Court System and Prosecutors Office

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The United States legal system is a complex phenomenon in which all the duties and powers are distributed among its federal and state judiciary bodies. The state of New Jersey is not an exception to this rule, and the relation of the Morris County Prosecutors Office in Morristown, NJ (Zip code 07963) to the current US court system is the relation of a part to the whole as the prosecutor’s offices are viewed as integral parts of the US legal system (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009).

For better understanding of the US legal system, it is necessary to inquire about the terms like Megan’s law, criminal and civil cases, jurisdiction, etc. Thus, Megan’s law is the legally established demand for all former “sex offenders to register with local police” (NJ Office of the Attorney General, 2007). The law was passed in Jersey in 1994 after Megan Kanka, a 7-year old girl had been raped and murdered by a recidivist sex offender that was the Kankas family neighbor (NJ Office of the Attorney General, 2007).

Thus, Megan’s law was based on the criminal case, and here the need to define both criminal and civil cases appears. Accordingly, a criminal case is lawsuit filed against a person accused of committing a crime. At the same time, a civil case “is a court procedure for working out a disagreement between two people, businesses, or organizations” (Courts, 2009). Both criminal and civil cases are ruled by courts according to their jurisdictions, i. e. the power of this or that court to decide cases of a certain class and in a certain geographical area (Federal Justice Center, 2009).

The relations of various branches of the US legal system are also important for its proper functioning (Federal Justice Center, 2009). Thus, the prosecutor’s office is closely connected to the local police departments while the latter have to report the findings of their investigation to the prosecutors for them to forward the case to the court. This concerns domestic violence, sex offense, robbery, and murder cases (Federal Justice Center, 2009).

One of the major tasks of the prosecutors is to follow the development of the legal system and be aware of the newest laws and regulations adopted by the Government. Drawing from this awareness, the prosecutors should structure their activities and decide certain cases like, for instance, the use of Miranda warnings, ruling of juvenile delinquency cases, domestic violence disputes, etc (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009). This point becomes especially important when the prosecutor’s office is considered in a wider context involving the notions of grand jury, trial, sentencing, etc.

Thus, the grand jury is the group of people selected and sworn in by the court for the purpose of serving the criminal trials in the US Supreme Court (Federal Justice Center, 2009). The grand jury can serve its term up to 36 months as long as the case is heard, but the main task of the grand jury is not to issue a verdict of guilty/not guilty, but rather to help the federal court state if a person should be charged for a crime he/she is accused of (Courts, 2009).

In connection to this, the concept of arraignment is often used as the notion of the process of reading the charges, in a formal manner, to the person accused and potentially tried by the court (Federal Justice Center, 2009). As well, the concept of status conference is significant for the court system understanding. Thus, the status conference is the set meeting of all the parties involved in a court case aimed at establishing and scheduling the date of trial convenient for all the parties concerned (Courts, 2009).

As a natural consequence of status conferences and arraignment procedures, the processes of trial and sentencing usually take place. The trial is such is the very proceeding during which the case is heard and ruled by the court under whose jurisdiction this case should be ruled (Federal Justice Center, 2009). Sentencing is the process of giving and announcing the guilty verdict to the person under the trial. Sentencing is carried out either by the judge or by the court jury after considerable negotiations and discussions take place in the jury room (Courts, 2009).

In the structure of the prosecution, there are also certain nuances that should be considered. For example, the chief prosecutor of Morristown, NJ is the head of the town’s prosecution, while his 11 assistants, i. e. Assistant Prosecutors, are charged with the functions of supervising the financial and media relations of the prosecutor’s office, its administration and policy conduct, appellate section of the prosecution, criminal and civil cases supervision, etc (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009). The rank of prosecutors in Morristown, NJ includes the prosecutor, his first assistant and a deputy first assistant, an executive assistant prosecutor, seven supervising assistant prosecutors, and a senior trial counsel (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009).

The very prosecutor’s office in Morristown, NJ is subdivided into 11 office units that include Appellate Division, Family Division, Firearms/Forfeiture/Training, Homeland Security Division, Intelligence Crime Task Force, Major Crimes Unit, Sex Crimes Unit, Special Enforcement Unit, Specialized Crime Unit, Trial Division, and Victim/Witness Advocacy (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009). Needless to say, each of the above listed units fulfills its functions in the prosecutor’s office of Morristown, NJ.

Accordingly, the Appellate Division deals with supervising the procedure of submitting court appeals and the very process of considering each appeal submitted. The main function of the Family Division is to regulate the legislative disputes regarding domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, weapons return, and missing people. The Firearms/Forfeiture/Training Section is responsible for recording and supervising the dynamics of the firearms and seized property in the area, while the training subdivision of this section supervises the proper training being provided for all the prosecutor’s office workers involved in dealing with firearms and forfeiture (Office of the Prosecutor, 2009).

The Homeland Security Division deals with terrorism threats and provides security for schools and other public institutions, while the Intelligence Crime Task Force is focused on combating violent, mainly gang- or drug-related, crime. Major Crimes and Sex Crimes Units are charged with investigating all criminal cases including murder, robbery, sexual abuse, child physical abuse, children pornography, etc. Special Enforcement and Specialized Crime Units deal with illegal possession of dangerous substances and investigates the cases of organized criminal activity and fraud. Finally, Trial Division and Victim/Witness Advocacy provide all services for proper trial procedures, respectful treatment of suspects, witnesses, and victims, and present the information about the people’s right while facing the US court system.

Drawing from this, it is obvious that the prosecutor’s office of Morristown, NJ is, as well as any other prosecutor’s office in the USA, the integral part of the country’s court system and legislative basis for the society where the law rules.

Works Cited

Courts. “What is a Civil Case?” Calhoun. 2009. COMI. Web.

Federal Justice Center. “The US Legal System.” Short Description. 2009. FJC. Web.

NJ Office of the Attorney General. “A Citizen’s Guide to Megan’s Law.” Division of Criminal Justice. 2007. NJ Attorney General. Web.

Office of the Prosecutor. “Organization: Office Units.” Morris County, NJ. 2009. Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. Web.

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Court System and Prosecutors Office

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