plea bargaining Essay -- essays research papers

Plea Bargaining Process   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The plea bargaining process is very important to the criminal justice system because without it the criminal justice system would grind to a halt. Plea-bargaining is important because if every case went to a trial it would take years for criminals to get from the time of arrest till the time of trial. The video we saw showed an example of how the process works to get criminals who plea guilty to committing minor crimes through the system faster so that the courts can concentrate on those criminals who commit major crimes. In this video you can see some of the variables that enter into the plea-bargaining system and how they can be fair and unfair to the parties involved. You can see the quality of legal representation provided by the public defenders office and how they have the discretion to what happens to these criminals. And we can explore options to improve the system to operate more smoothly and provide better justice to the criminals for the community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this video we saw a few cases in which people committed crimes including public drunkenness, prostitution, and even a guy who was doing push-ups in the train tracks which caused a train to stop. In all cases the criminals were career criminals who have been in and out of trouble for years and in all cases they plead guilty and received little or no jail time. While you might think this is good for the criminals and they should be happ...

Southern United States

Miss Kriz Abby Mayo AP U. S. History 14 March 2013 New England and the South History has shown explicitly the differences between the colonies in the Northern and Southern regions of the United States. These differences were determined in the way that the east coast of the United States was settled by colonists. The colonists developed the New England, Middle, and Southern colonies separately. The most influential factor in determining what life in each region would be like was the geography of each region.The geography then determined the economy of each region, which led to political and social developments. The differences between the New England colonies and the Southern colonies were often drastic enough that one might consider them better off as completely different nations. This possibility resulted in America’s devastating Civil War in the first half of the 19th century. However, there were inevitably at least a few similarities between the North and the South; after a ll, both were governed by the same federal administration.Though they shared a few similar aspects, the New England colonies and the Southern colonies were unmistakably different, whether one examined their political, religious, economic, or social aspects. Politically, there were not as many noticeable differences between the North and the South as there were economically. The Northern colonies of New England developed from their conservative Puritan roots, which came from their original colonizers. The essential values of New Englanders were decency, equal rights, and moral duty.The Northern political sphere has typically been more influential in the federal government than Southern politicians, though things have never been â€Å"easy† for Northerners. Obviously Southern representatives and senators fought to make sure that southern values were not disregarded. From a Southern perspective, politics are about hierarchy, racial superiority (particularly white Protestant male s). They supported greater power for individual states, while Northerners wanted a stronger central, federal government. The two factions are essentially opposites, and proved fatally polarizing in the federal legislature throughout history.These differing values were most conflicting in the years before and during the Civil War, when they reached a climax. Religion is the reason that European colonists first came to America. The Pilgrims of the Mayflower sought religious freedom in the exotic, uncharted â€Å"new world. † From there, America blossomed into a very valuable breeding ground for colonies. The first American settlers in Massachusetts were strict Puritans. Their religion was the center of their lives. Their religious views influenced their political actions greatly.In the South, religion was much less important in daily life, though it still had a presence. Over time, it came to be known that Southerners