Question: Matching exercises give you an opportunity to practice definitions and develop logical and critical thinking skills. By using such techniques as inversion, diversion, and the process of elimination, you are able to greatly increase the probability of answering questions correctly. This is an important skill to have, as it is commonly found on nearly all standardized tests and increases critical thinking.

The objective of this exercise is to understand the process of American criminal justice including the stages of criminal case processing.

Unit 1 Practice Activity

Complete the Unit 1 Assignment: What happened to the Lindbergh baby?

Resource: Chapter 1 of your text.

The ability to think critically is a key skill for success in the criminal justice field. It means not taking what you heard or read at face value, but using your critical thinking faculties to weigh up the evidence and consider the implications and conclusions of the situation.

The criminal justice system encompasses three main components: Police, courts, and corrections. These three components interrelate in several ways. First, they interact in the processing of specific cases. For example, police officers' conduct investigations and make arrests. Offenders must then be processed by the court system, but police officers play a critical role in this process, as they might confer with prosecutors or testify at motion hearings or trials. If an offender is convicted, prosecutors might recommend the sentence and judges may consider prison overcrowding issues when deciding the final sentence.

Second, these components interact at a policy level. The formal and informal decision-making processes of each component can impact the strategies and priorities of the other components. Third, the components are increasingly working together in various ways to respond to specific types of crimes. The interactions between components often result in conflict. Each component focuses on achieving different goals, and the priorities of the different components may not be consistent.

Review the details of the Lindbergh Baby Case.

Write a 700-1,050 word analysis of the Lindbergh case. Include the following components in your discussion:

Discuss how the three components, police, courts, and corrections, apply to this case.

Discuss first appearance, preliminary hearing, and arraignment as they apply to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

Discuss adjudication as it applies to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

Discuss sentencing as it applies to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

Discuss corrections as it applies to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping.

Directions for Submitting Your Assignment