Criminal Justice Policy Making: A Historical Overview and Analysis, Study notes of Criminal Justice

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Presidents and criminal justice policy making Executive officers:  Mayors  Governors  Presidents o Article 2, section 2 of the US Constitution  Commander in chief  Granting reprieves and pardons  Making treaties  Nominating and appointing ambassadors and other representatives of the US o Beyond enumerated powers  Agenda setting Agenda Setting  “recognizes a problem and establishes goals (and sometimes priorities)” (Shull, 1989:5)  Private issue > public problem > issue > systemic agenda > institutional agenda  Systemic agenda : “consists of all issues that are commonly perceived by members of the political community as meriting public attention and as involving matters within the legitimate jurisdiction of existing governmental authority”  Institutional agenda : that set of items explicitly up for the active and serious consideration of authoritative decision-makers Presidential Agenda Setting  State of union address  Other public speeches  Public papers  -presidential agenda reflects public union  -presidential agenda influences public opinion Presidents and crime  Crime has been on the agenda of every single president since Kennedy  What varies is no the agenda, as much as the solution  Content analysis of crime- related speeches from Kennedy to Bush Sr. o Democrats sent more proposals t o congress o Republicans mentioned crime in speeches more o More crime speeches in election years o Crime equally high on agenda for both parties o Drugs, law enforcement and grants were the top three issues Other Presidential Influence  Leading legislative process o Proposes new laws to congress o Positions himself on proposed laws o Veto  Appointment Power o Cabinet members o Bureaucratic leaders o Judges (Supreme and federal courts) o Attorney and solicitor general  Grant pardons  Set up commissions and task forces  Issue executive orders Symbolic Politics  Giving the appearance of taking action, through language, and even proposed legislations, but not providing any tangible results  Symbolic politics can serve 3 goals: 1. Reassurance/ threat  Reassurancebad people kept off streets  Threat don’t offend 3 times or you’ll be locked up forever 2. Education  General  Moral 3. Model for the states (establishes template for states to follow) Federalization of Crime Pre-Kennedy Administrations  Hoover and the Wickersham Commission (1929) o Creation of a national crime statistics compilation procedure o Inventory of the cases of crime o Better police training o Better prosecutors’ offices o Better lower criminal courts o Streamlined criminal procedure o Provision of counsel to unrepresented defendants Kennedy  Organized crime o Robert Kennedy o Increased jurisdiction of Justice Dept.  Juvenile crime o President’s committee on juvenile delinquency and youth crime o Job training, employment and education  Legal counsel to defendants  Office of criminal justice Johnson  Grants-in-aid to support local and state law enforcement  President’s commission on law enforcement and the administration of Justice o Identify the root causes of crime and better understand the function of the CJ system o The Challenge of a Crime Free Society  Federal involvement: o Organized crime, drug use, gun sales, DC law enforcement o “Great Society” programs: anti-poverty and education  Omnibus crime control and safe streets o Creation of the law enforcement assistance administration o Expansion of DNA evidence use  Second Chance Act of 2008 o Reentry programs for offenders being released from prison  Patriot Act o Department of Homeland Security Legislative Criminal Justice Policy Making Powers US Constitution Article 1  Enact legislation necessary to social order o Legislation can prohibit behaviors, prescribe punishment, identify procedure  Agenda setting  Provides funding  Evaluates programs  Creates and oversees criminal justice agencies o Department of Justice, CIA, FBI, US Marshal’s service  Oversees executive o Overturning presidential vetoes, ro rejecting presidential nominees Basics  Congress lasts 2 years, 1 session per year o Each congress starts with a blank slate of proposals and rules  House of Representatives o Elected every 2 years o 2 year terms o Proportional representation o Congressional districting based on US Census  Senate o Staggered elections of one third every 2 years o 6 year terms o 2 senators per state Formal Legislative Criminal Justice Policy Making  Schoolhouse rock: How a bill becomes a law  Mr. Smith goes to Washington: How to propose a bill  Reality check: Senate Committee hearing on VAWA  Congressional committees: o House committees o Senate committees Theories of Law Formation  Consensus  Conflict  Political culture  Pluralism  Hyper-pluralism  Elitism  Symbolic politics Important Pieces of Legislation  Omnibus crime control and safe streets act of 1968  Juvenile delinquency prevention and control act of 1968  Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act of 1974  Justice system improvement act of 1979  Omnibus victim and witness protection act of 1982  Comprehensive crime control act of 1984  Federal victims of crime act of 1984  Anti-drug abuse act of 1986  Anti-drug