Transcript Document

Chapter 14
The Criminal Justice System
Origins of the Criminal Justice System



Wickersham Commission
President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the
Administration of Justice, 1967
Law Enforcement Assistance Administration
Origins of the Criminal Justice System
•
Weblink
www.abf-sociolegal.org/
What is the Criminal Justice System?
•
Definition: refers to the agencies of government charged with
enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct.
 More than 55,000 public agencies employ 2 million people
 17,000 law enforcement agencies and nearly 17,000 courts
 More than 8,000 prosecutorial agencies and about 6,000
correctional institutions
 More than 3,500 probation and parole departments
 Almost 7 million are under the control of the correctional system
with 2 million people in jails and prisons
Figure 14.1 Components of the Criminal Justice System
Figure 14.2 Direct Expenditure by Level of Government
Figure 14.3 Direct Expenditure by Criminal Justice Function
Table 14.1 Number of People Under Correctional
Supervision 1990-2003
Figure 14.4 Adult Correctional Populations 1980-2003
The Process of Justice
•
Assembly line process (Herbert Packer)
 Initial contact (with police)
 Investigation (to identify the perpetrator)
 Arrest (taken into custody)
 Custody (booking and interrogation)
 Complaint/Charging (prosecutor)
 Preliminary hearing/Grand jury (determine probable cause/indictment)
 Arraignment (reading of charges/bail and trial date set)
 Bail or detention (money or recognizance bonds)
 Plea bargaining (deal struck to avoid trial)
 Adjudication (trial)
 Disposition (sentencing)
 Postconviction remedies (appeals)
 Correctional treatment (probation/incarceration)
 Release (parole/end of sentence)
 Postrelease/Aftercare (return to community)
CNN Clip - Robert Durst Found Not Guilty
Figure 14.5 The Critical Stages of the Justice Process
The Process of Justice





The criminal justice system acts like a funnel
Cases are dismissed at various stages
Relatively few cases make it through the funnel
Impact of celebrity cases
Bargain justice is estimated to occur in 90 percent of all criminal
cases
Figure 14.6 The Criminal Justice Funnel
Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law




State and federal courts are supervised by the law of criminal
procedure
Procedural laws define rights of criminal defendants and control
the actions of agencies
Bill of Rights (applied at both state and federal levels)
Exclusionary rule protects defendants from illegal searches and
seizures (not admitting illegally seized evidence)
Concepts of Justice
•
Crime Control Model
 Protect the public and deter criminal behavior
 Punishment designed to fit the crime
 Building more prisons and using the death penalty
 Rooted in choice theory
 Became a dominant force in American justice in the 1960s and
1970s
Concepts of Justice
•
Justice Model
 Futile to rehabilitate criminals because treatment programs are
ineffective
 Determinate sentencing is needed for fairness
 Parole should be abolished
Concepts of Justice
•
Due Process Model
 Individualized justice, treatment, and rehabilitation of offenders
 Civil rights of accused should be protected
 Competent defense counsel, jury trials, and procedural
safeguards
 The desire to protect the public has overshadowed concerns for
the rights of criminal defendants
Concepts of Justice
•
Rehabilitation Model
 Criminals can change into productive citizens with the right care
and treatment
 Criminals are victims of social injustice, poverty, and racism
 Dealing effectively with crime requires attacking its root causes
 Programs that teach interpersonal skills and behavior
modification techniques have produced positive results
Concepts of Justice
•
Nonintervention Model
 Limiting government intrusion into lives of minor offenders
 Deinstitutionalize nonserious offenders
 Diverting law violators out of the formal justice system
 Critics charge there is little evidence that diverting offenders
reduces recidivism
Concepts of Justice
•
Restorative Justice Model
 Promotes a peaceful and just society
 Religious influences of Quakers and Zen
 Guided by: 1) community ownership of conflict, material, 2)
symbolic reparation for crime victims, and 3) social reintegration
of the offender
 Mediation and conflict resolution programs
Figure 14.7 Perspectives on Justice: Key Concerns and Concepts
Concepts of Justice Today



Crime control and justice models have captured the support of
legislators and the public
Elliot Currie claims the punitive incarceration-based models are
doomed to fail
The cost of justice skyrockets and the criminal justice system
becomes overcrowded