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

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

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)

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

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

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