CRJ 350 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Chaos Theory, American Justice, Misdemeanor
6 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
Discretion provides some problems: misunderstanding, myth. Many decisions are made in informal, low-visibility settings. New cynicism: chaotic system, discretion out of control, prosecutors plea bargain, sentencing is arbitrary, no rationality or scientific basis for decisions, entire system is discriminatory. Sober realism: system operates in a fairly predictable and consistent manner. Crime commission model: developed in 1967 (president"s commission on law enforcement and administration of justice, case flow among agencies, interrelationships among agencies, pervasiveness of discretionary decisions, decisions at one point affect other points, all cases handled the same. 4 layers: celebrated cases, serious felonies, less serious felonies, misdemeanors, first developed between 1870-1910, updated in 1988, emphasize patterns of disposition within layers. Cases involve the full criminal process: receive enormous amount of publicity, distort public perceptions as typical cases. More serious felonies are 2nd layer: based on nature of crime and its seriousness, prior record, relationship between victim and offender.
