NCJ Number
79223
Date Published
1980
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The new circumstances pressed upon prosecution offices by widespread economic infirmity in American society is analyzed, and a model for prosecutorial strategy is proposed.
Abstract
Since 1979, when inflation began to weaken American economic power, a new age termed an 'age of reason' has affected prosecutorial discretion, allowing for a restructuring of prosecutorial resources and a new approach to the prosecution of cases. The 'age of reason' is conservative and is premised on the following assumptions: (1) cutbacks in services and programs are in order; (2) cutbacks should be implemented by using existing programs that have been proven under testing, in combination with knowledge about prosecution systems gained from research; and (3) any changes should support prosecutorial discretion. Based on research dealing with the use of prosecutorial discretion, notably the LEAA project, it is proposed that the caseload in a jurisdiction be distributed at intake according to the three major dispositional routes: nonadjudication, plea negotiation, and trial. The criteria used for this decision process would be based on those factors identified as significant in establishing the priority of the case for prosecution: criminal history of the defendant, the seriousness of the offense in relation to personal injury or property loss, and the legal and evidentiary strength of the case. Trivial cases would be sent to mediation, diversion, family dispute centers, or other similar programs. For the middle range of cases, dispositions would be negotiated, and those cases deemed most serious or of questionable guilt would be prepared for trial. The recommended dispositional routes as a concept simply provides a systematic basis for decisions already exercised daily by prosecutors' offices. Six notes are listed.