The Florida Department of Health located in Jacksonville, Florida stores its vital records that are composed of its Divorce, Marriage, Death and Birth Records. Their divorce records are public records and are indexed by the name of the husband. Obtaining certified copies such as Divorce Certificates or Divorce Decrees can be done through the county office where the divorce was granted and it is at the county where the divorce occurred that you can obtain divorce records which were issued prior to June 6, 1927.

Divorce Records Florida is not only accessible at the State and County office. With the use of the Internet, we can now access these records from those available commercial record providers that can be found online. You might wonder what difference does it make when searching one from the other. Well, one of the biggest advantages of these private providers over the government is that they have access to various databases of various States which means that they have access to all states at one stop while the government public record databases are not linked at all. Therefore, it is more convenient to do it online rather than conduct the search through the government.

Divorce records are now becoming one of the most searched records anywhere. One reason for that is its usefulness to the people. It can be used for immigration, change name, access to the benefits from the government, and most importantly, for a background check on a particular person who will be in some ways connected to you. Your search might be due to your suspicion, precaution, or just a mere curiosity, it is still advisable for you to perform it for you to save yourself from any undesired events that may occur at some point of time.

As mentioned, your safety lies on the results that you will get out of searching these divorce records. Therefore, it is necessary that you choose the right provider for you. Searching them through the government may not be of much help since they do not have linked databases. That will make it difficult for you to keep track on those folks who are living in multiple states. Furthermore, it is also convenient to do it that way if you wanted to have immediate and high quality of result.

Nowadays, searching for the State of Florida Divorce Records has been made easier with the help of those private providers that are available online who introduced to us the access to multiple States at one stop only. However, with their increasing number, you still have to be careful enough not to pick those that are scam and spam only.

Looking for State Of Florida Divorce Records? We can help you. We have detailed information specific to various Free Divorce Records Online.
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Unfortunately, many will go through a divorce or a paternity suit. But most don’t have a clue about fighting for their rights at court. Learn what you must know to better fight for what you want – with or without a lawyer. This article explains the issues of these suits and the importance of preparing well for the first hearing.

You must go to family court to get divorce, or, if unmarried, to seek your right to parent your child. How you ‘go to court’ for a divorce or unmarried custody issue is essential knowledge if you want to exercise your rights. It begins with you or your spouse (the mother or father) – or your lawyer – filing a complaint for divorce (or paternity custody).

The court will resolve your complaint after at trial on the issues with a resulting judgment. You and the ‘other side’ may agree to settle all issues instead, but the judge will have to ratify your settlement agreement.

So much depends in family court on what happens early in your court action. That’s because so much is decided at the first hearing – i.e. the temporary order hearing.

The first two steps in a divorce/paternity suit are:

1. Filing the complaint

2. Going to the first temporary hearing

Filing begins the ‘action’ or ’suit’. If you filed it, you’re the plaintiff; the other side becomes the defendant. It doesn’t matter who’s the plaintiff or defendant.

There are formal ‘notification’ procedures to make sure and establish proof that both litigants have been notified.

Hearings are where you present suggestions – called ‘motions’ to the judge on resolving a variety of the divorce-related issues. You may have many hearing before things are settled.

Based on the how the litigants – or their lawyers – argue in favor of their motions, the judge will issue a ‘temporary order’ to resolve that issue until a final agreement is made or a final judgment (i.e. a list of permanent orders) after a trial.

The first hearing – called the Temporary Order Hearing – is extremely important. That’s because most all the important issues of a divorce must be addressed and ‘temporarily set’ pending the final judgment or settlement.

Either the plaintiff or litigant can set up (mark) a hearing. But he or she must make proper notification to the other side.

The issues of divorce are:

1. Who gets custody? i.e. legal and physical or shared or sole custody of child.

2. Who will be the noncustodial parent? i.e. the one not having physical custody

3. What amount of child support must be paid by the noncustodial parent?

4. What will be the extent of visitation (of the child) by the noncustodial parent?

5. Who lives in the house and who gets kicked out?

6. How should the marital assets be divided?

7. How should life and medical insurance be handled?

8. Who should pay for college?

If there’s was no marriage – and you’re not in a ‘common law marriage’ state then there is not marital assets to divide. What’s in your name is yours!

The Need for Critical Preparation for First Hearing:

The first four divorce issues above generally need to be resolved – temporarily – at this first hearing. These 4 set up much of the future circumstances of both parents. So, good preparation for this hearing is of the utmost importance.

