Origins of the American Legal System

Submit your assignment as a 5- to 10-page Microsoft Word or PDF document. Each answer should be 1 to 2 pages, not to exceed two pages.Answer the following questions:

Discuss the origins of the American legal system, including the common law, precedent, stare decisis, and judicial review.

Describe the role of both the judge and the jury in criminal trials. Explain why the jury is both substantively and symbolically important.

Discuss the factors that significantly curtail the discretion of judges in the American criminal justice system.

Take a position on whether plea agreements are generally good or bad, and why it would be difficult to ban or severely restrict plea agreements.

Is it really realistic today to believe that jurors can be insulated from pretrial and trial publicity?

Writing Quality:  Primarily concerns fundamentals like grammar, syntax, usage, vocabulary, and spelling, but also considers clarity of expression and logical structure.   20 points.

Responsiveness:  Does each response really answer the question posed?  15 points.

Comprehensiveness:  Are the answers to each question thorough and complete?  10 points.

Sources:  Are useful, credible sources used?  Are all sources used clearly cited?  5 points.