Contours of Justice: Communities and Their Courts

• NCJ Number: 107140
• Author(s): J Eisenstein; R B Flemming; P F Nardulli
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 317 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0062; 81-IJ-CX-0027; SES-8308989; SES-8309609; SES-83-08705
• Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation; National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Sale Source: Little, Brown and Co
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This book develops and applies the metaphorical concept of courts as communities, based on field research in nine middle-sized criminal courts in Michigan, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

Abstract

Data and information were obtained from court records and from more than 300 participants in the 9 courts. The metaphor of courts as communities rests on the assumption that the interdependencies arising from a common workplace produce attributes similar to those of a community. The court community rests on the core beliefs about how the court ought to work and how it does work. The community is also manifested in the interdependencies of court personnel, the structure of power and status among them, the nature of 'grapevines' and emotional undercurrents, and the organizations that sponsor prosecutors and public defenders. Court technology also plays a large part in shaping court communities' operations. Using this 'community' metaphor, the book discusses how the nine courts operate, emphasizing their similarities and differences. Patterns of case outcomes produced by the courts are examined. The book concludes with an analysis of how the 'community' metaphor for court characteristics elucidates court reform. Chapter footnotes, study instrument, and subject index.