CHAPTER 4
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE DECISION NETWORK

  1. INTRODUCTION
A.    The sources of authority in the criminal justice decision network derive from the complex relationships among the Constitution, the Supreme Court, the legislatures, the elected chief executives of the nation and of each state, and the criminal justice agencies themselves.

B.    All parts are related: police actions do/do not affect the courts; court actions do/do not affect the police
         and corrections; actions of the corrections system do/do not affect both the police and the courts

C.    All the participants in the criminal justice decision network act with the authority of the law. All can act with a certain amount of discretion in order to do their jobs; but, this discretion is controlled by constitutional restraints, appellate court decisions, and by statutes as well.

D.    And the glue which holds it together is the decision network which transforms individuals form free citizens into suspects, then into defendants, into convicted offenders, into probationers, and into inmates and/or parolees, leading, in most instances, to their eventual discharge from sentence and their return to society.

II.  STEPS IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCESS

A.  Investigation, Arrest and Bail
B.  The Charging Decision
    1. Indictment (margin, pg 91)
    2. Information (margin, pg 91)
    3. Pleading and Trial
    4. Sentencing
      1. Presentence Report
      2. Probation

        5.  Prison, Parole and "Good Time"
        6.  Probation Conditions and Revocation
        7.  Prison Conditions
        8.  Release from Prison and Discharge from Sentence

      1. Inmates may be released in several ways:
        1. Parole
        2. Upon completion of their maximum sentence
        3. Upon completion of their maximum sentence less time off for good behavior
                        b.  Discharged from sentence - upon completion of probation or maxed out sentences.

III.  SOURCES OF AUTHORITY

A. Introduction

1.  Traditionally, the criminal justice system’s authority has been seen as a hierarchy.  (See, figure 4.2, pg 94). Power flows downward from the Constitution.
2.  In actuality, the criminal justice system operates in a more complex, less automatic way. In reality a partnership. (See figure, 4.3 pg, 95)
3.  Probably not a system at all as there is no core organization as most bureaucracies or large corporations have. There are at least 6 major differences: (see, pg 106)
4.  Another way to depict the criminal justice process is an ever-narrowing funnel which screens offenders. (see, pg 106)
5.  Yet, efficiency is only one goal of our criminal justice system. We also want safety and domestic order but, fearing the enforcement power, maintain local community control over the administration of law.
  1. The Constitution
  1. The basic document giving authority to criminal justice agencies
  2. Also sets the outer limits to their efforts, making sure that our system of crime controls fits our form of government.
    C.  Legislative Functions
    1. In criminal justice terminology, legislature refers to Congress or to the legislatures of the several states.

              2.  City or county councils cannot define felonies/misdemeanors - can enact ordinances, penalties for violation are civil (usually fines) and not criminal.
              3.  Definition of Criminal Conduct

a.  Crime is what the legislature defines as crime (oftentimes with the help of the courts)

b. The legislature must define criminal conduct (Handling Snakes so as to endanger life prohibited), punishment for same (substantive criminal law - Class C Misdemeanor) and certain defenses to same (none listed).

c. Criminal laws must be specific and are strictly construed by the courts (see, pg 96)

d. Determination of Appropriate Sentence

    i. Modern trend was "determinate" sentencing through use of "sentencing guidelines". These "guidelines" were developed and adopted in part to afford proportionality to the gravity of the offense and parity among defendants. These "guidelines" also restricted the discretion of judges (conservatives though judges too "liberal" and were "soft" on criminals by not handing down harsh sentences). Most states also enacted statues which allowed judges to "enhance" sentences if aggravating factors (use of a gun in commission of a crime; gang related criminal activity) were present. 3 recent cases called these practices into issue and in part declared them unconstitutional:

1. Apprendi v. New Jersey (530 U.S. 466,490)(2000) "Other than the fact that a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt". (For Apprendi purposes, the maximum a judge may impose must be based solely on the facts reflected in the jury verdict or admitted by the defendant.)

2. Ring v. Arizona (536 U.S. 584, 592-593, and 1)(2002) The court applied Apprendi to an Arizona law that authorized the death penalty if the judge found one of ten aggravating factors.

