Goa Board Class 8 Solutions for Civics – Understanding Our Criminal Justice System (English Medium)
Page No. 76:
Question 1:
In a town called Peace Land, the supporters of the Fiesta football team learn that the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the nearby city about 40 km away have damaged the ground on which the Final between both teams is to be held the following day. A crowd of Fiesta fans armed with deadly weapons attacks the homes of the supporters of the Jubilee football team in the town. In the attack, 10 men are killed, 5 women are gravely hurt, many homes are destroyed and over 50 people injured.
Imagine that you and your classmates are now part of the criminal justice system. First divide the class into the following four groups of persons:
- Police
- Public Prosecutor
- Defence lawyer
- Judge
The column on the right provides a list of functions. Match these with the roles that are listed on the left. Have each group pick the functions that it needs to perform to bring justice to those who were affected by the violence of the Fiesta fans. In what order will these functions be performed?
Roles | Functions |
Police
Public Prosecutor
Defence Lawyer
Judge |
hear the witnesses |
record the statements of witnesses | |
cross examine the witnesses | |
take photographs of burnt homes | |
record the evidence | |
arrest the Fiesta fans | |
writes the judgement | |
argue the case for the victims | |
decide for how many years the accused will be put in jail | |
examine the witnesses in court | |
pass the judgement | |
get the assaulted women medically examined | |
conduct a fair trial | |
meet the accused persons |
Now take the same situation, but ask one student who is a supporter of the Fiesta Club to perform all the functions listed above. Do you think the victims would get justice if only one person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system? Why not?
State two reasons why you believe that different persons need to play different roles as part of the criminal justice system?
Solution :
The answers are
Police: Records the statements of witnesses
Takes photographs of burnt homes
Arrests the Fiesta fans
Gets the assaulted women medically examined
Public Prosecutor: Cross examines the witnesses
Argues the case for the victims
Defence Lawyer: Hears the witnesses
Examines the witnesses in court
Meets the accused persons
Judge: Records the evidence
Writes the judgement
Decides for how many years the accused will be put in jail
Passes the judgement
Conducts a fair trial
No, if only a single person performed all of the functions of the criminal justice system, then the victims would not get justice because he could get influenced by various prejudices and absolute power can lead to unfairness.
Two reasons why different persons need to play different roles as part of the criminal justice system are
- To avoid the misuse of power and unfairness in the results.
- A single ideology may not be the right one, and it can affect the trial and the result of the case.