Criminal Law: Analyzing Discretionary Decisions in Three Scenarios

This assignment analyzes discretionary decisions within the criminal justice system, focusing on scenarios in law enforcement, courts, and corrections. The student examines three distinct scenarios: minors skateboarding and displaying lewd gestures to police, a defendant at a bail hearing after an assault, and a parolee violating curfew. For each scenario, the student identifies the discretionary decisions available to the authorities (police, judge, and parole officer), considering factors influencing these decisions and the potential repercussions of each choice. The analysis includes discussions of relevant legal principles, such as the impact of a criminal record on minors, the concept of implied consent in sports, and the discretion afforded to parole officers. The assignment emphasizes the importance of considering the consequences of each decision, including the potential for negative impacts on individuals and the broader community. References are provided in APA format.

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW
Criminal Law
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

2CRIMINAL LAW
Scenario Identification of
Discretionary
Decision and
Choices
Description of
Influencing
Factors
Explanation of
Possible
Repercussions
Scenario 1:
Police officers approach a group of minors, ages 14–
15, skateboarding in the parking lot of a shopping
center. When approached by the police officers and
questioned about their identities, several of the minors
give a lewd hand gesture to the officers. The police
officers have a range of responses to employ,
including giving the minors a warning or detainment
or arresting them for trespassing and obstruction of
traffic.
Among the available
options with the
police, it would be
their discretionary
decision to detain the
minors and call for
their parents, in order
to intimate them
about their ward’s
activities and
behavior. The police
could leave them just
by giving them a
warning if they had
not shown a lewd
hand gesture to the
officers. However,
arresting them for
trespassing or
obstruction of traffic
would be too harsh
for them as they are
minors who probably
are not aware of the
impact of their
wrongful gesture
towards the police
officers and the
subsequent
consequence
associated with it.
Skateboarding is a
much-talked
activity of the USA
at the present time
as it is praised as
well as criticized at
the same time.
There are anti-
skating theories that
talk about the evil
impacts of skating
groups, its
members, and the
shady activities that
go behind the
facade of skating
(Penny, 2011).
Detention and
intimating the
parents about the
behavior of the
minors about make
their guardians
aware of their
ward’s activities,
which would give
them a chance to
counsel their
minors. Arrest and
a criminal case
against them
would scar the
adolescents
forever, without
being given a
chance to amend
their behaviors.
Scenario 2:
At a bail hearing, the judge considers the release
conditions of an adult defendant charged with assault
and battery at a professional hockey game. The
defendant has no prior criminal history, but was
combative during the altercation and caused some
damage to the arena and injury to the complaining
witness. The defendant appears remorseful and
embarrassed to be before the judge. The judge has the
The judge may
release the defendant
without bail on his
promise to appear
before the court on a
given date of hearing.
Here, both the option
of setting bail or
making the defendant
When people
participate in
sports, they
impliedly agree to
make themselves
open to assaults,
battery, or
altercation and
physical contact.
If the matter is
given a criminal
outlook, the
defendant may
lose his career in
sports forever,
even though his
actions could be
justified as a usual

3CRIMINAL LAW
Scenario Identification of
Discretionary
Decision and
Choices
Description of
Influencing
Factors
Explanation of
Possible
Repercussions
authority and discretion either to set bail, to release
the defendant without bail on his promise to return, or
to require the defendant to wear a GPS leg monitor.
wear a GPS leg
monitor would give
the case a criminal
approach, instead of
dealing it in a civil
way.
Therefore mutual
combat within the
jurisdiction of the
rules of the sport is
not a breach of the
peace (Smith,
2016). However, an
action taken outside
the purview of the
game may attract
criminal charges.
altercation that
normally takes
place in a heated
hockey match.
Scenario 3:
A parolee who was previously convicted of a violent
crime broke curfew by 30 minutes, which is
considered a parole violation. This parole violation
could cause the parolee to return to prison to serve the
remainder of his sentence. When the parole agent
inquired about the violation, the parolee stated that he
had received an opportunity for overtime at his job,
which caused him to break his curfew. The parole
agent has tremendous discretion over the liberty of
this parolee. However, the agent must also take public
safety into consideration. The parole agent has the
authority and discretion to report or ignore the
violation.
The parole officer
should not report this
matter to the
authority after
confirming that the
parolee broke the
curfew due to his
overtime shift at his
job and not for some
other reason, which
may be unlawful.
Depending on the
situation, parole
officers have the
discretion to decide
parole violations by
parolees. The
officer needs to
evaluate whether
the violation was a
result of a wrongful
act done in the
course of the parole
or it was beyond
the control of the
parolee (Rhine,
Petersilia & Reitz,
2015).
If the parole
officer reports the
parole violation of
the parolee, he will
lose his parole and
his chance to live a
normal life by
pursuing a full-
time job. He
would lose his
opportunity to
rehabilitate.
However, the
parolee officer
should check
whether the
parolee was being
truthful about his
reason being late,
as otherwise, it
might put public
safety in jeopardy.

4CRIMINAL LAW
References
Penny, J. (2011). "Skate and Destroy"?: Subculture, Space and Skateboarding as
Performance. VDM Publishing.
Rhine, E. E., Petersilia, J., & Reitz, K. R. (2015). Improving parole release in America. Fed.
Sent'g Rep., 28, 96.
Smith, S. S. (2016). Sportsfluenza: The Result of Not Holding Athletes Accountable for Bad
Behavior. Law & Psychol. Rev., 40, 345.