Question 1.
In a town called Peace Land, the supporters of the Fiesta football team learn that the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the nearby city about 40 km away have damaged the pound on which the Final between both teams to be held the following day. A crowd of Fiesta fans armed with deadly weapons attacks the homes of the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the town. In the attack, 10 men are killed, 5 women are gravely hurt, many homes are destroyed and over 50 people injured.
Imagine that you and your classmates are now part of the criminal justice system. First divide the class into the following four groups of persons:
- Police
- Public Prosecutor
- Defence lawyer
- Judge
The column on the right provides a list of functions. Match these with the roles that are listed on the left. Have each group pick the functions that it needs to perform to bring justice to those who were affected by the violence of the Fiesta fans. In what order will these functions be performed?
| Roles | Functions |
| 1. Police | (i) hear the witnesses |
| (ii) record the statements of witnesses | |
| 2. Public Prosecutor | (iii) cross-examine the witnesses |
| (iv) take photographs of burnt homes | |
| 3. Defence Lawyer | (v) record the evidence |
| (vi) arrest the Fiesta fans | |
| 4. Judge | (vii) writes the judgment |
| (viii) argue the case for the victims | |
| (ix) decide for how many years the accused will be put in jail | |
| (x) examine the witnesses in court | |
| (xi) pass the judgment | |
| (xii) get the assaulted women medically examined | |
| (xiii) conduct a fair trial | |
| (xiv) meet the accused persons |
Answer:
1. (ii), (iv), (v), (vi), (xii)
2. (viii), (x)
3. (iii), (x)
4. (i), (vii), (ix),(xi), (xiii)
Question 2.
Now take the same situation as question 1. but ask one student who is a supporter of the Fiesta Club to perform all the functions listed above.
Do you think the victims would get justice if only one person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system? Why not?
State two reasons why you believe that different persons need to play different roles as a part of the criminal justice system.
Answer:
No, the victims will not get justice if only one person performs all the functions of the criminal justice system because of the following reasons :
- One person can become partial.
- If the person, who has committed the crime, belongs to majority group or has political approach, will put pressure on the single person and. can win the case.
- It is difficult for one person to perform all the functions of police, Public Prosecutor, Defence Lawyer as well as judge.
- If all the functions of the criminal justice system are performed by a single person, it will not remain a fair trial but a biased and partial trial.