American Justice System American Law Enforcement By the
American Justice System
American Law Enforcement: By the Numbers - 765, 000 sworn officers - 400, 000 PSO - 18, 000 public agencies; spend $100 B/year *17, 900 state, county and city agencies *70 federal agencies - 4, 000 private security firms; spend $60 B/year
Law Enforcement Community - Local: * City police * City attorney * Regulatory agencies - County: * Sheriff * County/District Attorney * Regulatory agencies
Law Enforcement Community…continued State: - State Police/State Patrol Fish and Game Wardens Correctional officials (probation, parole, pen) Attorney General Regulatory Agencies
Law Enforcement Community…continued - Federal (70 agencies) * Department of the Treasury: Internal Revenue Service (use to have more) * Department of Justice: - Federal Bureau of Investigation - U. S. Marshal Service - Drug Enforcement Administration - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms - Federal Bureau of Prisons
Law Enforcement Community… Federal continued - Department of Homeland Security: * Secret Service * Customs and Border Protection * Citizenship and Immigration Service * Immigration and Customs Enforcement * Coast Guard * Transportation and Security Administration * Air Marshals * Federal Law Enforcement Training Center * Federal Emergency Management Agency
Law Enforcement Community… Federal continued - Miscellaneous Agencies: * Postal Inspectors * National Park Service Officers * Bureau of Indian Affairs * Federal Probation Officers * Supreme Court Police * U. S. Capital Police * U. S. Park Police
Law Enforcement Community… Federal continued - Federal Prosecutors - Federal Regulatory Agencies: * FDA * SEC * EPA * OSHA
Private Security $60 Billion/year; 2 million employees in multiple settings: - Campus police at private schools - Retail (shoplifiting/employee theft) - Plant security - Corporate security (this is huge) - Private investigation firms (4, 000 of them) - Private military contractors - Bounty hunters/bail bond skip tracers
Problems with our fragmented, decentralized law enforcement network Limited coordination Limited cooperation Turf battles Service duplication Crime displacement Inconsistent crime responses
Judicial System: By the Numbers 17, 000 courts 35, 000 judges 250, 000 total personnel 155 million cases/year (roughly a 1: 2 ratio) $20 billion annual budget nationwide
Basic Court Structure Minor Trial Courts Major Trial Courts Appellate Courts Supreme Courts Misc. Courts Hierarchical Judicial review Overlaid system (Federal and states)
Heirarchial Structure Supreme Court | Appellate Court | District Court (Major Trial Court) | County Court (Minor Trial Court)
Minor Trial Courts Usually called County Courts. Roughly 90% of the criminal case workload is handled by the minor trial courts. Typical jurisdiction includes: Initial appearances Preliminary hearings Misdemeanor trials Traffic and parking cases Civil cases typically involving less than $50, 000 Often serve as the local juvenile court
Major Trial Courts Usually called District Courts. Typical jurisdiction includes: Arraignments Felony trials Civil cases typically involving more than $50, 000 Appeals from the minor courts Court of fact (substantive court) vs. court of law (procedural court) principle
Appellate Courts - Handles appeals from the lower courts - No jury - Generally sit “in division” - Adjudicate the law
Supreme Courts - Handles appeals from the lower courts - No jury - Generally sit “en banc” - Adjudicate the law
Misc Courts Juvenile courts Small claims courts Courts of industrial relations Tax courts Customs courts Copyright and patent courts Bankruptcy courts Military courts Workers compensation courts Regulatory agencies have judicial bodies
Administrative Support Clerk of the Courts - Maintain case histories/statistical reporting - Monitor and schedule cases - Document preparation - Case indexing - Issues summonses - Notifies witnesses, attorneys and other principle parties
Administrative Support Administrative Office of the Courts - Develop training programs - Develop and administer personnel systems - Budget preparation - Develop and revise legal forms - Records management - Statistical reporting
Federal Court System: Minor Trial Court U. S. Magistrate’s Court: - Roughly 560 U. S. Magistrates - Serve 8 years terms - Appointed by Federal District judges - Handles 1 million + cases a year nationwide
Federal Court System: Major Trial Court U. S. District Court: - Roughly 1, 200 U. S. District Court judges * 677 Full-time District Court judges * roughly 500 Senior Status District Court judges - Serve for life - Appointed by the President - 94 judicial districts - Handles 370, 000 cases a year nationwide (80% civil – 20% criminal), plus roughly 1 million bankruptcy cases