abuse act of 1988  Crime control act of 1990  Brady Handgun control law of 1993  Violent crime control and law enforcement act of 1994  Violence against women act of 1994 (Tile IV of VCCLEA)  Sex crimes against children prevention act of 1995  Victim rights clarification act of 1997  Child abuse prevention and enforcement act of 2000  USA Patriot act of 2001  Mentally Ill offender treatment and crime reduction act of 2004  Telephone records and privacy protection Act of 2006 Judicial Criminal Justice Policy Making A dual Court system:  State court systems o Violation of state laws o Lower courts o Trial courts o Appellate courts o Supreme courts  Federal Court systems o Violations of federal law o Article 3 of the US Constitution o District courts o Circuit courts o Supreme court Supreme Court of the US  Article 3 of the US constitution o Original jurisdiction  Cases involving ambassadors, maritime disputes, land grants, litigation between the US and the states, and between 2 or more states o Appellate jurisdiction  Over federal cases  Marbury v. Madison o Judicial review o Evaluating the constitutionality of decisions made by other branches of government  Norm enforcement (validation)  Policy making (interpretation) Current SCOTUS  Visual history of the supreme court of the US  Justices: o John Roberts, Chief Justice, 2005, GW Bush o Antonin Scalia, 1986, Reagan o Anthony Kennedy, 1988, Reagan o Clarence Thomas, 1991, GHW Bush o Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 1993, Clinton o Stephen Breyer, 1994, Clinton o Samuel Alito, 2006, GW Bush o Sonia Sotomayor, 2009, Obama o Elena Kagan, 2010, Obama Political Power and Limitations  Power o Appointments for life o Decisions often applying to a much wider population than just the people involved in the case o Judicial activism or judicial policy making versus judicial restraint  Interpretation vs. literalism  Limitations o Limited range of actions o Stare decisis o Narrow frames o No enforcement power Some Policy Making Cases  Mapp v Ohio, 1961 o 4th amendment, searches and seizures, exclusionary rule  Gideon v Wainwright, 1963 o 6th amendment, right to counsel, indigent defendants  Escobedo v Illinois, 1964 o 6th amendment, right to counsel  Miranda v Arizona, 1966  International association of chiefs of police  National center of institutions and alternatives  National committee against repressive legislation  National organization for the reform of Marijuana laws  National organization for victim assistance  National rifle association  Second amendment foundation  The sentencing project  Students against drunk driving Bureaucratic Criminal Justice Policy Making What are Bureaucracies?  Government agencies: o At the federal level: o Created by Congress, headed by an official appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. o Major criminal justice bureaucracies:  Department of Justice  Department of Treasury  Department of Homeland Security o At the state and local levels:  Law enforcement, corrections, public housing, etc.  Street-level bureaucrats o Perform tasks on a day-to-day basis o Seek stability, resist change Roles and Powers  Policy Implementation o Hiring personnel o Obtaining funds o Creating programs o Issuing regulations  Settle administrative disputes  Disseminate information o Conduct research o Educate legislative, executive, and judicial branches o Shape political agendas o Draft policies o Testify at Congressional hearings Organizational Theories  Downs (1967) o Bureaucracies are large and employ many people o Full time employees rely on their jobs for a paycheck o Personnel are hired, promoted, and retained based on merit o Employees develop a sense of personal loyalty to the organization  Weber (1922) o Bureaucracies have specific, set rules on procedures o Hierarchical/structural organization o Written documents serve as permanent records o Administrative expertise o Division of labor o Formal and informal intra-agency communication networks o Operations are performed impersonally Checks on Bureaucratic Powers  Congressional checks o Appropriation (example :LEAA) o Auditing (GAO) o Nomination o Creation/reorganization/legislation o Investigation  Judicial checks o Judicial review  Executive checks o Appointment and removal of senior personnel o Oversight o Creation of executive offices o Agenda setting Criminal Justice Bureaucracies  Judicial branch o Federal judicial center o United States Sentencing Commission  Executive branch: Department of Justice o Attorney general o Bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms o Bureau of prisons o Drug enforcement administration o Federal bureau of investigation o Marshals service o Office of community oriented policing services o Office of Justice Programs  Bureau of Justice Assistance  Bureau of Justice statistics  National Institute of Justice  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Programs  Office of Victims of Crime o Office of Pardon Attorney o Solicitor General  Executive branch: Homeland Security o Immigration and Customs Enforcement  Formerly Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Naturalization Services o Secret Service  Executive branch: Office of National Drug Control Policy o Drug Czar  Legislative branch o General Accounting Office