Legal custody means you’re to make major decisions in the child’s life. These would be decisions regarding religion, medical, and education. Physical custody means you will make the day-to-day decisions of your child because you’re living – and parenting- him.

Know the issues and argue strongly how they should be resolved in your favor. Don’t leave all this up to your lawyer to handle. It’s your kids and your life that’s at stake.

There’s a saying that your temporary orders will harden like cement into your ‘final judgment orders’. That’s because once some arrangement is set up, the judge doesn’t like to change things since the kids will be accustomed to the arrangement.

Unfortunately for fathers -and their kids – the family court judges overwhelmingly prefer to give physical custody to the mother. He follows only what he says is the ‘best interest’ of the children. Your parental rights as a father or your equal rights under the constitution are simply not considered primary – if at all.

So you must make every effort to push that you should have at least equal custody – both legal and physical – of your child(ren) at the first temporary order hearing. Don’t let your lawyer talk you out of this. And don’t let him say you can work for it later, because the cement will be hardening fast.

Being a military man, you may have to adhere to some terms and conditions before you seek legal separation. All these things involve many legal intricacies. Hence, it is better for you to hire a military divorce lawyer to help you get out of a messy divorce proceeding.

It is impossible for you to hire any cheap divorce lawyer. As a military personnel, you are governed both by military as well as civil laws. It would be in your best interest to hire a lawyer that is specializing in military divorce,since most domestic relations lawyers are not familiar with military laws governing divorce. Although some military divorce lawyers are expensive, think of it as in investment in yourself. Spending the money will make the process as efficient and appropriate as possible.

There are many divorce lawyers who work in different states. The referral system is the most commonly used method of locating a military divorce attorney. On the contrary, locating an efficient military divorce attorney may not be too easy in case you are stationed abroad. Before filing for divorce it would be better for you to return to the country first as most of the military divorce lawyers work inside the country itself.

You need to meet with the military divorce lawyer’s prospective lawyer first, before choosing him. In these circumstances, meeting in person is a better option.
When you meet face to face with your military divorce lawyer, ensure that you notice how he reacts to your statements. If the lawyer seems to be not concentrating and makes unappropriate responses to your queries, it is better not to hire that lawyer to represent you. It will not help you if your lawyer doesn’t give you all the time that your case requires. Please bear in mind that similar to any court case, divorce too requires the total involvement of the attorney. Alternatively, in case you find the lawyer keen and empathetic, you may appoint him. It would be heartening to have a sympathizer while you are fighting a legal case.

Here is where you should go if you need the assistance of a divorce lawyer in Houston.
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Alpha women are independent, intelligent, attractive, shrewd and good at making money. They know what they want and how to get it; think Madonna, Katie Price and Oprah.

Of course most Alpha women are not famous but are successful businesswomen or have excelled in their chosen career and risen to the top, along with their income.

Recent estimates suggest that 1 in 5 women now earn more than their husband. As a divorce lawyer it is interesting for me to see how this reversal of the traditional family roles, where the man is not the main breadwinner, has changed the public’s perception about who should get what in a divorce settlement.

We’re all aware of high profile cases of women who marry a wealthy man and, after a few years, walk away with a substantial pay out when they divorce; but what about when things are the other way around?

You don’t have to look far to find cases where a man has benefited financially from being married to an Alpha woman. Reports have suggested that Guy Ritchie was awarded £45 million in his divorce from Madonna, even though he was already worth £30 million himself (compared to her £300 million). Anne Robinson is said to have paid her ex-husband £20 million, and Vanessa Feltz was ordered to pay her surgeon ex £1.5 million, after he reportedly had an affair.

So how are divorce settlements arrived at? And where do you stand if you are a high earning woman?

Many factors are taken into account including the length of the marriage, what assets both parties take into the marriage and their respective future earnings capabilities. Where children are involved, this will have a substantial effect on the outcome. In some cases, the courts will take into account that the wife’s high earnings afforded the husband a correspondingly high standard of living, which he could not afford to sustain based on his own earnings alone. Any settlement may reflect this by awarding him a payout in the form of cash, assets or ongoing maintenance payments.

Some people may feel that they are being penalised for being a high earner, but the law looks upon marriage as a sharing of all assets and, importantly, there is no gender bias – men and women are treated equally by the courts.

