Bridging the Gap Between Prosecutors' Cases and Victims' Biographies in the Criminal Justice System Through Shared Emotions

2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (02) ◽  
pp. 257-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Goodrum
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Limited Effect ◽  
Loved One ◽  
Union County ◽  
Shared Emotions ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Research on victims' encounters with prosecutors suggests that victims' rights have had a limited effect on victims' satisfaction with the criminal justice system. This study examines the victim-prosecutor relationship with a focus on people who have lost a loved one to murder. The emotional tone dimension of Carol Heimer's case versus biography analysis proves helpful for explaining the gaps between prosecutors' responsibilities and victims' expectations. The data come from in-depth interviews with thirty-five participants, including twenty victims, three crime victims' advocates, and twelve criminal court professionals in Union County (pseudonym). The findings indicate that shared emotions (e.g., sadness, anger) represent a key mechanism for (1) connecting victims to prosecutors (and individuals to organizations) and (2) improving victims' experiences with the criminal justice system. Although victims' rights do not guarantee the opportunity for shared emotions, prosecutors often honored victims' desire for a close relationship and considered their input on case decisions.

Criminal Justice in an Era of Mass Deportation

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid V. Eagly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
State Level ◽  
Plea Bargaining ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
Collateral Consequence

After a sustained period of hypercriminalization, the United States criminal justice system is undergoing reform. Congress has reduced federal sentencing for drug crimes, prison growth is slowing, and some states are even closing prisons. Low-level crimes have been removed from criminal law books, and attention is beginning to focus on long-neglected issues such as bail and criminal court fines. Still largely overlooked in this era of ambitious reform, however, is the treatment of immigrants in the criminal justice system. An unprecedented focus on immigration enforcement targeted at “felons, not families” has resulted in a separate system of punitive treatment reserved for noncitizens, which includes crimes of migration, longer periods of pretrial detention, harsher criminal sentences, and the almost certain collateral consequence of lifetime banishment from the United States. For examples of state-level solutions to this predicament, this Essay turns to a trio of bold criminal justice reforms from California that (1) require prosecutors to consider immigration penalties in plea bargaining; (2) change the state definition of “misdemeanor” from a maximum sentence of a year to 364 days; and (3) instruct law enforcement agencies to not hold immigrants for deportation purposes unless they are first convicted of serious crimes. Together, these new laws provide an important window into how state criminal justice systems could begin to address some of the unique concerns of noncitizen criminal defendants.

scholarly journals Trust Toward the Criminal Justice System Among Swedish Roma: A Mixed-Methodology Approach

2020 ◽  
pp. 215336872093040
Author(s):  
Simon Wallengren ◽  
Anders Wigerfelt ◽  
Berit Wigerfelt ◽  
Caroline Mellgren
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Mixed Methodology ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
System 2 ◽  
Willingness To Report ◽  
Depth Interviews

Minority populations’ trust toward the criminal justice system is understudied in many parts of Europe, including Sweden. This article will contribute to this field by examining the trust in the criminal justice system among the Roma community in Sweden. The aim of the study was to (1) estimate the Roma community’s trust toward the criminal justice system, (2) examine what factors influence the community’s trust toward the criminal justice system, and (3) analyze whether trust toward the authorities influences the Roma community’s willingness to report victimization. The study used a mixed-methodology design in combining survey data ( n = 610) with in-depth interviews ( N = 30). The findings show that the respondents have a low level of trust in the criminal justice system authorities. According to the regression analysis, the strongest predictor of trust was shown to be explained by the respondent’s perception of procedural unfairness. Qualitative findings supported these results while also highlighting cultural effects and historical processes that explain the community’s lack of trust. Finally, trust in the authorities seems to be an important factor that influences crime reporting.

The Muddied Path between the Criminal Court and the State Hospital

1980 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 389-411
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Geller
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
State Hospital ◽  
Treatment Program ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
The State

The court's use of the state hospital has been characterized by misuse of criminal commitment statutes to gain admission for defendants. The author examines this process by focusing on the interaction between hospital and court during a 1-month period. The outcome indicates that despite the best intentions of both the legal and the psychiatric professions, criminal commitments yield neither a treatment program nor an aftercare plan. Specific suggestions concerning professional education, forensic services, chronic community care, and community education are made with a focus toward the diminution of inappropriate referrals to the state hospital by the criminal justice system.

scholarly journals Unravelling the ‘crimmigration knot’: Penal subjectivities, punishment and the censure machine

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleonora Di Molfetta ◽  
Jelmer Brouwer
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Foreign National ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Hybrid Forms

