Judicial System

For this assignment, the student will locate and read five (5) peer-reviewed journal articles from the online library databases related to a narrow topic regarding courts.
The topic of courts is very broad – the student should identify a more specific area within the general topic and make that the focus for the annotated bibliography. I am including some examples below – these are just a few of the many areas the student could focus on. If you are unsure of a focus area, email me or come by my office and we can brainstorm.
• Courts (e.g., judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, juries, sentencing)
•
o Judicial decision-making
o Sentencing disparities
o Prosecutor discretion
o Specialized courts
Once the student has read the articles, he will summarize them, succinctly, in one page each (no more than one page, no less than ¾ of a page). Thus, each annotated bibliography should not exceed 5 pages. The student will not receive credit for articles that are not peer-reviewed. These are to be summaries, not critiques of the articles.
At the top of each page, the student will type the bibliographic information for the article, in accordance with the APA Manual. Then he will type a succinct summary of the main points of the article.
An example of an annotated bibliography entry can be found in the modules section of Canvas. As senior-level students, you should at this point know what a peer-reviewed journal article is. If you do not, please contact me ASAP or consult a librarian.
The rules for the preparation and presentation of the annotated bibliography shall conform to the APA Manual.
Assignment Criteria:
• Use articles published within the last 10 years
• Double-spaced, 12-point font
• Must be produced in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx format) – no other format will be accepted
• Must be submitted on Canvas via the assignment link – no other submission methods will be accepted
• No cover page is required. Put your name and topic focus listed at the top of the page in a single-spaced header. Do not manually type this at the top of each page – use the formatting feature in Microsoft Word:
o Click the Insert tab
o Click Header
o Select the first option
o Type in your name and topic focus
o Click Close Header
• Use formatting in Microsoft Word for double-spacing
• Must be written in the 3rd person (e.g., no I, me, we, our)
• Cite sources according to APA standards.
• The annotations should be presented in alphabetical order, as in a bibliography/reference list