Criminal Justice: Comparing Models, Scale of Justice, and Due Process

This report analyzes the criminal justice system, focusing on the models and the scale of justice. It begins by introducing the influence of Herbert Packer's models on the criminal justice system, specifically the due process and crime control models. The due process model emphasizes legal procedures and protecting the rights of the accused, prioritizing fairness and the opportunity for a fair hearing. Conversely, the crime control model prioritizes convicting the guilty, sometimes at the expense of individual rights. The report then explores how these models relate to the scale of justice, discussing how the balance between protecting the rights of the accused and ensuring public safety has influenced the criminal justice system. The author concludes that the due process model is the most effective, emphasizing the importance of innocent until proven guilty, with a focus on fair legal representation and the opportunity for rehabilitation.

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HERBERT PACKERS
Introduction
Herbert Packers introduced models that have influenced the narrative of justice system
since 1964. A criminal justice system refers to the government agencies and institutions whose
primary job is to catch and punish lawbreakers. The systems can include; police, prosecution
courts, prisons as well as lawyers or attorneys. These two models have for long influenced the
criminal justice, and it gives way in understanding the complexities in the judicial process
especially within a criminal justice system. The scale of justice, on the other hand, represents the
weighing of evidence and the rewarding punishment.
The due process model; This model has the principle that an individual is entitled to
appropriate legal procedures and safeguards when faced with deprivation of life, liberty as well
as property. If an individual is charged with a case or crime, then they should have their cases
protected under the criminal justice system. This model portrays conservative values. With this
model, it ends in a fair hearing with legal representation where needed.
Pros
• Give priority to convicting the guilty.
• Protect citizens from wrongdoing

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• Gives one a second chance to be heard or trial
Cons
• Even offenders are protected.
The Crime control model; States that the assumption of absolute reliability of police fact-
finding, treats arrestees like they are guilty (Edelman 1430). This model portrays the liberal
values
Pros
• Protects the innocent from wrongful conviction
• Follows the administrative process
• It is efficient, swift and cost-effective
Cons
• No second chance for the convicted
• Allows for more jails, prisons, and punishments
• The police are most reliable than what the court has to say
Models represent the Scale of Justice in the Criminal Justice system
Having looked at the models, we must understand the Scale of Justice in the criminal
system. The major function is to set out what it does clearly and in the just and moral grounds.
The model discussed in the system sets to strike a balance in which when one model is employed

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it does not infringe on ones right (Cole 45). However, over and over again, finding the balance
between the two models has stirred debates among legal practitioners worldwide. Hence, the
need to have a clear understanding of whether to protect the wrongdoers as a priority or regard
one’s innocence (Mashaw 40).
Conclusion
The due process model seems to be the dominating model in today’s criminal justice,
based on the statement that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. Criminal model is
usually focused on quickly convicting and giving punishment, but this is not the case in trying to
provide a fair hearing. Due process model gives people a chance to change their evil ways and
even get a chance at freedom. Therefore, I agree that the due process is the most effective
method.

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Works Cited
Cole, David. No equal justice: Race and class in the American criminal justice system. Vol. 1.
New York: New Press, 1999.
Edelman, Lauren B. "Legal environments and organizational governance: The expansion of due
process in the American workplace." American journal of Sociology 95.6 (1990): 1401-
1440.
Mashaw, Jerry L. "The Supreme Court's Due Process Calculus for Administrative Adjudication
in Mathews v. Eldridge: Three Factors in Search of a Theory of Value." The University of
Chicago Law Review (1976): 28-59.