This article explores the challenges that (cr)immigration practices pose to draw the boundaries of punishment by examining foreign national prisoners’ penal subjectivities. More exclusionary and draconian migration policies have blurred the boundaries between border control and crime control, creating hybrid forms of punishment that, even if officially claimed as measures outside the criminal justice realm, inflict pain and communicate censure. Drawing on 37 in-depth interviews with foreign national prisoners facing expulsion in the Dutch penitentiary facility of Ter Apel, we detail how hybrid (cr)immigration practices are capable of imposing and delivering meanings that go well behind rooted significances and aims of administrative measures. Traditionally designed with preventive purposes, administrative measures have now become part of a project of social exclusion and reaffirmation of the worth of citizenship. This circumstance raises problematic questions for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system in dealing with non-citizens.

Deferring felony prosecution: a process evaluation of an innovative Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office program

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 261-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cossyleon ◽  
John Orwat ◽  
Christine George ◽  
Don Stemen ◽  
Whitney Key
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Cook County ◽  
Criminal Prosecution ◽  
Felony Conviction ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Time

Purpose The Cook County State Attorneys’ Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP) is a pre-trial diversionary program that accepts first-time, non-violent defendants charged with a felony crime. The purpose of this paper is to document the development, implementation, and program patterns of the DPP to better understand the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional criminal prosecution. Design/methodology/approach The approach to evaluating Cook County’s DPP is primarily qualitative. Through interviews with program administrators and current and former participants, the authors document the process of creating and implementing such DPP that aims to avoid a felony conviction altogether. The authors provide program participant patterns to shed light on the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional felony prosecution. Findings Using data from staff, administrators, and program participants, the authors found that the DPP was developed and implemented through supportive leadership who instilled a culture of collaboration and buy-in. Expanding the program could include increasing the capacity of DPP to include additional participants or having a DPP incorporated into each branch court, instead of the centralized system under which it currently operates. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent defendants. Practical implications DPPs are cost effective and can be easily implemented within existing systems. Collaboration and buy-in from all stakeholders are crucial to the program’s success. DPP offers opportunities for expansion. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent felony defendants. Originality/value The main goals of DPP were two-fold. The first was to minimize the level of resources allocated for non-violent offenders in the criminal justice system by diverting such defendants out of the criminal justice system early in the process and reducing the recidivism rates of program participants. The second aimed to provide an option for eligible defendants to avoid a felony conviction, thereby avoiding the collateral consequences associating with a felony conviction.

scholarly journals Model Penegakan Hukum Anak yang Berhadapan dengan Hukum dalam Proses Penyidikan

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 167
Author(s):  
Hamidah Abdurrachman ◽  
Fajar Ari Sudewo ◽  
Dyah Irma Permanasari
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Child Protection ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Code ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Central Java ◽  
The Law ◽  
Pass Through

Upaya memberikan perlindungan terhadap Anak yang berhadapan dengan hukum dalam Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak menunjukkan perkembangan yang sangat berarti. Selama ini terhadap anak yang berkonflik dengan hukum, ditangani secara umum seperti orang dewasa. Anak-anak tersebut melewati proses hukum tanpa ada pendampingan bahkan segera dilakukan upaya paksa berupa penangkapan dan penahanan sehingga anak mengalami putus sekolah. Undang-Undang No. 11 Tahun 2012 tentang Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak meletakkan fondasi perlindungan anak dengan pendekatan Keadilan Restoratif yaitu dalam penyelesaian perkara melibatkan pelaku, korban, keluarga pelaku/korban dan pihak lain yang terkait untuk bersama-sama mencari penyelesaian yang adil dengan menekankan pemulihan kembali pada keadaan semula dan bukan pembalasan. Keadilan restoratif ini diwujudkan melalui Diversi yaitu pengalihan penyelesaian perkara anak dari proses peradilan pidana ke proses ke luar pengadilan pidana. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa di Jawa Tengah kasus anak yang berkonflik dengan hukum secara umum diselesaikan melalui jalur diversi dan sebagian lainnya diproses menggunakan berdasarkan KUHAP atau jalur pidana. Hal lainnya meskipun sudah menerapkan jalur diversi terhadap anak yang berkonflik dengan hukum namun belum ada keseragaman atau kesamaan model diversi sebagaimana yang diamanatkan di dalam Undang-Undang Nomor 11 Tahun 2012 tentang Sistem Peradilan Pidana Anak.<br /><br /><br /><em>Efforts to provide protection against Children in conflict with the law in the Criminal Justice System Child shows a very significant development. During against children in conflict with the law, generally handled as an adult. These children pass through the legal process without immediate assistance even forceful measures in the form of arrest and detention so that children have dropped out of school. Law No. 11 Year 2012 on the Criminal Justice System Child laid the foundation of child protection approach Restorative Justice that in settling disputes involving offenders, victims, family offender/victim and other relevant parties to work together to find a fair settlement with the emphasis on restoring back to its original state and not retaliation. Restorative justice is realized through the transfer of settling disputes Diversion namely children from the criminal justice process to a process outside the criminal court. The results of this research showed that in Central Java case of children in conflict with the law are generally resolved through the diversion and some processed using by the Criminal Code or the criminal path. Another thing despite applying diversion path towards children in conflict with the law but there is no uniformity or sameness models of diversion as mandated in Law No. 11 Year 2012 on Child Criminal Justice System</em><br /><br />