So what can you do? If you are taking substantial wealth into a new relationship, you should consider a prenuptial agreement to try and protect against losing out down the road. If it’s already too late for that, you need to get a good divorce lawyer, and speak to them as early in the process as possible. A good lawyer can have a significant influence on the negotiations and will do everything possible to ensure that you achieve the most favourable settlement available.

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Marie Douglas-David (37) had filed for divorce from her husband, businessman George David (67). Mr David had built up a conglomerate of successful businesses over the years, under the umbrella of United Technologies, and had a fortune estimated at $329 million. Mrs Douglas-David, a Swedish countess, had given up her job as an investment banker when they married.

Her initial claim was for a settlement of $100 million plus $53,000 per week in maintenance, in order to maintain the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. Just take a second to let that sink in. This was for a 6 year, childless marriage.

Lists of their respective weekly expenses provided to the court showed that they were both living very well. Her $53,000 a week included such items as $4,500 for clothes, $8,000 for travel and $1,000 for hair and skin treatments. His $200,000 a week included $95,943 to run his 90ft yacht, $18,042 on charities and $1,773 on food.

Apart from raising the obvious questions (what was he eating for $1,773 a week and what was she putting on her face?), this case also gives us an opportunity to look at spousal maintenance and when it may be appropriate.

In the UK, entitlement to spousal maintenance depends on many factors, including the length of the marriage, the standard of living before the divorce, your respective needs and the needs of any dependent children, your respective future earnings capability and the contribution made to the marriage, either financial or by caring for children and looking after the family home.

For example, if a couple have been married for 20 years and by agreement the wife gave up a well paid job to bring up the family at home, while the husband became the sole bread winner, then the wife’s future earnings capability may be severely compromised. In these circumstances the wife should not be penalised for her lack of earnings ability. The courts see the role of the homemaker as no less important than that of the bread winner. A fair settlement may include the wife receiving half of the joint assets including the husband’s pension entitlement, as well as ongoing spousal maintenance.

On the other hand, if a young couple with no children have been married for a short time and both are working, then it may be fair for them both to leave the marriage with no ongoing financial ties and taking with them what they brought into the marriage.

It is reported that Mrs Douglas-David eventually received $50 million, significantly more than the $43 million she was being offered under the terms of the couple’s post-nuptial agreement. In the ultra-privileged world that the Davids inhabit, $7 million probably won’t curtail either of their lifestyles too severely. But in the world where most of us live, a skilled divorce lawyer can have a significant impact on negotiations, and help you to achieve the most favourable settlement available.

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Response.
The party who receives service of process will then need to file a response to the petition. If a divorce was sought on fault grounds and the responding party wants to dispute those grounds, he or she will need to address it in the response. The responding party may choose to dispute the facts that are alleged to be the grounds for divorce or he or she may choose to assert a defense to the grounds. If there is disagreement as to property division, support, custody, or any other issue, this should be set out in the response.

Negotiation.
If the parties don’t agree on all the issues, they will need to try to negotiate their differences. The court may schedule settlement conferences that attempt to move the parties toward a final resolution of the issues. If the parties disagree on child custody and visitation, the court may also order mediation, evaluation of the children and parents by a social worker or other court employee and that a lawyer or guardian ad litem be appointed to represent the children. Other issues that may need to be negotiated are the property division and any spousal support.

Trial.
Any issues the parties absolutely cannot resolve between themselves will have to be decided at a trial. However, going to trial will take longer, cost more money, and have less predictable results so it is probably best to avoid going to trial if possible.

Order of Dissolution.
The order of dissolution ends the marriage and spells out how the property and debts are to be divided, custody, support and any other issues. When the parties negotiate their own resolution to all of the issues, they will draft the order of dissolution and submit it to the court. If the order of dissolution complies with legal requirements and both parties entered into it knowingly and willingly, then the judge will approve it. Otherwise the court will issue an Order of Dissolution at the end of the trial.

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Filing a petition.
The first step in the divorce process is filing a petition. Even where both spouses agree that they want to get divorced, one of them will have to be the one to file a petition with the court asking for the divorce. The petition will state the grounds for the divorce. The grounds for divorce vary depending on the jurisdiction. All jurisdictions allow for some type of no-fault grounds such as “irreconcilable differences”, but only a few states still consider fault grounds for divorce, such as adultery or abandonment. Your lawyer can tell you whether fault grounds are available in your state, and if so, whether or not it makes sense to file for divorce on fault grounds.

