeed, prior to the establishment of official rules, regulations and institutions in the United States, Americans depended on religion and sin as a means of influencing society and its actions. Many colonial crime codes have been described in biblical terms, making the Sabbath extremely punishable offenses such as profanity, blasphemy, and sacrileges.

Punishments like dunking, stoning, and whipping were intended to humiliate the offender and eventually lead to their repentance. Ironically, this desire to make perpetrators remorseful for their criminal acts is still seen, but more so for the victims of crime than for a greater force.

As American society expanded, the use of religion to guide criminal justice became less frequent in both population and place. Now the law has been formed to maintain morality values that have been a more prevalent problem over this moment for a bigger amount of Americans rather than religion.

This shift has resulted in more legislation and violations, which is another trend that we still see today. Many think this trend is because morality rules are less internalized than religious legislation, making them less efficient in shaping acceptable behaviour. In other words, historically speaking, the law of God is far more efficient in shaping acceptable conduct than the law enforcement, courts, and corrections.

Whether correct or incorrect, efficient or ineffective, these occurrences have influenced the United States ' current criminal justice system. The progression from tiny, religiously comparable cities to big, varied cities where religion and cultural customs were extensive, altered the criminal justice system landscape forever, creating a need for formalized police, courts, and corrections.