Exam 3 Flashcards
(80 cards)
1
Q
what does the pretrial system serve as?
A
serves as a bridge between arrest and the disposition of cases
- in theory, responsible for public safety, and assuring individuals appear at designated court dates
2
Q
the functions of pretrial
A
- gather relevant information to assist judges determine detention or release
- conduct screening and assessment of offenders
- provide risk management (monitoring/supervision) and services to selected offenders
- manage some pretrial diversion programs
*whether pretrial systems provide any or all of these functions is highly variable
3
Q
what two concepts determine court structure
A
- jurisdiction or statutory authority
- venue, or geography
3
Q
limited jurisdiction (state trial court)
A
- lowest level
- JP, Municipal, County, Magistrate
- Laws handled: misdemeanors
- Venue: city and county
- involved in early phases of felonies (search warrants, detention decisions, some pretrial hearings)
3
Q
original or general jurisdiction (state trial courts)
A
- second level
- District, Superior, Circuit Courts
- Level of laws handled: felonies
- Venue: counties
- involved in pretrial motions, plea negotiation hearings, the occasional trial, sentencing, and probation revocations
3
Q
Intermediate appellate courts (state level)
A
- appellate jurisdiction
- courts of appeals
- do not hold trials; review trial court decisions
- venue: regional
- acceptance of an appeal is for the most part discretionary
4
Q
courts of last resort
A
- appellate jurisdiction
- Supreme Court is most common name
- they exhaust appellate process in state system
- do not hold trials, just hearings on the merits of an appeal
- acceptance of an appeal is for the most part discretionary
4
Q
Misdemeanor courts (federal level)
A
- courts of limited jurisdiciton
- handle federal misdemeanors (magistrate courts, presided over by Magistrate judges)
- venue consists of 94 federal judicial districts
- focus is case processing
5
Q
felony courts (federal courts)
A
- courts of original or general jurisdiction handle federal felonies (district courts, presided over by U.S. District Judges)
- venue consists of 94 federal judicial districts
- the focus is case processing
5
Q
intermediate appellate courts (federal)
A
- appellate jurisdiction
- venue: federal judicial circuits (there are 13)
- do not hold trials but decide specific appellate issues
- acceptance of appeals is discretionary
6
Q
court of last resort (federal courts)
A
- SCOTUS
- appellate jurisdiction
- venue is nationwide
- acceptance of an appeal is discretionary
6
Q
appeal process (from state to federal level)
A
- white state courts of last resort exhaust state-level appellate remedies, that may not be the end of the story
- an appellant can enter the federal system under certain conditions
7
Q
in 2018, the Texas District Courts added ___________ new cases and disposed of ________. The bad news is that they started the year with __________ pending cases, a number that has only increased over time
A
- 931, 700
- 865, 230
- 888, 570
8
Q
three primary factors that have created massive caseloads and dockets
A
- lack of funding
- tough on crime policies brings more people in the front door
- recidivism: the vast majority of offenders in the court system have been there at least one time befoer
9
Q
some consequences of the crisis in the criminal court system
A
- relentless focus on case processing (moving as many cases as quickly as possible)
- restricted time spent on each case
- extraordinary reliance on plea bargaining
- little time or consideration for reducing recidivism
10
Q
over the past fifty years, we have seen the convergence of a variety of trends that have all contributed in substantial ways to where we are today:
A
- changes in ways of thinking about crime and punishment
- changes in funding
- changes in policy
- changes in laws
11
Q
trends that led us to where we are
A
- expansion of incarceration and correctional control
- changes in sentencing laws
- expansion of the criminal law
- expansion of the war on drugs
- role of race and ethnicity
- politicizing crime and punishment
11
Q
between 1980 and 2021, the state and federal prison population increase by ______-
A
390%
12
Q
U.S. has ____ percent of the world’s population, but ___ percent of the world’s incarcerated population
A
5% ; 25%
12
Q
between 1980 and 2021, the federal pirson population alone increased by _____
A
580%
13
Q
between 1980 and 2021, the population under correctional control increased by ____ (prison, jail, probation and parol
A
355%
14
Q
chaos in the streets in the 1960 – why we got here
A
- high crime rates
- violent crime rates increased by 88% between 1960 and 1968
- race riots 1965-1970
- campus protests
- assassinations
- palpable lack of law and order
15
Q
civil rights – why we got here
A
- threats to political stability and race relations
- 1964 civil rights act
- 1965 voting rights act
15
Q
judicial liberalism – why we got here
A
- the warren court
- Mapp, Gideon, Escobedo, Miranda, and others constituted the incorporation of the Bill of Rights, meaning states had to have the same procedural standards as the federal government
16
expansion of the criminal code -- how we got here
