NCJ Number
88682
Editor(s)
V L Swigert
Date Published
1982
Length
159 pages
Annotation
A series of research papers deals with issues pertaining to the origin and nature of law, the legal process, and the consequences of law.
Abstract
The first two papers deal with the impact of judicial decisions upon the application of the law, as Justice Tom Clark's role in the Supreme Court's decision in 'Mapp v. Ohio' (impacting search and seizure law) is examined, and the evolution of the concept of corporate criminal liability is analyzed through appellate decisions. One of the papers dealing with an aspect of the legal process uses the dramaturgical perspective to analyze defense-attorney and prosecutor face-to-face interactions with witnesses during the testimony phase of felony jury trials. Attorney tactics in the cross-examination of witnesses were found to revolve around the theatricality of pointmaking, i.e., giving the appearance that they are winning the case. Another study bearing upon legal process examines the influence of legal, process, and demographic variables on juvenile intake decisions. The process variable of time used by the intake worker in making the recommendation was the best indicator of the intake decision, with an intake decision made in the first 5 days likely to involve petitioning to the court. Studies dealing with the consequences of law include one that examines the relative effects of official and self-reported delinquency on adolescent attitudes and self-images as well as the consequences of labeling reinforcement or subsequent encounters with the justice system for attitudes and self-images. The study indicates that labeling effects are not as sweeping or as negative as early proponents maintained. The concluding study examined the induced conflict between political and criminal prisoners in concentration and labor camps, which provides a useful context for analyzing the response by the instruments and victims of aggression to an attempt to impose anomic conditions and situational identities. Chapter references and tabular data are provided.