The Criminal Justice System
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Goals
Federalism
System perspective
Characteristics
Operations
Flow of decision making
Crime and Justice in a Multicultural Society
Goals of the Criminal Justice
System
Doing
Justice
Controlling
Crime
Preventing
Crime
Doing Justice
• Accountability for
offenses
• Protect rights
• Equality under the law
• Discretion
Controlling Crime
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Apprehension
Prosecution
Punishment
Within the bounds of
the law
Preventing Crime
• Police presence
• Punishment as
deterrent
• Problems with citizen
invoked crime
prevention
Federalism
A system of government
in which power is divided
between a central (national)
government and regional
(state) governments.
Dual Justice Systems
• State systems handle
alleged violations of
state law.
• The federal system
handles alleged
violations of federal
law.
Federal State and Local Comparisons I
Federal State and Local Comparisons II
Criminal Justice as a System
System Perspective
• Interdependent
subsystems
• Exchange
relationships
• Example: plea
bargains
Characteristics of the Criminal
Justice System
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Discretion
Resource Dependence
Sequential Tasks
Filtering
Discretion
Arrest or let go?
Long or short
sentence?
Prosecute or
dismiss?
Resource Dependence
• Politicians
• Public
• Media
Sequential Tasks
Criminal Justice
Funnel
Of 1,000
crimes that are
committed
Only
5 juveniles and
18 adults are
incarcerated
Operations of Criminal
Justice Agencies
The Criminal Justice System
Police
Courts
Corrections
POLICE
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Keep the peace
Combat crime
Prevent crime
Provide social services
COURTS
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Dual Court System
US and State
Variance among states
Adjudication
Sentencing
CORRECTIONS
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Only about 1/3 incarcerated
Community supervision
Federal, State, and local
Privatization trend
Flow of Decision Making in the
Criminal Justice System
• Steps in the Decision Making Process
• The Criminal Justice Wedding Cake
• Crime Control versus Due Process
Criminal Justice Wedding Cake:
Layer 1
• Celebrated
perpetrators
• Celebrated victims
• Type the media loves
• Cases that make
Supreme Court
precedents
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Criminal Justice Wedding Cake:
Layer 2
• Serious felonies by
experienced offenders
• Violent crimes
• Property crimes with
high $ value
• Get full attention of
the CJ system
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Criminal Justice Wedding Cake:
Layer 3
• First time offender less
serious offenses which may
be felonies
• Less serious personal injury
or low $ value
• Dealt with less seriously,
maybe probation
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Criminal Justice Wedding Cake:
Layer 4
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Most misdemeanors
Handled in assembly-line fashion
Typical penalty is a small fine
Having to go to court may
be the “real” punishment
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Competing Models
Racial Disparities
in CJ System
Potential
Explanations
Explanations for Incarceration Rates for
Blacks and Whites
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Black Incarceration (DV)
Arrest rates
Poverty
Unemployment
Executive Party (R)
Legislature (%R)
Black Politicians %
State Courts (Liberal)
Citizen opinion
Sentencing Guidelines
Prison Capacity Litigation
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White Incarceration (DV)
Arrest rates
Poverty
Unemployment
Executive Party (R)
Legislature (%R)
Black Politicians %
State Courts (Liberal)
Citizen opinion
Sentencing Guidelines
Prison Capacity Litigation
Incarceration Rates By Race
1400
9
8
Black Rate / White Rate
1200
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1000
6
800
Black Imprisonment Rate
5
600
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400
200
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White Imprisonment
Rate
2
0
1
75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95
Year
Black Rate / White Rate
State Prisoners per 100,000 population
1600
Effect of Partisanship on Black Incarceration
Conditioned on Black State Population
Quick Quiz to Test Attention
• 1) ___ is the authority to make decisions by using one’s own judgment and
conscience which provides the basis for individualization and informality in the
administration of justice.
• Discretion
• 2) ___ is a document charging an individual with a specific crime prepared by a
prosecuting attorney and presented to a court at a preliminary hearing.
• Information
• 3) ___ is a characteristic of the criminal justice system that leads criminal
justice officials to be responsive to elected officials and legislative bodies.
• Resource dependence
• 4) ___ consists of separate judicial structures for states and for the national
government.
• Dual court system
• 5) ___ is a characteristic of the organization of law enforcement and other
criminal justice agencies in the United States.
• Decentralization