scholarly journals Criminal Justice after 9-11: ICC or Military Tribunals

2004 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 545-568
Author(s):  
Thomas Mertens
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Thought Experiment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
Clash Of Civilizations

Nowadays, widespread consensus exists that the dramatic events of September 11, 2001 changed not only the country that suffered these attacks but also the way many in the West view the world outside this exclusive circle. For quite a number, it confirmed Huntington's thesis of a clash of civilizations – a vision of a future of ‘us’ versus ‘them'. But as the attackers were being identified, it became clear that in a sense they came from among us; although technically foreign nationals all, they lived and studied inconspicuously in western, multicultural societies. How are we then to deal with this enemy within? How is democracy to fight this so-called War on Terror and survive? Such questions are obviously not new. Bearing De Tocqueville's assertion in mind that a long war is not needed in order to put freedom at risk in a democratic society, this article, using the technique of a thought experiment, seeks to examine the increased prerogatives that governments – fearing the enemy within – have granted themselves in the realm of criminal law to deal with the perceived threat. This experiment will bring the reader, in a non-specialist way, from the criminal justice system of Germany to the possible role of an operational International Criminal Court, and from the criminal justice system of the United States to military tribunals as a means of dealing with what those in power claim is an extraordinary threat.

Metaphors judges live by: ‘dirty minds’ and the ‘fear of contamination’ in the new criminal justice system in Mexico

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Adriana Alfaro Altamirano
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Justice System ◽  
National Context ◽  
Judicial Practice ◽  
George Lakoff ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
New System

Abstract In this paper, I take George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's thesis that metaphors shape our reality to approach the judicial imagery of the new criminal justice system in Mexico (in effect since 2016). Based on twenty-nine in-depth interviews with judges and other members of the judiciary, I study what I call the ‘dirty minds’ metaphor, showing its presence in everyday judicial practice and analysing both its cognitive basis as well as its effects in how criminal judges understand their job. I argue that the such a metaphor, together with the ‘fear of contamination’ it raises as a result, is misleading and goes to the detriment of the judicial virtues that should populate the new system. The conclusions I offer are relevant beyond the national context, inter alia, because they concern a far-reaching paradigm of judgment.

The Corfu Criminal Court Archive: Recording, Impressing and Studying the Phenomenon of Violence and Justice in the Ionian State (1815-1864)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-65
Author(s):  
Yanna Dimitriou ◽  
◽  
Eleni Socratus ◽  
Emmanuil Drakakis
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Social Classes ◽  
Qualitative Evidence ◽  
History Of ◽  
History Of Law ◽  
First Time

This article examines the encounters of the Ionian people with criminal justice system during the period from 1815 to 1864, when the Ionian Islands were a British protectorate. Drawing on data from cases of the Criminal Court Archives of Corfu for the first time, it argues that criminality mostly concerned the lower social classes and was not very common. Using violence as a lens, the paper primarily focuses on Corfu’s criminal justice system and offers quantitative and qualitative evidence on which further comparative studies of the history of law and crime in Greece and Europe at that time may be based.

scholarly journals Human trafficking for criminal exploitation: Effects suffered by victims in their passage through the criminal justice system

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Villacampa ◽  
Núria Torres
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Victim Assistance ◽  
Criminal Exploitation ◽  
Depth Interviews

The victim-centred approach to human trafficking emphasises the protection of victims and respect for their rights. For this protection to be effective, victims must be treated as such in their passage through the criminal justice system, which can be complex with forms of trafficking that are still relatively unknown, such as trafficking for criminal exploitation. Based on 37 in-depth interviews with Spanish practising criminal justice and victim assistance services professionals, this paper analyses the effects that the failure to identify these types of victims has on them as they make their way through the criminal justice system, paying particular attention to the degree to which the aforementioned professionals recognise the principle of non-punishment.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document