NCJ Number
130239
Date Published
1991
Length
47 pages
Annotation
This chapter profiles the processing of an armed robbery case to illustrate the criminal justice format for handling criminal behavior and then explores the values underlying the criminal process.
Abstract
The armed robbery and the criminal justice system's response to it are examined from the perspectives and contexts of various persons with a role in the case. The persons profiled are the defendant, the victim, the officers involved in the arrest, and the public defender. The various aspects of case processing described include pretrial jail detention, a partial trial, plea bargaining, and prison and beyond. Other sections of the chapter cover the processing of misdemeanors, plea contracts in West Germany, juvenile court procedures, and the nature of reversible error in criminal appeals. A major section of the chapter examines the values underlying two models of the criminal process: the crime control and due process models. The crime control model is based on the proposition that the repression of criminal conduct is the most important purpose of the criminal process. The due process model, on the other hand, gives priority to the rights of the accused and to compliance with legal mandates pertinent to criminal case processing. A third model described is called the Family Model, which differs from the adversarial, combative characteristics of the other two models in its effort to manage offenders as though they are problem children within a family. They would be managed in a way that is in their best interests as well as those of other family members. 2 tables and 7 recommended readings