Here's some ideas which I could think off-hand (pun intended!), that could work within our U.S. criminal jurisprudence; (Disclaimer; I am an attorney.
But, I have never practiced law, much less doing any criminal law work.)
Focus penalities on rehabilitation than exacting punishment. i.e., instead of imposing a 1-year jail sentence, impose a 1-year probation with required counseling. Many jurisdictions already do this, for numerous lesser offenses, and especially for first-time offenders. Just recently, SCOTUS allowed more (lenient or stringent) judicial discretion when it comes to federal sentencing guidelines.
Abolish the death penalty. Not only do the states save money prosecuting such cases, it also ends nearly all discussions about whether innocent people are being executed. Also, it keeps in line with criminal jurisprudence that heinous people should be incarcerated for the rest of their lives, for their capital crimes so that they may not re-offend, instead of focusing on revenge.
Surprisingly, the right to an attorney is not guaranteed for indigent people; numerous states will not provide you with a public defender for misdemeanor cases that do not involve incarceration. Perhaps this doctrine should be expanded to involve
all misdemeanor cases, regardless of whether incarceration is a possibility or not? This way, it'll free up PD resources in defending felonious cases.
Thanks to the advent of shows like CSI, more and more juries are now more demanding when it comes to proof in felonious criminal trials, even marginalizing or disregarding strong circumstantial evidence. I don't know if that's a good thing, though. A lot of cases are won or lost based on circumstantial evidence, as hard, solid, evidence as popularized by shows like CSI are pretty much scarce.
Abolish the
Patriot Act. Oops, that's the liberal in me talking... Nevermind! Seriously, police powers need to be restored among established constitutional jurisprudence, when it comes to wiretapping, search & seizures, questioning, etc. I am becoming increasingly uncomfortable with heightened police powers that are being unchecked. Hopefully a balance can be struck, to allow much needed and legitimate police investigation, against constitutional freedoms and interests afforded to every U.S. citizens.
Just off the top of my head signing away!
Lastly, the criminal judicial system here in the U.S. is undoubtedly the
envy of the world. But since people run it, it is not immune to infallibilities and imperfections inherent in the human race. It is to the testament of our judiciary that it functions so well despite these imperfections that crop up here and there.