When it comes to the Texas justice system,
its wide range of cases it has to deal with each year is tremendous ranging
anywhere from enforcing traffic laws to the ultimate criminal punishment. The
enormous budget that the justice system has, stating it is somewhere around 3.3
billion dollars annually in public safety and corrections and another 175
million for the court systems, goes to show the effort that it takes to keep
the system running smoothly and to maintain all of these efforts.
The growing population of Texas over the years has led to an even greater emphasis
on crime and punishment and with that being said creates more tension as Texas already demands a strong
punishment when it comes to acts of crime. Unfortunately the lack of funds
sometimes creates a problem in the justice system and keeps it from running as
smoothly as it should.
The attorney general in office plays an important role
in the justice system and is constitutionally bound to keep up with important
tasks such as,
- defend the laws and the Constitution
of the state of
- represent the state in litigation
- approve public bond issues
One of the
hardest problems facing the justice system is that it must at all times treat
people fairly and equally and not make decisions that are based too much in
either direction. It must always be well informed and in touch with its
resources but at the end of the day always be accountable for the information
and knowledge they put out there. This task is extremely difficult. The
involvement of Texans in the issues that face our world is an important factor
in keeping the system in balance and running the way we want it to.
I agree with your point of view on the Texas justice system but there is more behind it than just the budget issues. The Texas justice system is a slow, unbalance, under budget and unfair system. It’s a structure that works of the idea of due process, a concept that assets administration of laws that do not violate the sacredness of private rights. In other words, it’s a set of rules that set up the legislative branch that doesn’t grantee fairness and just follow the laws. It’s obvious in the United States Constitution. The 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th amendments are a great example of this. Even though due process establishes the rules for the Justice System, the ‘players’ themselves have create issues too for the system.
ReplyDeleteBefore the Sentencing Reform Act was passed in the 1970’s and in the 1980’s at Federal level, there was a big issue with disparity and leniency among judges in the court system. For example, some judges’ sentences were based on sex and race (discrimination). Strictly speaking, similar offenders convicted of similar crimes were serving different sentences. This made the public themselves worried about sentencing disparity. But on the other hand, Some Judges may have given a lighter sentence for a major crime for an offender. Once the Sentencing Reform was passed, decision making on sentencing switch from the judge to prosecutors and determinate sentencing (fixed sentencing) was created for equality among offenders.
Although the Sentencing Reform Act was a key element of the national shift to crime control in the 1980’s and beyond, parole was being eliminated for offenders and there was a big incarceration boom. Now this might sound like this is positive, but The United States has the highest Incarceration rate in the world and an over populated prison and jail system because of it. Crime is still a big issue in the United States and the Texas system is part of this matter. Without of doubt, I agree on your argument that the Texas justice system being chaotic but the budget issue is just one of the issues behind this mess.
Brandi specifies main ideas about Texas justice system’s budget, the role of the Texas attorney general, efforts to ensure that criminals are punished, and promoting a fair and equal justice system for everyone in Texas. It is a very important thing in a democracy to have a fair and honest justice system. Brandi focuses on the difficulty of the task to judge accurately and without bias. Then, she emphases on the members of the justice system to be well informed about the law and the information they disclose. Brandi mentioned about the problem of the growing population that has led to more crimes and punishment that creates more tensions. Also, the growth of underprivileged individuals and the arrival of drugs in the state only worsen the issues. The other problem she mentioned is the lack of funds in the justice system. The Texas justice systems massive budget is not sufficient enough to carry out the responsibilities performed by the members of the justice system. This shortage of funds poses questions about how well the justice system can perform the duties it is tasked with. I agree with Brandi’s point that it is important to keep the system running and in balance. Texas executes more people than other states and there have been times when the Texas justice system went completely wrong are few other things to worry about in the justice system. This and several other issues explain how messy the Texas justice system is.
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