Temporary Orders.
If one spouse depends on the other for financial support or will have custody of the children, that spouse needs to ask the court for temporary orders for support and custody. For example, if a stay at home mom files for divorce, she will need financial support from her husband to continue paying the household bills. She will also need a temporary custody order and a temporary child support order for the kids. A temporary order is usually granted within a few days and will remain in effect until a full court hearing. If the party seeking the temporary order is the same party who files the petition, they should file them at the same time. If the party seeking the temporary order did not file the petition, they should file their request for the temporary order as soon as possible.

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Most divorce litigants don’t have a clue about how a divorce action progresses. Learn them so you can begin to handle your case – with or without a lawyer. This article outlines the steps in divorce or paternity (for the unmarried) suit that take place in family court.

The state requires that you go to court to get divorced. The process of ‘going to court’ is fundamentally the same in all types of courts. It starts with one person submitting a ‘complaint for divorce’ or ‘for paternity rights’. The complaint begins a sequence of ’steps’.

Ultimately going to court means asking the court to ‘resolve’ your complaint. It’ll be resolved after you have a trial on the issues of the complaint with a resulting judgment. Sometime during the process, though, you and the ‘other side’ may agree to settle all issues without need a trial. In family court (aka divorce court) you’ll need the judge agreement and signature to ratify your ’settlement’.

So here are the essential steps, their meanings and some terminology. I’ll refer to a complaint for divorce as the example:

STEP 1: Filing the Complaint for Divorce or Paternity.

This begins the ‘action’ or ’suit’. The ‘plaintiff’ is the one who files the complaint. He or she must notify the other side – who will then be the ‘defendant’. Both of them are called the litigants. This is a ‘civil process’ rather than a ‘criminal process’, so it doesn’t matter who’s the plaintiff or defendant.

There are formal ‘notification’ procedures to make sure and establish proof that both litigants have been notified.

STEP 2: Temporary Orders – from Hearings

Hearings are where you present suggestions – called ‘motions’ – to the judge on a variety of the divorce-related issues – your suggestion for how it should be resolved.

Based on the how the litigants – or their lawyers – argue in favor of their motions, the judge will issue a ‘temporary order’ to resolve that issue until a final agreement is made or a final judgment (i.e. a list of permanent orders) issues after a trial.

STEP 3: Discovery

Discovery is the name of the process by which litigants find out facts relevant to the divorce issues. Information you find can help make your case (or argument) stronger in your favor. You’ll use this information at the trial or as a reason to settle the case without at trial.

Discovery encompasses essentially 4 different ways for finding out information:

* Interrogatories -for asking questions of the other side

* Production of documents – requesting other side to give documents on anything

* Request for admissions – request other side to admit to some behavior

* Depositions – recorded questioning of the other side (or others) on relevant issues

STEP 4: The 4-Way Meeting

At this meeting typically you, your spouse and your lawyers (i.e. 4 people) sit down and discuss the issues after discovery to see if you can settle the case rather than go to trial STEP 5: Pre-Trial Hearing At this hearing (in front of the judge), the litigants make it clear what they’ve settled on – and what there is left to be decided for a trial. Most full settlements take place here.

The judge may push for a complete settlement if there seems to be no reason justifying a trial. If a trial is an option, the judge will decide on the time and date.

STEP 6: Trial

At the trial the divorce issues that are still ‘contested’ will be addressed. Both sides will put forth the points they wish to show, prove them as best they can, and then make a closing argument showing their points and how they were proved to the court.

There is no jury in divorce trials. The judge acts as both judge and jury.

The plaintiff makes his or her case first, then rests. Then the defendant makes her or his case. Both use direct and cross examination of each other and other witnesses as needed.

STEP 7: The Divorce Judgment

You need to wait several days to months for this. It is called the judgment of divorce nisi (conditional) which automatically becomes final in 90 days if the parties don’t decide to call off the divorce and remain married!!

OPTIONAL ADDITIONAL STEPS:

Reconsideration Hearing

If something in the judgment seems terribly wrong or incorrect you can file a statement of objections to the finality of divorce for reasons such as new evidence, fraud on wife’s part (perhaps excluding some assets) and request a reconsideration hearing on the judgment.

Appeal

You can appeal the divorce judgment if you think it’s unjust to the Appeals Court. Be sure to file the notice of appeal within 30 days of your judgment.

