Sentencing Disparity Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sentencing Disparity - Term Paper Example Moreover, this paper identifies the most important factor of prosecutorial discretion. It will also answer the question on whether or not sentencing disparity is fair or equitable. Finally, this paper will compare and contrast this disparity from the ethical point of view. People have an intuitive idea of the meaning of sentencing disparity. Paradoxically, the concept of unwarranted disparity becomes bleak upon deeper reflection. Two offenders, for instance, with the same crime of breaking and entering, are sentenced with one year and five years, respectively. Roberts (1999) posed an enduring question: Which sentence is disparate? They seem to emphasize the sentence or conviction that is categorically considered as disparate. Undoubtedly, there exists an unwarranted disparity in the case between the two above-mentioned offenders. In a survey conducted, 60 percent of over four-hundred respondents admitted that there is a degree of sentence variation among judges (Roberts, 1999). By and large, sentencing disparity occurs two or more offenders, having different committed crimes, are convicted with the same level and nature of punishment (Clear, Cole, & Reisig, 2009). And sentencing disparity is more obvious in the prosecutors’ judgment. Sentencing disparity is normative rather than empirical (Alschuler, 2005). Its archetype is the sentencing by lottery. In the lottery system, different numbers are treated as the same number by virtue of chance or probability. Similar to lottery, offenders with different crimes committed are equally treated like the same criminal by virtue of sentencing disparity. Equality, of course, means the consistent application of principles to different cases (Alschuler, 2005). Apparently, sentence disparity deviates from consistency or equality. There are three chief divisions of factors influencing prosecutorial discretion: (1) legal issue, (2) extralegal issue, and (3) resources issue (Siegel, 2008). First, legal issue refers to

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary - Essay Example Tool testing and error rates find focus in the initial part of the guidelines. The use of a database approach for the documentation of the mobile forensics procedures assists in removing the documentation of testing methods employed, by acquiring results on the several test cases, enabling calculation of tool testing errors. This information enables the presenting of mobile forensic evidence in courts in a reliable and legally acceptable manner (Baggili et al, 2007). The practitioners of computer forensic quite often need to deal with digital images as a part of the evidence requirements. Such instances include child pornography or disputes involving proprietary rights. Photographic images found in computers have a strong likelihood of having originated from digital still cameras (DSC). Computer forensic practitioners should have an understanding of the characteristics of computer images to identify the origins of the DSC images in question. This understanding enables a computer fore nsic practitioner to use the specific attributes of a DSC image to prove replicas, derivates or additional images within a particular group. Some open source software can also be employed successfully to extract images based upon the characteristics of a DSC image (Kohen, 2007). Week – 3 The usage of the iPhone mobile from Apple is growing rapidly. This has led to the need for iPhone forensics as a part of the armory of forensic and security practitioners. This study shows that it is possible to examine the logical back up acquisition of the iPhone 3GS mobile device using the Apple iTunes back up utility to provide forensically important data in the form of e-mail messages, text and multimedia messages, calendar events browsing history, GPRS locations, contacts, call history, and voicemail recording. The study explored the possibility of forensic acquisition, examination and analysis of the backup of the logical copy in the iPhone 3GS mobile. In the examination process the ai m was to find out what significant data was stored in the on the device, location of its storage in the memory, and where the data is located in the back up files. For the acquisition the freely available iTunes back up utility was used in a systematic manner to synchronize data between the iPhone and a paired computer. Testing of this methodology demonstrated that an iPhone mounted on a computer running iTunes does not change the user data portion, which means that data integrity remains intact. When a logical copy is acquired, several hundred backup files containing user data, device settings, application preferences, and status are obtained. All these back up files are encoded into XML, ASCII, or binary formats. Examination of the logical copy from an iPhone reveals that these back up files contain a wealth of data that has the potential for use as evidence in court cases (Baggili & Bader, 2010). Week – 4 Amendments made to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure effective fr om December 1, 2006, addresses the issue of Electronically Stored Information (ESI), which also takes into consideration ESI found in small digital devices, like cell phones and Personnel Digital Assistants and their use as evidenced in court procedures. The standards employed for the admissibility of electronic evidence are found in the Frye