Justice Exam #2
Important Cases
Lawrence vs. Texas (2003)
Due process used to strike down sodomy laws
Intimate sexual contact protected by 14th amendment
Commonwealth vs Mochan (1955)
Common law misdemeanors upheld, but now mostly abolished
Papachristou vs. Jacksonville FL (1972)
Vagrancy ordinance was too broad to give average person warning, led to arbitrary enforcement
City of Chicago vs. Morales (1999)
Gang loitering ordinance - could not be applied constitutionally, and discretion was too broad for PD
Robinson vs. California (1962)
Can't punish for status, need actus reus
Powell vs. Texas (1968)
Crime requires act, not intent - could have been drunk at home, so not a status offense
Ewing vs. California (2003)
Upholds 3 strikes laws as not C&U, not grossly disproportionate sentence when taking criminal history into account.
Clark vs. Arizona (2006)
Thought cop was alien - upholds constitutionality of insanity defense.
People vs. Berry (1976)
Cooling off period - adequate provocation can be used to downgrade murder to manslaughter
Terry vs. Ohio (1968)
Stop and frisk OK with reasonable suspicion
US vs. Jones (2012)
GPS tracking equates to 4th amend. search
Yanta case
Riley vs. California (2014) - not done yet
Can a cell phone be searched as part of an arrest ?
Procedural Justice
Tyler & Blader (2003)
When govn't reps seen as more legit, ppl more likely to comply with law
Rules themselves & process of implementing decisions should be seen as fair
Many aspects of how people feel they have been treated, listened to, respected through process
Murphy (2009)
Legitimacy + satisfaction = willingness to cooperate with PD
Most important when police initiate contact
Prediction - Bail Decision
Goals of bail
Ensure appearance of defendant (integrity of court)
Safety
Preventive detention / incapacitation
Retribution - just keep them off the street
Equitable treatment for similar situations
Prosecutors maintain credibility with court
US vs. Salerno (1987)
Constitutional to incapacitate with bail if you can show person is a danger
3 main options - preventive detention with high bail, regular bail, or release on recognizance
High risk for judge is releasing offender with serious crime, even though they are lowest risk to re-offend - political consequences
Info available to make decision
Current charge
Criminal history
Maybe some SES if lucky
Most of these have been show to have little to no predictive power - much stronger link to length of time to trial
Spohn (2009)
Guidelines are generally used to make system more equitable/consistent. For bail and sentencing.
Goldkamp & Gottfredson (1985)
First run at Philly bail guidelines
Charge and criminal record were criteria used before guidelines
Showed best idea is to shorten time between arrest and trial
Goldkamp et. al. (1995)
Redo of 1985
Brought judges into process
there was inter and intra-judge disparity
goal to reduce disparity and jail overcrowding
Developed voluntary guidelines - deviations justified in writing to provide feedback and refine grid
statistical limitations
missing data
low base rate
Goldkamp and Vilicia (2009)
Follow up to 1995 guidelines
Guidelines largely ignored
didn't use without political pressure or impending lawsuits
Feedback process was not maintained which would have helped
Could eliminate cash bail as an option, but that would remove the judges' safety net
CJ & Public Health
Wood & Beierschmitt (2014)
Police often serve as front line mental health workers
Best resolution is to move upstream
Steadman et al (2000)
PD are gatekeepers of mental health system and street corner psychiatrists
Morabito et al (2008)
Police feel this is outside of their expertise - lack of training
Leads to mercy booking
Need wider focus than just what police can do
Shared rules of engagement for invoking city services
Hotspots of vulnerability - data driven deployment
Look at repeat users across PD and mental health systems
Case management and place management
Gottfredson & Gottfredson (1988) Framework for Decision Making
Three big forces in CJ decisions
Seriousness of offense
Prior criminal record
More attention and resources to longer histories
Relationship between victim and offender
Likelihood to report, be arrested, and serve lengthy prison time
Problem of prediction is omnipresent in CJ system
At every point, decision makers lack feedback
About how similar decisions have been made in the past
Info about the consequences of the choice