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Examining Discretion in the Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Implications

This chapter delves into the complexities of discretion in the criminal justice system, addressing "soft on crime" critiques, preventive detention, and the history of bail. It evaluates the effectiveness of mandatory sentencing laws and their impact on crime reduction, highlighting the issues of incarceration and the challenge of predicting criminal behavior. The chapter also critiques the effectiveness of laws like Megan's Law and reviews judicial and court culture influences on sentencing practices. The conclusions emphasize the need for reform and investing in more effective social programs.

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Examining Discretion in the Criminal Justice System: Challenges and Implications

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Presentation Transcript

  1. CJS - Chapter 7 To conservatives discretion = “soft on crime” ** (discretion – police, courts, prisons) “Liberal” judges and policies?

  2. CJS - Chapter 7 What is preventive detention and how does it relate to the right to bail? Short history: Poorhouse to ROR to Poorhouse before 1960s 1960s since 1980s

  3. CJS - Chapter 7 Why is formal preventive detention usually not used even when available? Already done!! - court culture (bail) Could it be done better? Probably not - the prediction problem

  4. CJS - Chapter 7 Overall, what proportion of people on bail commit serious crimes? Many petty, few serious “Prediction problem” High False pos to True pos ratio

  5. CJS - Chapter 7 Why would “speedy trial” be a better way to prevent crime by people on bail? It wouldn’t!! (I disagree w/Walker here) Most cases don’t go to trial!! And ...... resisted by court culture -- jail is used to coerce guilty pleas!

  6. CJS - Chapter 7 What are selective incapacitation and gross incapacitation? How does the prediction problem relate to selective incapacitation? How does unemployment relate to this? Already talked about these

  7. CJS - Chapter 7 Does “gross incapacitation” (the imprisonment binge) prevent crime? Already talked about this

  8. CJS - Chapter 7 Do “Megan’s Laws” work?? Sex offender registration/notification Exagerated reoffending rates Misleading publicized cases Harms offender re-entry

  9. CJS - Chapter 7 What are: (relate to discretion) mandatory sentencing - judges “truth in sentencing” - early release “3 strikes" laws - “chronic offenders”

  10. CJS - Chapter 7 What did the 1973 New York drug law try to do, and did it work? “RDL” “Toughest drug law in the country” It failed (mostly petty offenders!) NY still struggling with problems today!!

  11. CJS - Chapter 7 Did the Federal Sentencing Guidelines work? Mostly abandoned over the last ten years!

  12. CJS - Chapter 7 Does mandatory sentencing reduce serious crime rates? No - it gets the wrong people (petty offenders)

  13. CJS - Chapter 7 Do 3 strikes laws reduce serious crime? Rarely used - except Calif! 40,000 prisoners Costs 2 billion dollars a year Where used, mostly petty offenders - (serious already got long terms!)

  14. CJS - Chapter 7 Walker’s five conclusions: (Lock ‘em Up strategies don’t work)

  15. CJS - Chapter 7 • Select incap - can’t id HROs early enough to be effective 2. Gross incap overloads system, and turns into a huge disaster 3. Court culture resists gross incap, but eventually loses and changes

  16. CJS - Chapter 7 4. Gross incap doesn’t reduce crime (aging in + supply and demand) 5. Cost is enormous - money could be used more effectively elsewhere (Education, Treatment, Social Programs, Family Programs)

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