Chapter 3
The Criminal Justice System
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
C3-S1
Figure 3.1
The Production Process Model
Receipt of raw materials
Arrest on the
street
Processing of the raw materials
Booking
at the
stationhouse
Police
Appearance
before
a magistrate
Indictment,
trial,
sentencing
Courts
Punishment
and
corrections
Corrections
If the product is defective (repeated crime occurs), it is shipped back and processed again.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
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C3-S2
Figure 3.2
The Wedding Cake Model
1. Celebrated
Cases
2. Serious Felony
Cases
3. Lesser Felony Cases
4. Misdemeanor Cases
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© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
C3-S3
Figure 3.3a
The Adult Criminal Justice Process
What is the sequence of events in the criminal justice system?
Prosecution and pretrial services
Entry into the system
Refusal to indict
Grand jury
Unsolved Released
Released
Charges
Charges Felonies
or not
without
without
dropped or dropped or
arrested prosecution prosecution dismissed dismissed
Reported
and
observed
crime
Investigation
Information
Arrest
Charges
filed
Initial
appearance
Preliminary
hearing
Bail or
detention
hearing
Crime
Information
Misdemeanors
Prosecution as a
juvenile
Juvenile
offenders
Police
juvenile
unit
Unsuccessful
diversion
Diversion by law enforcement, prosecutor, or court
Waived to
Intake
Formal juvenile
criminal
hearing court
court processing
Informal processing
diversion
Nonpolice referrals
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Released or Released or
diverted
diverted
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
C3-S4
Figure 3.3b
The Adult Criminal Justice Process
Sentencing
and sanctions
Adjudication
Charge dismissed Acquitted
Arraignment
Trial
Appeal
Corrections
Pardon
Habeas and
Capital
corpus clemency punishment
Probation
Revocation
Convicted Sentencing
Prison
Guilty plea
Parole
Alternatives
to incarceration
Reduction
of charge
Charge
dismissed
Arraignment
Jail
Acquitted
Trial
Revocation
Conviction Sentencing
Guilty plea
Revocation
Out of
system
(registration,
notification)
Out of
system
Out of
system
Probation
Out of system
Probation or other
nonresidential disposition
Disposition
Adjudication
Released
Revocation
Residential
placement
Out of
system
Aftercare
Revocation
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
C3-S5
Figure 3.4
The Process of Bringing Crime to
the Attention of Police
Act or situation
1. Perception
2. Definition
3. Reporting
4. Redefinition
5. Recording
Recorded crime
known to the police
Source: R.F.Sparks, H. G. Genn, and D. J. Dodd, Surveying Victims: A Study of the Measurement of
Criminal Victimization, Perceptions of Crime, and Attitudes to Criminal Justice (Chichester,
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
England: Wiley, 1977) p.6.
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000
C3-S6
Figure 3.5
The Funnel Effect of the Standard of Proof
A. Decisions to be Made,
and by Whom
B. Legal Standard
of Proof
C. Est.
Probability
of Guilt
1. Decision to
approach a
person: police.
Articulate facts
that crime is afoot
(New York).
2. Stop and frisk:
police.
Reasonable suspicion.
30%
Probable cause.
50%
Judicial affirmation of
probable cause.
55%
Reasonable grounds to believe
guilty (jacked-up probable cause).
74%
Prima facie case.
75%
Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
90%
NA
3. Arrest: police, magistrates.
4. First appearance: magistrate.
5. Preliminary hearing: judge.
D. Number of
Persons
Processed
(latest
available
figures)
2,733,350 (1997)
2,924,800 (1994)
6. Indictment: grand jury.
7. Conviction: court and/or jury,
defendant’s guilty plea.
8. Sentence to prison: judge.
Irwin/McGraw-Hill
Judicial discretion within limits of statute.
911,842 (1994)
Est. 419,447 (1994)
© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2000