were typically Protestant or Anglican. They depended on and advocated for slavery, because their economy depended it, but also because unlike the New England colonists, their religion did not discourage it or promote equal rights. It is commonly claimed that the real religion of the South was their plantations. Religion often determined certain political views, playing a major part as a contributor to American society as a whole.However, these contributions took many different forms in the Northern colonies versus the Southern colonies. Geographical advantages and disadvantages ultimately governed the development of the individual economies in the North and the South, despite the fact that both comprised a single nation. The diverse geographical nature of the continental United States helped define factions of political and social opinion, particularly in the 19th century. In New England, as it is today, the soil was rocky and difficult to farm. Therefore, New England colonists looked to other sources of economic prosperity.They are known fo r having used many of the abundant natural resources surrounding them, such as granite, coal, and iron ore. They used these raw materials and used them to create products such as steel, and in doing so, made the New England colonies known for an industrial economy. The industrialist Northerners then developed more business-like political views. In the thoroughly agricultural South, the economy depended completely on cotton and other agricultural products. The plantation owners needed slaves to work their land, and slaves became a vital part of Southern economy.When Northerners challenged the ethics of slavery, the Southerners fought back in order to conserve their global economic success. This conflict developed into the bloody American Civil War. However, soon, America became known as one of the world’s foremost economic powers, permitted by the cooperation of the New Englanders and the Southerners. Political, religious, and economic views created American social society in the colonies. Inevitably, social classes developed, and they did so differently in each region. The entirety of Northern society was based on religion.Therefore, social developments were also based on religion. Their industrialism combined with their strong religious devotion caused them to place high value on literacy and education. Schools began to develop in New York and soon spread out across the colonies. Some of the prominent Northern ideals were equality, ethics, morality, and equal treatment of all people. The South could not have been more different. Rather than religion, which was a relatively insignificant part of Southern society, the South developed a typical system of social classes. At the bottom, of course, were the slaves.Middle class whites followed, and the wealthy upper class of white plantation owners were at the top of the food chain. Americans typically supported the beliefs of the region in which they lived. To them, it was just their nature to think the way they did. The dramatic differences between the â€Å"nature† of the North and the â€Å"nature† of the South caused huge problems for America as one unified nation. There were a few similarities that the North and the South shared. After all, they were part of the same country, though many of the Southerners liked to believe otherwise.Both the North and the South relied on imports for many of their manufactured goods. The Northern colonies’ industry was blossoming, but had not reached the level that many European nations were at. Additionally, they each relied on exports to finance their economic development. Finally, American colonists from both regions had trouble with Indian relations at times. The settlers believed themselves better than Native Americansin general and didn’t hesitate to show the natives what they thought of them. They also shared a common hatred for the English during the very early days of colonization and during the Revolutionary Wa r.Though undeniable similarities existed between the Northern colonies of New England and the Southern Colonies, it is clear that the list of differences between them is much more extensive. These differences really did prove fatal for the 600,000+ Americans that died fighting for them during the Civil War. Today, it is taken for granted that all Americans share an equal nationalistic pride. There is no more division between North and South, after decades of arguing, fighting, and war trying to rescue it.

