CJUS 4010:001 Latinos and the Criminal Justice System
Spring 2009, Thursday 5:30-8:30PM
Country Study
Assignment 3 – Due March 19
Introduction: This assignment has two parts. Part 1: Students will be required to complete a fact-finding
survey on the criminal justice system of one of five countries: Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala,
Venezuela, or Argentina. Part 2: Students will compile at least three journal articles, government reports, or
other published resources related to the justice system in that country published since 2004 and write a two-
page reflective essay.
Use this template to guide your search for information on the country you have chosen to investigate. This
work is a simplified version of the template developed by Bill McDonald for the Bureau of Justice Statistics
World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems, a valuable source to consider as you begin your search. Use
complete sentences to explain each of the following points. Extra consideration will be given to those students
who select difficult-to-research information, i.e., documents written in Spanish, obscure sources. The fact
search document should not exceed three single-spaced pages and the reflection essay should be no more than
two single-spaced pages.
Accountability: Paper copies of your complete assignment will be collected in class on March 26. In addition,
we would also like to receive your Part 1 submission as an attachment in e-mail using MS Word. We intend to
scan all papers for plagiarism so please avoid any lapses of judgment.
Part 1: Fact Search:
1. Name of country: ___________________________________
2. Physical location: ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Most recent population figures with year: _____________________________________________________
4. Brief history: Write a paragraph on the history of the legal system with specific emphasis on criminal law.
Be sure to include any significant reforms, revisions, or other political developments that have occurred in the
past five years. Also, be certain to mention the most recent constitutional amendments.
5. Legal system: In a paragraph, describe the legal system (i.e., common law, civil law, some other variation)
6. Classification of crimes: Describe the general classification of crimes. In other words, how are different
crimes distinguished according to seriousness (e.g., felony/misdemeanor, indictable/non-indictable).
7. Write a summary paragraph on each of the component justice subsystems (police, courts and corrections). In
a concluding paragraph, examine the relationships between these subsystems.
8. Bibliography: Provide citations for all resources used to complete this assignment. This should include all
printed and Internet sources in APA format. Also include the first page of each article submitted.
Part 2: Personal Reflection Essay:
After completing the fact search, collect three newspaper articles, reports, or other publications related to your
county of your choice. Read them and then write a two-page single-spaced reflection essay discussing the legal
system in that country. Attach a printed copy of your three sources to your essay.