Copyright (c) 2010 Lucille Uttermohlen

If you are waiting for your divorce to be final, it can be agony. After all, not knowing what property you will have to work with after the divorce makes it hard to plan. Debts that you will be responsible to pay can also effect your future budget. Most annoying and downright scary is what the judge will do with your kids if you and your spouse were fighting over custody.

Unfortunately, the remedy to get the judge to move things along isn’t very satisfactory. He is under an obligation to render a decision as soon as he can. Many states give a certain time limit for a judge to make his final decision. If he doesn’t enter an order by that time, your attorney can ask the he be removed from your case.

In my 27 year practice, I have invoked the “lazy judge” rule once. I had filed to modify custody for one of my clients. From the moment we entered the courtroom, I knew I was in for a long, frustrating day. Every question I asked, and many I started were interrupted by my colleague’s monotone “objection”, and the judge’s “sustained”. It was clear that my client wasn’t going to get a fair hearing, and I was reduced to asking opposing counsel not to interrupt me before I even got my question out so I could at least make my record for appeal

I think the judge must have known an easy way out when he saw it. I would have advised my client to appeal, for the obvious reason that she had not been allowed to present a case. The judge never let it get that far. He just didn’t make a decision at all. Finally, I was free to file a “lazy judge” motion.

The “lazy judge” motion takes the case away from the judge automatically. All you have to show is that the hearing occurred on a certain date, and the judge didn’t render an order by the time the legislature says he had to. In this particular case, I was happy to get the case away from that court.

Most of the time, a “lazy judge” motion isn’t a good choice. It does cause the case to be assigned to a new judge, which in some cases, like the one I described, can be a good thing. However, the only recourse you have once a new judge is appointed is to try the case again. This is all right from the stand point that you can introduce evidence that may have been missed the first time around. However, it also means you have to pay an attorney to prepare the whole case for you again, and most people simply can’t afford to do that.

The best thing to do in most cases is to have your lawyer nudge your judge into ruling. Some of my colleagues are hesitant to do this, and you may have to light a fire under them to get them to cooperate. We have to live with our judges, and getting a reputation as a nag is not something any attorney gains happily. However, I find that a call to the judge’s secretary can usually get the folder in question placed on the judge’s desk, and tactfully brought to his attention.

Judges are very busy in this country. The only way to lighten their load is to raise taxes and hire more of them. We attorneys might like that idea, but most of the tax paying public would prefer to avoid the additional expense. For this reason, many of us are forced to wait for answers to our most pressing legal issues. However, there is a point where even a busy judge needs to get his work done, and when that point has arrived and passed, litigants may do well to take their problems to another forum.

The are certain linkages that one can make with regard to the criminal justice system and the role identity plays within this system (where age, gender, sexual orientation or social class denote identity). The first link is that one’s identity has a direct effect on the access to resources of power. Also, it is plausible to assume that identity determines one’s punishments and rewards in the criminal justice system. The second aspect about identity is that it highly affects the nature of crime control dispatched upon various groups. Thirdly, these differences in crime control have an overall effect of changing the way of life of respective identities both within and without the criminal justice system. Lastly, it can be assumed that the nature of crime control can reinforce some of the inherent inequalities within society. (Andersen and Patricia, 1998)

The Australian criminal justice systems has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decades. This is because certain blatant cases of discrimination such as discrimination against gender and race have reduced dramatically. However, some institutionalised systems of discrimination still form part of the Australian criminal justice system. Specific social classes, races, sexual orientation receive fairer treatments than others. The essay shall examine the complexities of these identities with regard to the criminal justice system.

How sexual orientation is handled within the Australian criminal justice system

The criminal justice system is perhaps one of the most prominent areas of the Australian society that depicts negative sentiments to gays or lesbians. Statistics conducted on

how social class affects administration of justice by the Gay Men and Lesbians Against Discrimination (GLAD) in Victoria found that approximately eighteen percent of the male  respondents had ever experienced some form of harassment from law enforcement officers. It also found that police had harassed twelve percent of the female participants. Therefore, police officers had harassed thirty percent of the one thousand participants at one time in their lives. This is an alarming rate especially considering the fact that incidences of police harassment among the general public are at a much lower rate. (Baired et al, 1994)

The nature of response to gay related crimes also depicts discrimination. In the year 1999, a survey conducted by the Gay Men Community Action in South Australia found that a whooping forty four percent of gay/lesbian victims never contacted the police when they had been victims of hate crime. The same research also found that forty nine percent of the respondents would not report their cases to the police if the crime under consideration involved sexual issues. The same survey also found that seventy nine percent of the participants (who were all gay/lesbians) felt that police officers had a negative attitude towards homosexuals. These perceptions were not just founded on baseless allegations; it was found that twenty three percent of the homosexuals who had reported their cases to the police received homophobic reactions from them. As if that was not enough, these victims asserted that the same homophobic behaviour was prevalent in instances where they initiated contact or when the police themselves approached them for assistance.