- today 4,500 federal criminal laws and 300,000 federal regulations for which there are criminal penalties
- states did the same. between 2010 and 2019, the Pennsylvania legislature increasaed the number of crimes by 135%
17
increasing capacity - how we got here
- increase in prison capacity
- jails expanded dramatically
- increase in probation
- probation caseloads are exhausted
- parole caseloads are exhausted
17
____ increase in prison capacity over past 40 years
430%
18
jails have expanded dramatically - this year ___ million will be booked into local jails
12
19
probation has increased by nearly ____ and parole by ____
400% ; 475%
20
20
21
21
22
probation case loads are ___ to ___, ___ is appropriate
150 ; 200 ; 50
22
parole caseloads are ___ to ___, __ to ___ is appropriate
70 ; 80 ; 30 ; 40
23
plea bargaining -- how we got here
- quick and cost effective
23
changes to sentencing -- how we got here
- shift from indeterminate to determinate sentencing laws; more mandatory sentences
- the result is that sentencing laws result in harsher punishment for more and more offenders
23
the war on drugs -- how we got here
- supply control
- 1000% increase in incarceration
- over 50% of federal prison inmates are drug offenders
- 20% to 25% of state prision inmates are drug offenders
- vast majority in state prisons and jails are for possession and the majoirty of those are for marijuana
23
absence of evidence-based substance abuse treatment -- how we got here
= lack of capacity in general
= the treatment industry is divorced from the medical community
- significant lack of CJS SUD treatment capacity
23
economic incentive -- how we got here
- private corrections
- commercial bond companies
- local economic consideration for prisons and jails
- labor force consideratio -- nearly 4 million work in CJS realated occupations
24
25
how is fear a common denominator in how we got here
- fear of crime, disorder, race
26
the logic of punishment
- punishment is intuitive
- seems reasonable
- crime control was not a hard sell
- tough on crime mixed with fear = political success
27
crime declines across states and cities
- many claimed crime control was responsible for major crime declines in the US beginning in the 1990s
-we were able to get enough criminals in prison for long sentences (incapacitation), were able to punish bad behavior out of criminals (specific deterrence) and send a message to the community (general deterrence)
28
stats of decline of crime between 1990 and 2021
- 54% decline in violent crime
- 49% decline in property crime
- 56% increase in incarceration
29
T or F: the drop in crime across the U.S. was uniform in terms of timing and scale. Crime began declining relatively consistently across states and cities, regardless of how extensively those states and cities adopted tough on crime policies
T
30
what else was in play in the crime decline across states and cities
- strong economy in 1990s
- more police
- better policing strategies
- crack markets stabilized and decline in use
- increases in income
- declines in alcohol consumption
- aging population
- several others
31
international crime declines
- crime rates in Canada, UK, France declined nearly identically to those in the U.S.
32
what percent of correctional growth contributed to crime decline
10% to 15%
- bottom line: crime control had a very modest impact on crime and crime rates
33
T or F: approximately half of crimes are not reported and only a fraction of those that are reported lead to an arrest
T
34
clearance rate for violent crime:
40%
35
clearance rate for property crime:
20%
36
T or F: official statistics only capture a portion of overall reoffending
T
37
___ percent of inmates released from prison or jail were rearrested for a new offense within 9 years of their release
85
38
__ percent of inmates released from prison or jail were rearrested for a new offense within 5 years of their release
55
39
over the course of crime control, did recidivism increase or decrease?
increase
40
recidivism for offenders on probation ranges between ___ and ___
35% and 50%
41
what two things drives the recidivism for offenders on probation
technical violations and new offenses
42
why does crime control increase reoffending?
largely because it reduces the likelihood of successful reentry
43
what did crime control accomplish?
- economic/financial benefits (private sector interests)
- political considerations
-- tough still sells and is a profoundly powerful political asset
--in times of uncertainty and unease, toguh can be "comforting"
44
T or F: for every dollar the U.S. spends on incarceration, there are an additional ten dollars in social cost; lost wages and reduced lifetime earnings, adverse health and mental health effects, increased criminality of children, marital and family instability, community effects, +++++
T
45
what's the dollar amount that an Illinois study shows that the average cost associated with one recidivism event is
$151,662
46
collateral costs
- families (instability, poverty)
- neighborhoods/communities
- economy/labor force
- public assistance
- public health
47
with all we now know, why are we still in the era of crime control?
