Civil Sanctions

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer examines the role of civil sanctions in crime control. The writer explores the way civil sanctions are already used in criminal cases. The writer then argues that taking it a step further would benefit everyone involved by alleviating some of the nation's jail overcrowding issues and by providing financial relief to victims of criminals. The writer concludes that the time has come to introduce the use of civil sanctions to control crime in America. The writer points out that it would help alleviate jail overcrowding, it would benefit society by putting money back into the pocket it was taken from through crime and it will serve as a control for would be criminals to stop and think about whether the crime they are about to commit is worth it.

Outline:
Introduction
History
Crime Control
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"To be fair, criminal court judges are also at their wits end as they try to handle overfilled courtroom dockets, maintain a sense of order and keep track of how many times a defendant has already been in trouble before deciding what punishment to hand down. Recent history has witnessed Americans taking the law into their own hands, not with acts of vigilantism but with acts of civil summons. Across the nation victims and families of victims in criminal actions are filing civil suits against those who committed the crimes against them or their loved ones. The trial of OJ Simpson was one of the most well known cases, in which the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Simpson took the former pro-ball player to civil court and got a many million dollar ruling against him. In Nashville the case of attorney Perry March who killed his wife and then worked with his father to hide the body and escape prosecution for more than a decade has also been sued by his wife's family for the distress his actions caused them. The idea of filing civil suits against criminal defendants is not a new one, however, the civil action has nothing to do with the criminal proceedings. With the current overcrowding of America's jails and prisons, and crime including many more types of theft than ever before, the time has come to introduce civil sanctions as a valid method of crime prevention."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Crandley, Mark J (2001) A Plymouth, a parolee, and the police: the case for the exclusionary rule in civil forfeiture after Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole v. Scott. Albany Law Review
• Bilionis, Louis D. (1998) Process, the Constitution, and substantive criminal law. Michigan Law Review
• Nanda, Ved P. (1998) Civil and political sanctions as an accountability mechanism for massive violations of human rights. Denver Journal of International Law and Policy
• Melenyzer, Lisa (1999) Double jeopardy protection from civil sanctions after Hudson v. United States. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology
• Naylor, R.T. (2001) License to loot? A critique of follow-the-money methods in crime control policy. Social Justice

More papers on Civil Sanctions:

• Book Review # 129213 : "The Civil Rights Movement"
• Essay # 97767 : "Post-Civil War Black History"
• Essay # 23961 : "Diamond Wars in Western Africa"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: