Background

You work as a paralegal in a public defender’s office. In an upcoming presentation to a local legislative committee, the public defender plans to address criminal justice issues, constitutional principles, cultural sensitivity, and diversity awareness to promote social justice goals in local communities. You have been asked to assist the public defender in preparing the presentation. To this end, you will explore processes and issues in three criminal cases, applications for criminology, and relevant critical perspectives toward the goal of building a more just society.

Your Task

The public defender hopes to gain funding to support programs that respond to criminal justice issues and that promote a more just society. Earlier in this course, you had an opportunity to criminology through the works of Messer et al. (2016), Salvatore (2017) and Zoutewelle-Terovan & Skardhamar (2016). These authors consider how criminology may help to explain factors that associate with crime. Recall for example the consideration of life course theory in Messer et al. (2016). To help the public defender with preparation, you have been asked to create a paper between six and eight pages in length. Your description of processes, explanation of issues, and analysis of critical perspectives will provide the foundation for the public defender’s address to the local legislative committee, and thereby promote support for programs and laws that address large societal problems and that promote the social justice principles of equality, solidarity, and human rights to build a more just society.

The public defender has come across three distinct cases that highlight the criminal justice issues that the legislature needs to address. Each case is preceded by a video summary that will comprise a portion of the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee. To provide context for the public defender’s presentation to the legislative committee, the initial part of your paper should explain issues and describe processes about the following case scenarios: