Paper Summary:

This paper shows how both the United States and Singapore derived their criminal justice system from the British system, though the U.S. system has diverged considerably while the system in Singapore remains deeply rooted in the British forms. The writer explains however that today, the immediate source for the criminal justice system in each country differs in that American law is constitutional, while criminal law in Singapore is entirely statutory and based on an adopted Criminal Code. It looks at how common law is a feature of both systems, standing as the accepted customs of many legal systems.

From the Paper:

"American citizens derive their rights from the Constitution and particularly from the Bill of Rights. These ten articles were influenced largely by George Mason, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison, with much of the final language based on Mason's "Declaration of Rights" for Virginia's Constitution of 1776. There were originally twelve, but two were eliminated as the final ten were adopted in 1791 (Hall, 1992, 70-71). Article VIII states: "Excessive bail shall not lie required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." These simple words have engendered reams of interpretation, for the Constitution does not say what constitutes either cruel or unusual punishment or how to make such a determination. Other provisions have similarly been argued throughout our history, and judicial determinations up to and including the supreme Court form a body of case law on which the police, prosecutors, and courts rely."

Visitors who viewed this Comparison Essay also liked these:

• Comparison Essay # 128817 : "Democracies of the U. S. and the European Countries"
• Essay # 32634 : "The Presidency of the U.S. Government"
• Persuasive Essay # 142863 : "The U.S. And China: Unlikely To Fight"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: