CCJS Week 1 02 29 2012 The Courtroom Workgroup Important terms Adjudication formal process of resolving legal disputes Jurisdiction authority given to the court to hear and resolve particular disputes o Hierarchical federal system vs state system o Geographic o Subject matter Limited and general jurisdiction Example Maryland District court Circuit court jurisdiction Trial courts Which courts are generally considered courts of original The working relationship among court employees Primary actors o Judge o Prosecutor o Defense attorney Other actors o Court security staff court clerks law clerks court reporters translators bailiffs secretaries others Judges Referee enforcing rules of procedure and evidence Methods of selecting o Election o Appointment Method of selection does not affect quality of judges Prosecutor criminal law Responsible for instituting legal proceedings against violators of Crimes are considered offenses against the state o Prosecutors are responsible for acting on the state s behalf Powerful gatekeepers 50 of people who are arrested get charges put against them Defense Attorney 6th amendment in all criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense o Gideon v Wainwright 1963 o Argersinger v Hamlin 1972 Only 20 of defendants hire their own attorneys Five roles of the defense attorney Criminal Trial Process Pretrial o Charges filed initial appearance preliminary hearing or Grand Jury arraignment plea bargaining pretrial motions criminal trial Trial o Jury Selection Opening statements prosecutor s case defense s case prosecution rebuttal closing arguments verdict Rehabilitation Correcting bad behavior To be effective must be offender specific o Punishment must fit the offender o Identity factors most amenable to treatment o Programs should specifically target changeable factors Common forms o Therapy o Vocational programs o Educational training Rehabilitation has been on the upswing in the last 10 years Restitution and restoration Paying back the victim for the harm caused by the offender s o Financial payback direct o Community service indirect when victim is society criminal behavior Common forms Restorative justice o Victim offender o Reintegrative shaming o you can only punish someone if they are blame worthy Mens Limitations of Punishment Culpability Reas and Actus Legality o Fairness Proportionality o Excessive bail shall not be required nor excessive fines imposed nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted 8th amendment CLICKER Takinga DUI offender s license away is an example of this goal of punishment o Incapacitation Sentencing and the 3 branches of government Legislative branch Executive branch o Recommendations of prosecutor o Pardons and parole boards o Presentence investigations PSI Judicial branch Indeterminate and Determinate Sentences Indeterminate indefinite o Stresses rehabilitative goal of punishment Determinate o Presumptive sentences Mandatory Sentences Minimum period of incarceration that people convicted of selected crimes must serve o Violent crimes o Drug violations most controversial o Habitual offenders o Weapon violations Spotlight on mandatories for drugs Fair sentencing Act o Disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine o New drug law narrows crack powder cocaine sentencing gap youtube video o Proportionality issue Truth In Sentencing Requirements to serve a substantial portion of prison sentence before being released on parole The Clinton Administration and the prison boom Increased prison increased cost CCJS Week 2 Punishment 02 29 2012 A form of deprivation imposed on a person Socially constructed o Political ideology o Finances o Societal characteristics o Religious beliefs values o Advance in science Varies by time and place Degree varies by nature of the offense Deprivations of Prison life Liberty Goods and services available to the outside world Heterosexual relationship Individual Autonomy Personal security Criteria for Punishment unpleasant Must involve pain or other consequences normally considered to be Must be for an offense against legal rules Must be of an actual or supposed offender for his offense Must be intentionally administered by human beings other than the Must be imposed and administered by an authority constituted by a legal system against which the offense is committed offender Retribution Grounded in the notion that offenders deserve to be punished Three competing views o Revenge Code of Hammurabi o Just deserts proportionality o Expiation St Thomas Aquinas Deterrence Discouragement through fear General specific deterrence Assumptions of this goal o Human decisions are rational o Punishments are swift certain and severe Beccaria 1764 o Offenders are aware of potential punishments for actions Incapacitation Removing the ability to commit criminal activities Most common form imprisonment o Ushered in by Reagan in the 1980s to get tough on crime Other forms o Death penalty o Exile banishment o Removal of instrumentalities Rehabilitation Correcting bad behavior To be effective must be offender specific o Punishment must fit the offender o Identity factors most amen able to treatment o Programs should specifically target changeable factors CLICKER 3 strikes law increases homicides in a given jurisdiction CCJS Week 3 Three Strikes laws 02 29 2012 Used in 26 states and the Federal government o Form of mandatory sentencing Definition each felony is a strike and by 3rd it s a mandatory sentence Impact increase homicide bad for officials Implication for goals of punishment hard to take out even with negative research because people think it does help and it looks Alternate Problem Solving Courts Specialized courts 1989 height of crack cocaine epidemic First drug court opens in Miami FL 1993 drug offenses exceed 30 of all convictions First Community court opens in Brooklyn NY 1997 5 7 million people are under criminal justice supervision First mental health court opens in Broward County FL 2001 US incarceration is over 2 million 847 drug courts operating 2005 over 2 500 problem solving courts in existence NIJ 2003 indicates drug court recidivism rates are 16 4 2009 over 3 200 problem solving courts in existence Research community turns to evaluating why these courts work Principles of Problem Solving Courts Focus on offenders victims and or communities Solve underlying problems Example drug offenders Collaboration justice system Interdisciplinary connection
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