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Creation of the General Court
The Massachusetts Bay Colony creates the General Court to enforce the law and is established as the first court in North America. In October 1629 the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Company chose lawyer, gentleman, and devout Puritan John Winthrop to be the colony's first governor. (Dictionary of American History) -
First Federal Court is created.
Officially titled "An Act to Establish the Judicial Courts of the United States," was signed into law by President George Washington on September 24, 1789. Article III of the Constitution established a Supreme Court, but left to Congress the authority to create lower federal courts as needed. (The Library of Congress) -
Robert Peel forms the first modern police force
British Prime Minister Robert Peel forms the first modern police force, the London Metropolitan Police Force.
Following the success of the Royal Irish Constabulary it became obvious that something similar was needed in London, so in 1829 when Sir Robert was Home Secretary in Lord Liverpool’s Tory Cabinet, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed, providing permanently appointed and paid Constables to protect the capital as part of the Metropolitan Police Force. (Historic UK) -
San Francisco special police force formed
The San Francisco special police force is formed because of the widespread lawlessness that resulted from the gold rush into the west. On August 13 the council selected Malachi Fallon as San Francisco's first Captain (Chief) of Police. Fallon in turn appointed a deputy captain, three sergeants and 30 officers to comprise the first regular municipal police department in American San Francisco. (Ackerson & Tully, 2009) -
First juvenile correction system
The Whittier State school opens in California with 300 and established the state's modern system of juvenile corrections Officially opened as 'Whittier State School' for boys and girls on July 1, 1891. Girls were transferred in 1916 and only boys have been in residence since that time. Renamed 'Fred C. Nelles School for Boys' in 1941 ('For Boys' was dropped around 1970). This school has been in continuous operation serving the needs of juvenile offenders since 1891. (Unknown, 1910) -
Fingerprinting.. the new ID method.
U.S. Department of Justice forms the Bureau of Criminal Identification in Washington, DC to provide a centralized reference collection of fingerprint cards. During the next 25 years more and more law enforcement agencies join in the use of fingerprints as a means of personal identification. Many of these agencies began sending copies of their fingerprint cards to the National Bureau of Criminal Identification, which was established by the International Association of Police Chiefs. (Moore, 2012) -
Special Agent forces created
Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte orders the creation of a special agent force in the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Investigation (BOI) later changing their official name to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in 1935. (FBI.gov, 2010) -
National Motor Vehicle Theft Act passed
Congress passes the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act, also known as the Dyer Act. This act authorizes the Bureau to investigate auto thefts that cross state lines. Prior to the passage of this act, jurisdictional boundaries between states hampered the ability of law enforcement officials to thwart interstate auto theft rings. (Unknown, 2011) -
Gideon v. Wainwright
In Gideon v. Wainwright, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that all defendants accused of crimes have the right to legal representation at the expense of the state. (The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law) -
Miranda v. Arizona
In Miranda v. Arizona , the Supreme Court rules that all persons accused of a crime must be informed of their constitutional rights, including the right against self-incrimination and the right to an attorney.
The Court held that prosecutors could not use statements stemming from custodial interrogation of defendants unless they demonstrated the use of procedural safeguards "effective to secure the privilege against self- incrimination." (The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law.) -
National Crime Victimization Survey implimented.
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information from victims on nonfatal violent and property crimes, reported and not reported to the police, against persons age 12 or older from a nationally representative sample of U.S. households. It produces national rates and levels of personal and property victimization. Violent crimes measured include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault. (Bureau of Justice Statistics) -
Period: to
Three Strikes Law per state passage
The states passed the law at different times in history
(26 States)
In 1974: Texas
In 1993: Washington
In 1994: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Indiana, Kansas, Nevada, North Dakota,and Louisiana,
In 1995: Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont,and Wisconsin
In 1996: Florida, Tennessee,and Virginia
In 2006: Arizona -
First American Drug Court founded
The first drug court in the U.S. is established in Miami-Dade county. (NADCP, 2010) -
DRUGFIRE is born
When the FBI came under pressure during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s, the FBI sub-contracted MSI (Mnemonic System Inc) to come up with a faster way of comparing and linking evidence obtained in the form of spent cartridges and other ammunition casings from Drug-related crimes across the country, hence the birth of DRUGFIRE. This program helped aide many cold cases as well as current murder cases. (Roach,1997) -
Creation of Megan's Law
Megan's Law is an informal name for laws in the United States requiring law enforcement authorities to make information available to the public regarding registered sex offenders, which was created in response to the July 29, 1994 murder of Megan Kanka. (Silva, 1995) -
U.S.A Patriot Act signed
President George W. Bush signs the USA Patriot Act , a controversial anti-terrorism law that allows law enforcement agencies to employ court-approved wiretaps on suspected terrorists, share criminal investigative information with counterterrorism investigators and other government officials, and work with other government agencies with the aim of securing U.S. borders and attacking international money laundering. (The Library of Congress)
