What is the role of the court system in the criminal justice system?

• A. It enforces court orders
• B. It interprets laws and sets sentencing guidelines
• C. It handles inmate intake
• D. It prosecutes all cases

Answer: (B)

Interpreting laws and applying them in criminal cases is what the court system does. Legislatures create statutes that define offenses and set legal standards, and the courts interpret those statutes to determine how they apply to individual cases. They ensure due process, decide questions of law and admissibility, and determine guilt or innocence. After a finding, the courts apply sentencing guidelines or statutory ranges to decide an appropriate punishment within the legal framework. The court system doesn’t enforce orders—that’s up to law enforcement and other agencies—nor does it handle inmate intake, which is a correctional function. Prosecution of cases is handled by prosecutors, not the courts.