- economic
- political
- protests/unrest (BLM), unease (politics), immigration policy
- inertia (status quo is easier)
- fear
- inability and/or unwillingness to implement alternatives
- the rise of ultra-conservative policy makers; the no-so-subtle dog whistles; how immigration is characterized
- the focus on occasional increases in crime in large metro areas
- lying
48
minimizing exposure to pretrial detention can significantly decrease the likelihood of reoffending
- people who are detained before their trial are more likely to experience negative social and economic consequences such as job loss and housing instability -> contribute to recidivism
- exposure to criminogenic environment of jail
- negative health outcomes related to rushed procedure
49
T or F: pretrial phase doeesn't receive a lot of funding
T: oftentimes no attorney for first appearance
50
tough on crime policies and how they contribute to massive caseloads in the CJS
- increase in arrests and prosecutions
- expansion of criminal codes has further criminalized behaviors, bringing more individuals into the legal system
51
lack of funding and how it contributes to massive caseloads in the CJS
- underfunded court systems
- understaffed public defender offices
- overworked public defenders
- overworked probation and parole officers
- very limited resources for drug courts
-strain of system delays cases moving through system
52
recidivism and how it contributes to massive caseloads in the CJS
- overreliance on plea bargains results in swift convictions, often without addressing underlying issues
- lack of rehab resources increased likelihood of reoffending
53
what events in the 1960s contributed to increased perception of crime
- race riots
- colleges protests of vietnam war
- assassinations of MLK, JFK, RFK
- expansion of civil rights, namely to Black americans
- led to what we start to observe in 1970s in terms of increase in incarceration
54
what did the warren court in the 60s-early 70s
- incorporated the bill of rights into the states' constitutions
- efforts at enhancing due process, focusing on upholding the procedural protection of the Constitution affords suspects and defendats, are often seen in opposition to crime control
- court cases of Mapp, Gideon, Escobedo, Miranda
55
role of President Nixon (southern strategy) and subsequent administrations in creating and expanding the war on drugs/crime (reagan, bush 41, bush 43)
- accused opponents of being soft on crime
- played into racial tensions in the South to convince white southerners to vote Republican
- flipped 5 formerly Democratic states
- Reagan expanded prison capacitied by giving funding to states
- Reagan established "truth in sentencing" laws, which ensured that convicts served a proportion of their sentences in prision before being eligible for parole
56
Clinton and Democrats embrace tough on crime
- 1994 Crime bill
- major objected was biparisan sentencing reform
- limited the amount of discretion enjoyed by judges in sentencing
- went from indeterminate to determinate sentencing
57
what did expanding the criminal code do?
- brought more people in the door
- multiple charges to be filed for a single event
- allowed prosecutors to stack charges, which made it less likely for a defendant to have a good defense
- led to more please and therefore more convictions
58
what pard does the failure of public health facilities play in expanding prison/jail populations
- led more individuals with mental health issues be incarcerated rather than treated
- lack of rehab programs leads to higher recidivism
59
effect of plea bargains
- quick and cost effective, used to compensate for the limited resources of the court system
- over 90% of criminal cases resolved through plea deals
- expedited case processing but often coerces defendants into guilty please
- limits fair trials and contribued to mass incarceration
60
economic implication of the current CJS
- private corrections (profit incentives for mass incarceration, lobbying for harsher sentencing so inmates are there for longer)
- commercial bond companis
- local economic considerations for prisons and jails (many rural communities rely on prisons as economic driver, creating resistance to CJS reform)
- labor force considerations large workforce creates political resistance to reforms that could reduce incarceration rates
61
harm reduction, why don't we use it?
- political resistance
- lack of public awareness
- focus on punishment
- cultural stigma
- limited resources
62
impact of crime control; how and why we're still doing it
- aggressive policies (war on drugs, war on terror,) increased incarceration rates were though to directly reduce crime
- short-term crime reduction
- public perception: crime control policies wre effective in creating the appearance of action against crime
63
why we're still in the era of crime control
- inability/unwillingess to implement alternatives
- rise of ultra-conservative policymakers
- "dog whistles" and fear mongering ( fear around immigration, scapegotas, over reporting in the media)