Experts assert that the issue of inequality within the criminal justice system is simply and indication of the negative societal attitudes towards homosexuality. The Australian society despises, fears and ridicules the gay society. These attitudes have become part of society and consequently, the manifestations of inequality within the criminal justice system are reflecting these perceptions. The truth of the matter is that the Australian criminal justice systems places greater importance upon the rights of heterosexuals than it does that of homosexuals. By so doing, the system is making cases of sexual and physical abuse against this group seem justifiable yet this should not be the case. (Baired et al, 1994)

A deeper analysis into this matter reveals some four attitudes that could be the driving force behind these inequalities in the criminal justice system. The first is known as the ‘sin’ mentality. According to surveys conducted on the nature of the criminal justice with regard to sexual orientation, psychologists found that society perceives non-procreation sexual behaviour as immoral. Consequently, society tends to assume the same sex relationships undermine the family as the basic unit of the economy. The second theory behind these inequalities in the criminal justice system is the ‘illness’ mentality. According to this theory, society has a negative attitude towards the gay community because it assumes that such individuals are actually sick and are demonstrating some deviant characteristics. This mentality was reinforced after the Australian society embraced science and medicine in preference to religion during the nineteenth century.

Another theory is called the neutral difference theory in which some people believe that homosexuals should not be punished for their sexual orientation and should instead receive protection from the criminal justice system. This mentality started penetrating into the Australian society during the 1970s when laws were amended to incorporate some of these perceptions into the criminal justice system. The fourth concept is called the Social construct concept. According to this theory, some people believed that the view held by neutral theorists is wrong. When law enforcement officers go out of their way to protect gays and lesbians just because of their sexual orientation, then chances are that those same views, which they are trying to eradicate, will be reinforced. They assert that one’s identity is not merely determined by their sexual orientation but other factors also come into play. Consequently, when too much emphasis is placed on this issue, then it will enforce the stereotypes. (Takach, 1994)

All in all, attitudes towards homosexuals and gays within the Australian criminal system largely depict the perceptions held by society in general. Consequently, the reactions that these attitudes solicit from law enforcement officers and legal representatives also depict the same mentality. Many gays and lesbians are victims of inequalities within the criminal justice system and something ought to be done about it. The key to solving this problem is to challenge prejudicial perceptions to the homosexual society. This can be done by changing Australian laws so as to incorporate a tolerating society. It also means that law enforcement officers, magistrates and lawyers need to be educated about gay rights by understanding the theories behind their biases. Such actions can be implemented through law schools or policing schools and stricter cases of homophobic response imposed upon law enforcement officers themselves.

Role of gender in the criminal justice system

The response of the criminal justice system towards women is somewhat different depending on the circumstance under consideration. For instance, in cases where women take on the role of the accused, they are likely to receive less punitive punishments than their male counterparts. Consequently, it can be said that the criminal justice system favours women when one examines the system through the lens of the accused. The reason behind this leniency is the fact that most female offenders usually commit murder against their spouses as a result of abuse or agitation by the male spouse, Consequently, their actions may be deemed as justifiable in comparison to their male counterparts. (Easteal, 2002)

Another heated topic with regard to the role of gender in the criminal justice is the type of defence used by female offenders. Research has shown that certain female killers tend to use pre-menstrual syndromes as a defence for committing crimes in other countries like the US. This issue has generated a lot of debate within Australian criminal justice circles as some people feel that it can be considered as reasonable defence and should be accepted as such especially in cases of mitigation.

When women are taken to court to fight for parenting rights, the Australian justice system tends to favour men over women in terms of marriage rights. The legal definition of ‘sole parent’ in the criminal justice system tends to discriminate against women. This is especially so because women are often required to prove beyond reasonable doubt that they are not engaged in any relationship that resembles a marriage. It should be noted that this discrimination was not always the case but the government changed the definition of sole parents and has therefore made it harder for women trying to fight for the custody of their children.