3. Blakely v. Washington (U.S. Supreme Court, June 24, 2004).Petitioner pleaded guilty to kidnapping his estranged wife. The facts admitted in his plea, standing alone, supported a maximum sentence of 53 months, but the judge imposed a 90-month sentence after finding that petitioner had acted with deliberate cruelty, a statutorily enumerated ground for departing from the standard range (in effect changing petitioner’s plea to a lesser offense to second-degree kidnapping with deliberate cruelty which had the same penalty as first-degree kidnapping, the charge he had avoided by pleading to the lesser offense.) The Washington Court of Appeals affirmed, rejecting petitioner's argument that the sentencing procedure deprived him of his federal constitutional right to have a jury determine beyond a reasonable doubt all facts legally essential to his sentence.Held: Because the facts supporting petitioner's exceptional sentence were neither admitted by petitioner nor found by a jury, the sentence violated his Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury. (Reversed and Remanded)

e. Expression of Public Morality(TCA 40-35-112 sentence rages)(421)

    i "Blue Laws" or laws regulating moral conduct are usually the result of political pressure and are very rarely fully enforced.

    ii Despite the impossibility of full enforcement and a tacit understanding that full enforcement is not intended, these laws have a suppressant effect on behaviors that are not necessarily seen as criminal but are nonetheless discouraged by society. That is, the law makes a statement of moral standards and for many people it encourages moral conformity.

f. Repeal of Laws

    i. Repealing criminal laws is dangerous for politicians, particularly when certain conduct, such as homosexual acts between consenting adults, or abortion is concerned.

    ii. But beyond the political cost of such action, criminal statutes can be used in innovative ways to prosecute criminals - Al Capone theory of law making. RICO is a good example.

    iii While criminal statues must not be so vague as to be found to be void for vagueness, sometimes criminal statutes are deliberately ambiguous. Why?

          1. The difficulty in specifying all possible varieties of conduct in certain criminal categories. (See, pg 99)
          2. To prevent the introduction of technicalities or loopholes, by which serious or professional criminals cam avoid prosecution. (See, pg 99)

g. Definition of Procedural Law

    i. Definition - the rules which regulate the processing of offenders by the criminal justice system, including general rules of evidence/search and seizure/arrest, as well as the method/manner of pursuing a civil action.

    ii. Generally limited to police activities and the trial court stages of the criminal justice process up to and including sentencing. (Legislature also establishes Civil Procedure Rules)

h. Budgetary Appropriations

    i. Can use "power of the purse" to control law enforcement agencies.

    ii. Discrepancies in funding may exist within the criminal justice system because different legislative bodies with different tax bases are responsible for the monetary support of the different parts of the system.

i.  Other Powers of the Legislature (see, pg 100 )

D. Executive Authority

    1. Executive functions fall into 4 major categories enabling the executive to: (pg 100)
                a.  Appoint personnel
                b.  Introduce legislation

        1. Has veto power over legislation
              c.  Directly intervene

                    i.  Pardon and commutation powers over prison inmates
 
                d.  Give direction ( "0" tolerance for crime in NYC)

  1. Appellate Court Authority (see, pgs 101 -102)
    1. Power to Select Cases for Review
    2. Role in Law Reform
F.  Agency Authority

The outer limits of authority are set by the legislature and the courts. But within these limits, the discretional powers of the agencies is very great
    1. Police Authority

a. The largest component of the criminal justice system.

b. Traditional cases come to the attention of the police in various ways:

    i Citizen complaint or call for help
    ii. Routine police patrols/surveillance/stopping and questioning of suspicious people.
    iii. Proactive police operations - telephone taps/undercover operations/sting operations.

c. Generally, few police agencies have formally delegated or traditional discretion with respect to enforcing the criminal laws. In theory, full enforcement is the standard. The myth of full enforcement exists because legislatures and courts have refused to sanction police discretion officially.

d. The Rule: Selective enforcement Why?

    i. Community expectations and common sense/judgment.
    ii. Also, defining, defending and monitoring criteria for discretion is an impossible task.

2. Prosecutor’s Authority

a. Very broad discretion
b. More often "recognized" than delegated by the legislature
c.  Dates from early English common law and from French legal antecedents
d. Discretionary powers range from:

        1. Nolle prosequi (nol pros) - a decision not to initiate prosecution. Such a decision is virtually unquestionable unless can show corruption, misfeasance or malfeasance.
        2. To selection of specific charges against an individual (SEE pg 104)
  1. Trial Court as a Criminal Justice Agency

a. Judge uses discretion in the selection of his office staff
b. Except in those cases requiring mandatory sentences, Judges have the discretionary authority to chose among sentencing alternatives such as:

i.  Types of sentences - fines/probation/imprisonment
ii. Set some conditions of sentence - rules of probation
iii. Set lengths of prison sentences - minimum/maximum within the outer limits set by statute.