CHAPTER TWELVE ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

CHAPTER TWELVE

ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS

AND CRAFTING SOLUTIONS

Lingering and historical issues

Unique time period issues

Non-exhaustive list

Introduction

Resources limit justice administration

3 primary needs

Sufficient number of trained and qualified judgesAdequate support staff

Acceptable physical plants (offices and courtrooms)

23% of criminal justice budget for judicial and legal servicesCompare with police and corrections budgets21% of justice system personnel in judicial/legal servicesRaises issues about coequality of government branches

Resource Issues

Priority of the American Judicature Society

Creation of the Center for Judicial Independence

Issues associated with judicial independence

Budgets

Courts do not control their own budgetsLegislature determines the budgetLegislature determines the number of judgeships authorizedCourt JurisdictionsCourts do not have complete jurisdictional authorityCan be expanded or contracted by the legislatureElectionsState judicial changes due to unpopular decisionsAware of public sentiment

Obligation to campaign contributors

Not applicable to federal judges

Judicial Independence

Increase in court management positions

Concern about increasing bureaucracy

All state and federal courts have administrative arm

Administrative office of courts

Professionally trained management personnelAppointed by judgesFunctionsBudgetingPersonnel managementJury managementCase schedulingManagement Concerns

Individuals act as their own attorney in a legal matter

Focus of the American Judicature Society

May upset the goals of courtroom work groups

Group cohesion

Disposition of casesReducing uncertaintyPro Se Litigation and Court Access

Expansion began in the 1970s

Alternative to lengthy and expensive adjudication

Is institutionalized and mandatory in many courts

Reasons for utilizing ADR

Quicker disposition of routine casesLower expenses to the parties involvedReduction in the need for outside partiesLess congestion and expense for the court systemTypes of ADRNegotiationMediation

Arbitration

Hybrid ADR

Alternative Dispute Resolution

Both parties want to settle the dispute

Parties engage in discussion to try to resolve differences

No third party involvement

Often results in a compromise where each party gains something

Less likely to be successful if viewed as a zero-sum gameNegotiation

Utilizes a third party to intervene between the parties

Mediator’s role is to help the parties reach a resolution that is acceptable to both sides

Non-adversarial process that relies on cooperation

Mediators may or may not have formal training

Mediator meets separately with each side, then brings them together to reach a solutionCommonly used in divorce disputesDependent upon compromiseMediation

More formal method of ADR

May be governed by state law

Arbitrator makes a final decision to settle the dispute

Parties agree beforehand that the arbitrator’s decision is final

Common arbitration mattersLabor and management disputesContract negotiationsCredit disputesArbitration

Rent-a-Judge Programs

Disputing parties hire an attorney or retired judge

Dispute is resolved through a bench trialConcerns about secrecy and costMed-Arb

Combination of mediation and arbitration

Dispute is first taken to a mediatorIf an agreement cannot be reached, the case is taken to arbitrationMinitrialsSimilar to rent-a-judgeDisputes are distilled to basic elementsParties have limited motions and time to argue the caseJudge advises parties about a likely outcome if the case proceeds

Hybrid ADR

Double victimization in sexual assault cases

Solutions

Female officers used for sexual assault investigationsOfficer sensitivity training

Victims’ advocates in prosecutors’ offices

Enactment of rape shield laws to prevent questions or comments about the victim’s prior sexual historyWomen as Victims

Women are convicted of far fewer crimes than men

Possible explanations

Women are less criminally inclined than menJustice system is more forgiving toward women (chivalry hypothesis)

Justice system may also be more punitive toward women

(paternalism perspective)Unequal adjudicationMore sympathy from judges and juriesThis has lessened through the use of sentencing guidelinesWomen as Offenders

Historical underrepresentation of women in law and the judiciary

Substantial increase in female law students, attorneys, and judges

Historical exclusion from jury service has been eliminated

Women as Judges and Attorneys

Minorities comprise a disproportionate percentage of those arrested and prosecuted

Possible explanations

Minorities may commit more crimesCriminal justice policies may disproportionately affect minorities

Minorities are overrepresented in the prison population

Minorities as Defendants

Underrepresentation of minorities in law practice and the judiciary

Numbers are increasing at a very slow rate

Minorities as Judges and Attorneys

Used to identify and apprehend criminal suspects

Originated in France with the Bertillon method

Use of science and technology has increased substantially

Primary method is DNA testing

First employed in a murder and rape case in EnglandHas received tremendous publicityIllustrates court procedures for establishing scientific validity and reliabilityAccepted as a reliable indicator of criminal involvementThe Use of Scientific Evidence

Focus from DNA testing and well-publicized cases

Significant concerns

The guilty party is still in the communityDue process

Reasons for

wrongful convictionsEyewitness identificationFalse confessionsJailhouse snitch testimonyMisleading forensic scienceProsecutorial misconductIneffective assistance of counselWrongful Convictions

Prosecution of enemy combatants has presented new issues

The Supreme Court has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear the cases of enemy combatants

Military tribunals violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the Geneva Convention

Adjudicating Non-Traditional Issues: The Case of Terrorism