2.3: Criminal Justice in the United States- A Primer
In this module, we examine the structure and basic jurisprudence of criminal law and criminal procedure in the United States.
Every state and the federal government has its own “substantive criminal law” (specifying crimes and defenses) and “criminal procedure” (specifying the stages of the criminal process from arrest through prosecution, sentencing, appeal, and release from prison). Each state legislature promulgates that state’s criminal law, which is enforced by state and county prosecutors, adjudicated in local and state-level courts, and punished in state prisons or local jails. Congress passes federal criminal laws, which are enforced, prosecuted, adjudicated, and punished by federal law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, courts, prisons, and probation, and parole systems.
Learn more about the American court system in this video: the American court system .
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