Nature of sentences granted to women in the Australian criminal justice system also depicts some forms of discrimination. While these differences may not be visible at first sight, research has shown that women who are dependent on men tend to get shorter sentences than independent women do. For instance, when a woman has been accused of extortion and she is divorced, then the law tends to give stiffer penalties than if the same women has been married. This means that the criminal justice system has a leniency towards economically dependent women than women who seem to have made it for themselves. This system tends to discourage women from standing on their own two feet as they are likely to be victimised by the system. It can therefore be said that the degree to which a female victim is punished largely depends upon the degree to which she fits into the general stereotype on how typical females should be. The more she deviates from this stereotype, the more severe her penalty will be. (Andersen and Patricia, 1998)

The Australian criminal justice system has been very progressive in terms of admitting females within the legal profession and in law enforcement too. This is because statistics show that their percentages have risen continuously over the past few years. However, the criminal justice system is yet to warm up to them in reality. Research shows that women still earn less than their male counterparts in the field. On top of that, it has also been found that women have a harder time trying to make partner in a law firm. Besides these, the criminal justice system has been divided into certain areas that are deemed more feminine than others. Consequently, it likely to find more women acting as court clerks rather than legal counsels. Part of the reason behind this observation could have been brought on by the fact that recruitment processes are better understood by men than women. Also, work contexts are largely to blame for this bias as many position have been made a reserve for males.

The same pattern is present in the policing department. The Australian police department relatively accepts women under its wings, however, their accessibility to resources and positions are rather limited. For instance, a survey conducted in New South Wales revealed that most women held lower positions within the force while top or middle ranks were predominantly a male reserve. It was also saddening to note that while the numbers of female lawyers admitted into the Australian law profession were on the increase, the number of female police officers was stagnating. (Odgers and Yeo, 2005)

Perhaps the most important aspect about the role of gender in the criminal justice system is the way law enforcement officials respond to female offenders. Surveys indicate that police officers tend to minimise domestic assault cases. This means that those female victims who are brave enough to report the cases may not live to see any prosecution of their offenders. The same may be said of rape cases. Rape victims get minimal support from law enforcement officials and may have to look for support from other help centres or social organisations.

Role of race in the Australian criminal justice system

The issue of race has sparked off a lot of research with regard to Aboriginal offending. One such book was written by Tyler (1998) where he asserts that areas with high concentrations of Aboriginal people tend to report severe reinforcement of crime control than areas with other races. In his book, the author argues that these cases of punitive punishments are particularly visible in rural regions. Nonetheless, other individuals assert that Aboriginal Australians are over-represented within the criminal justice system because their crime rates are much higher than in other races. This is especially so owing to the fact that this society is experiencing a cultural shift brought on by modernisation. Also, high crime rates could have been as a result of economic and social stresses. This occurrence of crime has brought on a bias against the aboriginal people as they are more likely to be labelled as offenders without sufficient evidence. Aboriginals are also more likely to stay longer in prison once they have been arrested.

In close relation to this argument is the issue of social dominance orientation. Some psychologists argue that the reason behind candidate’s interests in the policing professions is to get some form of social dominance. This is the reason why law enforcement officers tend to express this social dominance more than other types of citizens. Consequently, the following characteristics have been observed with regard to the treatment of aboriginal Australians as they have;

1)      higher chances of arrest

2)      higher chances of facing criminal charges

3)      more susceptible to high bails

4)      higher chances of conviction

5)      higher chances of severe conviction

6)      less chances of getting plea bargains

Because there are certain racial groups that perceive themselves as superior or dominant to others, then the less dominant racial group is more likely to be the victim of inequalities within the criminal justice system.