Chaac, the Ancient Mayan God of Rain

Chaac (spelled variously Chac, Chaak, or Chaakh; and referred to in scholarly texts as God B) is the name of the rain god in the Maya religion. As with many Mesoamerican cultures that based their living on rain-dependent agriculture, the ancient Maya felt a particular devotion for the deities controlling rain. Rain gods or rain-related deities were worshiped beginning in very ancient times  and were known under many names among different Mesoamerican people. Identifying Chaac For example, the Mesoamerican rain god was known as Cocijo by the Late Formative period Zapotec of the Oaxaca Valley, as Tlaloc by the Late Postclassic Aztec people in Central Mexico; and of course as Chaac among the ancient Maya. Chaac was the Maya god of rain, lightning, and storms. He is often represented holding jade axes and snakes that he uses to throw at the clouds to produce rain. His actions assured the growth of maize and other crops in general as well as maintaining the natural cycles of life. Natural events of different intensities from the vivifying rain and wet season storms, to the more dangerous and destructive hailstorms and hurricanes, were considered manifestations of the god. Characteristics of the Mayan Rain God For the ancient Maya, the rain god had a particularly strong relationship with rulers, because—at least for the earlier periods of Maya history—rulers were considered rainmakers, and in later periods, were thought able to communicate and intercede with the gods. The alter-egos of Maya shamans and rulers roles often overlapped, especially in the Preclassic period. The pre-classic shaman-rulers were said to be able to reach the inaccessible places where the rain gods dwelled, and intercede with them for the people. These deities were believed to live on the tops of mountains and in high forests which were often hidden by clouds. These were the places where, in the rainy seasons, the clouds were hit by Chaac and his helpers and the rains were announced by thunder and lightning. Four Directions of the World According to Maya cosmology, Chaac was also linked to the four cardinal directions. Each world direction was connected with one aspect of Chaac and a specific color: Chaak Xib Chaac, was the Red Chaac of the EastSak Xib Chaac, the White Chaac of the NorthEx Xib Chaac, the Black Chaac of the West, andKan Xib Chaac, the Yellow Chaac of the South Collectively, these were called the Chaacs or Chaacob or Chaacs (plural for Chaac) and they were worshiped as deities themselves in many parts of the Maya area, especially in Yucatà ¡n. In a burner ritual reported in the Dresden and Madrid codexes and said to be conducted to ensure copious rains, the four Chaacs had different roles: one takes the fire, one begins the fire, one gives scope to the fire, and one puts out the fire. When the fire was lit, hearts of sacrificial animals were cast into it and the four Chaac priests poured jugs of water to put out the flames. This Chaac ritual was performed twice each year, once in the dry season, once in the wet. Chaac Iconography Even though Chaac is one of the most ancient of Maya deities, almost all of the known representations of the god are from the Classic and Postclassic periods (AD 200-1521). Most of the surviving images depicting the rain god are on Classic period painted vessels and Postclassic codexes. As with many Maya gods, Chaac is portrayed as a blend of human and animal characteristics. He has reptilian attributes and fish scales, a long curly nose, and a protruding lower lip. He holds the stone ax used to produce lightning and wears an elaborate headdress. Chaac masks are found protruding from Maya architecture at many Terminal Classic period Maya sites such as Mayapà ¡n and Chichen Itza. Mayapà ¡ns ruins include the Hall of Chaac Masks (Building Q151), thought to have been commissioned by Chaac priests around AD 1300/1350. The earliest possible representation of a pre-classic Maya rain god Chaac recognized to date is carved into the face of Stela 1 at Izapa, and dated to the Terminal Preclassic Period about AD 200. Chaac Ceremonies Ceremonies in honor of the rain god were held in each Maya city and at different levels of society. Rituals to propitiate rain took place in the agricultural fields, as well as in more public settings such as plazas. Sacrifices of young boys and girls were carried out in especially dramatic periods, such as after a prolonged period of drought. In Yucatan, rituals asking for rains are documented for the Late Postclassic and Colonial periods. In the sacred cenote of Chichà ©n Itzà ¡, for example, people were thrown and left to drown there, accompanied by precious offerings of gold and jade. Evidence of other, less lavish ceremonies have also been documented by archaeologists in caves and karstic wells all over the Maya area. As part of the care of a cornfield, members of historic period Maya communities in the Yucatan peninsula today held rain ceremonies, in which all the local farmers participated. These ceremonies reference the chaacob, and the offerings included balche, or corn beer. Updated by K. Kris Hirst Sources Aveni AF. 2011. Maya Numerology. Cambridge Archaeological Journal 21(02):187-216.de Orellana M, Suderman M, Maldonado Mà ©ndez Ó, Galavitz R, Gonzà ¡lez Aktories S, Camacho Dà ­az G, Alegre Gonzà ¡lez L, Hadatty Mora Y, Maldonado Nà ºÃƒ ±ez P, Castelli C et al. 2006. Rituals of Corn. Artes de Mà ©xico(78):65-80.Estrada-Belli F. 2006. Lightning Sky, Rain, and the Maize God: The Ideology of Preclassic Maya Rulers at Ancient Mesoamerica 17:57-78.Cival, Peten, Guatemala.Milbrath S, and Lope CP. 2009. Survival and revival of Terminal Classic traditions at Postclassic Mayapà ¡n. Latin American Antiquity 20(4):581-606.Miller M and Taube KA. 1993. The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion. Thames and Hudson: London.Pà ©rez de Heredia Puente EJ. 2008. Chen K’u: The Ceramic of the Sacred Cenote at Chichà ©n Itzà ¡. Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc. (FAMSI): Tulane, Louisiana.Sharer RJ and Traxler, LP. 2006. The Ancient Maya. Sixth Edition. Stanford University Press: Stanford, California.