NCJ Number
81081
Date Published
1980
Length
164 pages
Annotation
The study analyzes the informal organization and work patterns of the personnel at the Chicago Women's Court to show how the workgroup accomplishes institutional goals.
Abstract
The research was conducted over a 50-week period in 1976 and 1977 through participant observation and interviews on a formal and informal level with court employees and supervisory personnel. The Women's Court which receives women arrested in a variety of Chicago police districts for city ordinance violations and for misdemeanor offenses, handles a large number of prostitution cases. Findings indicate that court employees translate specific duties and laws into work routines with a group sense of justice. Once the group has evolved a daily routine in the court that serves the justice function, it concentrates on doing the work, and justice is inherently served by accomplishment of that work. The daily routine is taught to all newcomers to the court through the use of sanctions. Court employees can overcome or outlast any real or potential deviations from the routine in this manner. On the negative side, many regulars appear in court again and again. In the case of prostitutes, police arrest the same women repeatedly; courts then try them and give them light sentences. In essence, the court manages control of prostitution activities without ever facing the issue of decriminalization versus meaningful enforcement. Notes, a bibliography, and a methodological appendix are supplied.