NCJ Number
60516
Date Published
1979
Length
16 pages
Annotation
RESEARCH ON THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR EXAMINES THE CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH ENTRY INTO THE JOB OF ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR, FOLLOWS THE CAREER OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, AND REPORTS CHANGES IN THE JOB.
Abstract
AN EXAMINATION OF THE NEW YORK CITY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICES IN KINGS AND BRONX COUNTIES, BASED ON RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN 1971 AND 1978, INDICATES THAT LAWYERS' ENTRY INTO THE LEGAL PROFESSION, AND MOVEMENT WITHIN THAT HIGHLY STRATIFIED ENVIRONMENT, IS DEPENDENT UPON CLASS ORIGINS, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE. MOST OF THE NEW YORK ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEYS (ADA'S) WERE WHITE MALES AND QUITE YOUNG, WITH 56 PERCENT BEING UNDER AGE 30. THE FEMALE ADA'S WERE FROM A HIGHER SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, AND HAD ATTENDED BETTER LAW SCHOOLS. IN THE TWO OFFICES, 62.5 PERCENT OF THE ADA'S WERE JEWISH, 31.9 PERCENT WERE CATHOLIC, AND ONLY 5.6 PERCENT WERE PROTESTANT, BUT RELIGIOUS ATTENDANCE WAS LOW FOR ALL GROUPS. ADA'S WERE LARGELY SECOND- AND THIRD-GENERATION AMERICANS WITH PROFESSIONAL PARENTS AND WORKING-CLASS GRANDPARENTS. THE NEW YORK ADA'S DID HAVE A HIGHER THAN EXPECTED PERCENTAGE OF FOREIGN-BORN PARENTS. NEARLY 75 PERCENT OF THE ADA'S ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY REFLECTING THE LOCAL NATURE OF THE PROSECUTORS' OFFICES AND THEIR BASE IN THE COMMUNITY. ALTHOUGH THE SEPARATION OF THE ADA'S FROM THE POLITICS OF THE SPOILS SYSTEM MAY BE DESIRABLE, IT CUTS THE CLOSE TIES OF THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. BECAUSE OF THEIR TRAINING, ADA'S ARE SUITED TO THE PRACTICE OF CRIMINAL LAW, THE LEAST LUCRATIVE OF THE LEGAL SPECIALTIES. THEIR LACK OF EXPERIENCE IN BUSINESS LAW HINDERS THEIR MOBILITY INTO OTHER FIELDS. DATA ALSO SHOW THAT 60 OF THE ADA'S LEAVE THE JOB WITHIN 3 YEARS. NOTES ARE PROVIDED, WITH REFERENCES. (TWK)