Federal Court System: U. S. District Court Jurisdiction Federal crimes (around 200 of them) Civil cases (patent rights, copyright, bankruptcy, anti-trust) U. S. a party in a suit Appeals from lower courts Civil rights violations (Title 7) Diversive Jurisdiction (two or more parties from two or more states involving a dispute of $75, 000 or more)
Federal Court System: Appellate Court U. S. Courts of Appeal: - 179 U. S. Appellate Court judges - Serve for life - Appointed by the President - Usually sit “in division” - 13 U. S. Appellate Court circuits or districts - Handles roughly 55, 000 cases a year nationwide - Court of law (vs. court of fact) - Defacto court of last resort
Federal Court System: U. S. Supreme Court: - 9 Justices (as few as 5; as many as 10) - Serve for life - Appointed by the President - Usually sits “en banc” - Roughly 10, 000 certiorari requests received annually * Court grants “cert” to roughly 75 -80 cases * Full written decisions in roughly 50 -60 cases - Court of law (vs. court of fact)
Federal Court System: Misceanellous Courts Tax Courts Customs Courts Patent Courts Court of Customs and Patent Appeals Court of Claims Court of Military Appeals Bankruptcy Courts
Incarceration Options - State Prisons: * roughly 1, 725 state prisons * roughly 1. 3 million inmates - Federal Prisons: * 102 federal prisons * 54 military prisons * roughly 190, 000 inmates - Private Prisons: * roughly 100 private prisons * roughly 130, 000 inmates (8. 5% of the inmate population)
Incarceration Options…continued - City/County Jails: * 3, 283 jails * roughly 740, 000+ jail inmates on any given day * 11 million formal jail admits/year (+ 2 million informal) * 11 day average stay * costs $175/day to house an inmate in jail, but rates vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction - Juvenile Training Schools/Prisons: * 2, 260 facilities * roughly 55, 000 youth are housed in juvenile facilities * roughly 10, 000 youth are housed in adult facilities - Mental health facilities (unknown numbers housed there)
Probation * Court administered program, in lieu of incarceration. * Behavioral contract, the violation of which could result in probation being revoked and a prison/jail sentence imposed. * Roughly 3. 7 million people are currently on probation. * There are different levels of supervision: Regular Intensive Electronic Home detention Halfway house confinement
Parole - Post prison release mechanism - Administered by the Executive Branch - Behavioral contract, the violation of which could result in parole being revoked and being returned to prison - Roughly 875, 000 people are currently on parole - Different levels of supervision: * Regular * Intensive * Electronic * Home detention * Halfway house confinement
Other Sanctions - Fines/citations/waiverable offense schedule - Community-based options: * Pretrial release/pretrial diversion * Street diversion (via problem solving policing) * Halfway houses * Restitution/community service sentences * Drug/alcohol treatment diversion * Mental health diversion * Misc. therapy and counseling programs * Family relations and life skills classes * Educational and voc training and assistance programs * Employment preparation and expectation courses * Employment assistance programs * Intermittent incarceration * Prison/jail furlough
Other Sanctions…continued - Shaming/public humiliation: * Car bumper stickers * Newspaper articles * Sign on front door - Corporal punishment: * Chemical/physical castration * Whippings (past) - Capital punishment
Capital Punishment - 30 states legally retain the use of the death penalty, as well as the U. S. federal government and the military - There have been between 21, 000 – 22, 000 legal executions since the mid-1600 s - There have been another 10, 000+ extralegal lynchings - There were 7, 500 legal executions in the 20 th century - There have been roughly 1, 500 executions since 1967
Capital Punishment…continued - There approximately 2, 700 people currently on death row - California has the largest number of individuals on death row (currently around 750) - Texas has executed the largest number of persons since 1967 (roughly 575 to date) - There were roughly 400 wrongful capital crime convictions in the United States in the 20 th century. For every 8 individuals executed from 1992 to present, 1 individual has been released from death row
American Justice System Legalized Discretionary Fragmented Non-system/a network Quasi-justice
American Justice Network The American justice system is a hodgepodge of uncoordinated institutions run independently by almost every governmental unit. The system/the network is characterized by: - Competing objectives - Multiplicity of goals (no overall goals) - Multiple measures of performance - Multiple definitions of success - No overall management - Limited coordination - Limited cooperation (turf battles) - Goal conflict
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