Contemporary Policies and Practices

The United States criminal justice system is governed by various sets of policies and practices developed from federal statues, regulations, and case law. Interpretation of these policies and practices is ultimately adjudicated by the Supreme Court of the United States, and that court’s decisions affect many practical, on-the-job components of everyday criminal justice professionals. For example, whether and how officers may legally stop, search, and seize evidence. As such, it is essential for a criminal justice professional to understand two things: first, how Supreme Court decisions impact a criminal justice professional’s everyday job in significant ways; and, second, how leadership and administrators in criminal justice take action within their organizations to enforce the court’s decisions.

To Prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources on criminal justice policies.
• Review the articles and media on the Supreme Court decisions related to policing and corrections.
• Explore contemporary Supreme Court cases related to policing and corrections.

For this Assignment, select one of the two topics:

• Policing
• Corrections

Use the Supreme Court of the United States Blog, located in the Learning Resources, to find a contemporary case related to policing or corrections.