CC102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Individual And Group Rights, Pass Laws, Herbert Annesley Packer
Foundations of Justice
Overview of Canadian Criminal Justice System
• A. Basic structure of the criminal justice system
o 3 major components in Canadian system:
▪ 1. Police (responsible for enforcement of law, investigation
of crimes, arresting suspects)
▪ 2. Courts (adjudicatory (fact-finding) bodies where criminal
cases are prosecuted and determinations of guilt
rendered)
▪ 3. Corrections (administration of sentence handed down
by judge including management, treatment, and
supervision of offenders in community and correctional
facilities)
• B. Goals of criminal justice system
o 3 main goals:
▪ 1. To control crime
▪ 2. To prevent crime
▪ 3. To maintain/achieve justice
o Goals of criminal justice system involve many different decisions
(in many cases goals conflict
▪ How to prevent crime without taking away/violating basic
freedoms?
▪ Some crime initiatives may successfully reduce crime rates
while also marginalizing vulnerable groups (questions if
justice truly achieved)
o Justice = ideals of fairness/objectivity
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▪ Expectation justice system is fair and fair and objective
o Criminal justice = criminal law/procedures including both
substantive and procedural justice
▪ “ustatie justie = also ko as true justie; accuracy
of decision/outcome
▪ Procedural justice = fairness of procedures used in justice
system to arrive at decisions (safeguards in place to
protect individuals)
▪ In order to ensure fairness and protect individual rights,
system may arrive at decisions not osistet ith puli’s
understanding of substantive justice
o Balance between substantive and procedural justice achieved
number of ways:
▪ Legal system can be organized in 1 of 2 ways
• 1. Adversarial system
o Used in Canada (Quebec for Criminal law), 2-
sided structure which advocates from each
party (prosecution and defence) argues cases
to impartial/neutral judge or jury to determine
verdict
o Truth is discovered through open competition
where prosecution and defence represent
cases
• 2. Inquisitional system
o Civil law countries, involves more collaborative
effort to arrive at truth though investigation of
all available evidence by judge or panel of
judges
o Efforts to balance crime control and prevention with notions of
justice impacted by multiple factors
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▪ Inequalities in society (poverty, race inequality, gender
inequality) exist in justice system and impact ability of
justie syste player’s to ahiee justie
• Concept of social justice is broader view of justice
that places ideal of justice within larger cultural,
economic, political context
o In 2015, Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) concluded
residential schools amounted to cultural genocide
▪ Aboriginal peoples overrepresented in all states of criminal
justice system
• Raises question of how do we achieved justice for
aboriginal peoples in light of TRC report?
▪ Procedural justice ensures methods for selecting jury
members for an aboriginal accused were fair and
transparent (jurors would be objective/impartial)
▪ Substantive justice would refer to whether a convicted
aboriginal person received a fair sentence or punishment
▪ Social justice view would consider fairness of punishment
in larger context of residential school experience
• C. Models of Justice
o 2 competing sets of values underlying criminal justice system
▪ Herbert Packer proposed 2 theoretical models of justice
(how system functions)
• 1. Crime control model
o Assely lie odel that ephasizes early
stages of justice system through efficient
arrest and conviction of offenders
▪ Goals = laws/practices encouraging
deterrence, increase police powers
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Document Summary
Overview of canadian criminal justice system: a. Basic structure of the criminal justice system: 3 major components in canadian system, 1. Police (responsible for enforcement of law, investigation of crimes, arresting suspects: 2. Courts (adjudicatory (fact-finding) bodies where criminal cases are prosecuted and determinations of guilt rendered: 3. corrections (administration of sentence handed down by judge including management, treatment, and supervision of offenders in community and correctional facilities, b. Goals of criminal justice system: 3 main goals, 1. Crime control model: (cid:862)asse(cid:373)(cid:271)ly li(cid:374)e (cid:373)odel(cid:863) that e(cid:373)phasizes early stages of justice system through efficient arrest and conviction of offenders, goals = laws/practices encouraging deterrence, increase police powers. 3: e. g. mandatory minimum sentencing laws, greater police surveillance, 2. Ensure the rights of defendant are protected system. Goals laws and practices that encourage deterrence, increase police powers. Protect individuals from powers of state, enhance rights of the accused; fairness, equity, justice. Policies quick arrest and conviction, increase police role, encouragement of crime deterrence.
