American criminal system?

Question

please can someone explain briefly how the american criminal system works? What does 3 strikes and your out mean? And what is the difference between criminal law and federal law? Does it depend on the type of crime?

Answer 1

Three strikes is three felonies = a life sentence.

Minor crimes or misdemeanors are not included into the three strikes, are usually completed with fines, probation, or short jail time.

Major crimes or felonies are usually large offenses, murder, rape, burglary, are almost always going to include Prison time.

Laws codes are different from state to state. Federal crimes involve breaking specific federal criminal codes. Different infractions go to different criminal divisions.

Answer 2

Whoa. Okay...
Three strikes means if you are convicted of three felonies you are automatically sentenced to prison for life. This law does not exist in every state, and there is usually flexibility in how it is enforced.
The difference between criminal and federal law is more complicated.
In the US, there are 50 states that each have their own legal system and laws that only apply to them. Then there is the federal system, and its laws, which apply to ALL the states. (Yeah, there is a lot of overlap)
Within the states, there are criminal courts and civil courts. Criminal courts are for prosecuting crimes and civil courts are for disputes between parties that dont' involve the criminal law.

The easy way to think of Criminal law is to think about what you get arrested for. When you get arrested you go to criminal court. When you do wrong but you don't get arrested then its civil court.

There is this same divide in the federal system.

Answer 3

Jon H above is wrong. People have been given the thrid strike for relatively minor cimes.

Jerry Dewayne Williams
3rd Strike Theft of a slice of pizza
Sentence: 25 years to life, reduced to 6 years

Kevin Weber
3rd Strike Taking four chocolate chip cookies
Sentence: 26 years to life

Answer 4

The full rundown of how all this works would be impossible to detail in this space...there are libraries devoted to the jurisdictions and latitudes of law and it would be ludicrous to attempt explaining it all here----suffice to say in the simplest terms possible---there is local--state--and federal laws (each level has its own enforcement officers--and court systems and are governed by rules and regulations set up specifically for that system) at each level that system takes charge of their area of enforcement and judication for the laws that are broken within that level of jurisdiction---an individual breaking a local law is answerable to the local system---someone breaking a federal law is answerable to that system ---and there again each level of the system has it's own jails and institions for criminal incarceration----------three strikes rule is not applied everywhere across the board at all levels ---it has been adopted as a rule of law in certain states and in certain systems --when it is the rule it most usually has been implimented by the will of the people by way of the vote---in brief it states that with a person tried and convicted of offenses in any system for the third time can expect to recieve extreme punishment judgement usually life term incarceration---the idea here being to make it very unwise for someone with two heavy convictions to continue in a life of criminal activity----------this is the most in space alloted that I can do---I hope it clears at least some of your questions for you

Answer 5

3 strikes is if you are convicted of three felonies, then you go to prison for life. federal law is criminal and civil laws created by the federal govt. an example is bank robbery and kidnapping.

Answer 6

IF YOU GET 3 FELONYS= YOU GET 3 STRIKES=YOU GO
TO PRISON FOR LIFE. YES IT DEPENDS ON THE CRIME.