The latter mentioned attitude has also led to a negative perceptions of these racial minorities towards law enforcement officers. Because the police tend to treat these groups inequitably, then those same groups become more cynical and suspicious about the law system. Most of them tend to either fear or dislike the criminal justice system compared to the dominant racial group in Australia. Some experts have asserted that the major reason behind these negative expectations of the racial minorities against the criminal justice system could be associated with the fact that there are higher crime rates in their communities. Therefore, these communities tend to interact more with law enforcement officers than any other groups. Consequently, they are more susceptible to brush shoulders wrongly with police officers. If this argument was true, then chances are that racial minorities living in communities with low crime prevalence may support the police. But this is not the case, almost all racial minorities still despise law enforcement officers even when they come from posh societies. This goes to show that the criminal justice system is reinforcing society’s negative perceptions of the aboriginal people and that much has to be done with regard to police response to this group and other racial minorities. (Weitzer. & Tuch, 1997)

Role of social class in the criminal justice system

The criminal justice system is guilty of reinforcing societal attitudes towards economically challenged citizens in Australia. There is an underlying mentality that some groups are in fact criminal societies. It is true that certain societies have been stigmatised by society and are therefore receive harsher treatments in comparison to their counterparts from other social classes. Actually, some psychologists argue that the system is tailored towards the upper class while the lower class has been marginalised by it. Taking the example of a minor offence committed by a single mother- if it happens that this parent was trying to look out for her son- it will not matter because she may get imprisoned for five years. However, a top executive who has engaged in money laundering proceedings may get away with the crime after restitution. Consequently, the problem with the Australian criminal systems starts with the roots. (Dunaway et al, 2000)

The issue of the prison systems also brings out some of the underlying differences within the Australian society. For instance some people assert that the reason behind increased arrests of lower classes could have been brought about by the lack of infrastructural facilities. Numerous prisons within the Australian landscape are found in areas with minimal infrastructural facilities. Consequently, funds required to build infrastructure are instead redirected into the criminal justice system hence starving people off the much-needed economic development. This eventually perpetuates the cycle.

There are certain offences within the criminal justice system that denote discrimination against social classes. For instance, the public order offence is clearly targeting the lower class or low income groups because they are almost always the victims. As if this is not enough, law enforcement officers are always on the look out for such offences yet there are more grave offences at stake.

The response of police officers to reported criminal cases among low-income communities is discriminatory. But even before examining the nature of police responses, the number of low income persons who report criminal cases to the police are staggeringly low. Low-income families experience discrimination in almost all spheres of their lives. For instance, during the reporting phase, lower income groups are more likely to be treated with suspicion than other groups. Also, when an individual has been accused of a crime that they did not commit, more often than not, they are forced to admit that they have committed it due to failure to access good legal representation. As if that is not enough, when low income suspects are taken into prison cells, most of them tend to spend more time than they are required to because they cannot meet bail requirements. Statistics show than in Australia, thirty three percent of female offenders remain in prison because of the bail issue. The police are particularly fond of targeting areas where low income families reside with the intent of suppressing their ‘rowdiness’. These institution’s inequalities serve to reinforce society’s negative perceptions and only serve to victimise the lower class.(Andersen and Patricia, 1998)

Conclusion

The Australian society is plagued by many inequalities that are quite visible within the criminal justice system. Statistics show that aboriginal Australians and other ethnic minorities in Australia tend to receive harsher penalties and more suspicion from law enforces than typical Australians do. Additionally, the criminal justice system tends to responds slowly to female related violence and to gay violence too. All these inequalities imply that the Australian criminal justice system is in dire need of reform. By allowing courts, police officers to continue with this practice, the country is denying these groups their due rights and is therefore hindering overall progress.

Reference:

Tyler, W. (1998): Race, crime and region: the socio spatial dynamics of Aboriginal offending, Journal of sociology, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp 152-169

Easteal, P. (2002): Women and the criminal justice system, retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/proceedings/16/intro2.pd. accessed on 26th Aug 2008

Odgers, S. and Yeo, S. (2005): Australian criminal justice; Oxford University Press, pp 67-85

Weitzer, R. & Tuch, S. (1997): Racial differences in attitudes toward the police; The Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol.3, No. 61, pp 642-663

Tonry, M. (1995): Malign neglect: Race, punishment and crime; Oxford University Press, pp 43

Andersen, M. and Patricia, C. (1998): Race, Gender and Class: An Anthology; Wadsworth Publishing, pp 13

Dunaway, R. et al (2000): The Myth of Social Class and Crime Revisited; journal of Criminology, Vol. 38, No.2, pp 589-632

Baired, B., Purcell, I. & Mason, K. (1994): The Police and You: A Survey of Lesbian and Gay Men in South Australia; Adelaide, Journal of Lesbian and Gay Community Action, Vol. 12, 3, pp 98

Takach, R., (1994): Lesbian and Gay Inequality: The Anti-Vilification Measures; Journal of Australasian Lesbian and Gay Law; Vol. 4

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