Chapter 2: Models of Criminal Justice Flashcards
What are the two ways of thinking about the administration of justice?
Old Idealism and New Cynicism
Describe Old Idealism
A scenario in which a law enforcement official enforces the law as its written in the statutes and allows the determination of guilt or innocence through a public contest of prosecution and defense (not realistic)
Describe New Cynicism
Mirror image of Old Idealism; neither law, nor order nor justice
What are the two versions of New Cynicism?
Conservative Cynics, which think that irrational decision making undermines effective crime control and liberal cynics, which feel that the chaoticness of the justice system hides discrimination
What two factors that help determine the outcome of plea bargaining?
Seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s prior record
What did the Crime Commission’s model accomplish?
Provided a conceptual framework that helped to a) identify patterns, b) define problems and c) focus research and policy planning
Who developed the Wedding Cake Model?
Lawrence Friedman & Robert Percival
What does the Wedding Cake Model emphasize?
There are significant differences between cases and there are consistent patterns of disposition within each category
What is the top layer of the Wedding Cake Model?
Celebrated cases; involving full criminal process (trial) with a lot of publicity that distorts the public perception about criminal justice
What are the second and third layers of the Wedding Cake Model?
Serious felonies; more serious felonies (rape, robbery) and less serious felonies (burglary, larceny)
What factors are used to determine the seriousness of a crime?
1) Nature of the crime
2) Whether a weapon was used
3) Whether the victim was injured
4) The suspect’s prior record
5) Relationship between victim and offender
The process of classifying cases as serious is informal. True or False.
True; there is no actual checklist of factors.
