Criminal Justice System of America and Britain Research Paper

Criminal Justice System of America and Britain - Research Paper Example Still, there are many differences and similarities between the judicial systems in these countries. The first difference occurs, when American lawyers are defense attorneys, notwithstanding that they prefer to call themselves â€Å"trial lawyers†. British lawyers name them â€Å"solicitors, representing people’s legal needs and barristers, who take the cases to civil or criminal courts† (Carter, 2001). The differences should be found not at the verbal level, but at much deeper conceptual and historical levels. Similarities and differences between the US and UK legal systems As far as we can see, there can be found a lot of parallels between English Common Law and the American legal system, many differences exist as well. It is relevant to trace the deep historical roots of legal system of these countries, because â€Å"the life of the law has not been logic, it has been experience...the law embodies the story of a nation's development through many centuries..." (Carter, 2001). There is no Supreme Court in the Great Britain and a government is positioned as a totally separated unity from the legal process. The House of Lords performs a function of the highest justice and represents the â€Å"court of highest appeal†. (Carter, 2001) In America, state courts are separated from federal courts, but in Britain the lowest criminal courts â€Å"Magistrate's Courts† exist.... In England there is Home Secretary, who is responsible for the criminal justice system and Wales and advising the Queen on the royal prerogative of mercy to pardon exercise given to a person who is convicted of a crime. In accordance with the US Constitution, the President has a power of a pardon (of course, this mainly happens on the basis of political considerations about the cases). Therefore, it is evident that legal and judicial systems are more separated from each other in the US. On the basis of the difference of the legal systems in Britain and America, it is clearly seen that the US Constitution is the leading legal document in America. The Judiciary has the control over its own actions and the Executive or Legislative branches can obtrude in this process. Another interesting fact is that the Executive branch is responsible for appointments of federal judges and judges in the Supreme Court. The Congress has a right to either approve or disapprove such kind of appointment. Th erefore, on the basis of these facts the independence of the American judiciary can be questioned. The differences between judicial systems between these two countries occurred after the Revolution, when â€Å"American law became, in some ways, More than less English....The law later needed was not to be found in the colonial past....Only England had a supply that American lawyers could use without translation or transformation." (Knight, 1996) Still, the majority of lawyers and critics claim that the development of the judicial system should be a more dynamical process. In order to accommodate republican versus monarchial system of Britain, America