Lessons from the Third World for Understanding American Criminal Justice

This paper argues for and attempts to demonstrate the case for including materials related to the operation of Third World criminal justice in courses dealing with American criminal justice system. The author argues that an examination of the contexts and processes of criminal justice in Third World nations increases one's ability to understand and critique the history and operations of our criminal justice enterprises. The Third World context offers laboratories for testing assumptions about American criminal justice without the implicitly pervasive ideological overtones we come to accept unquestionably in our own system simply because it is the one in which we operate.

Within the context of poverty, “dual societies,” chronic political instability, the struggle for economic development, and colonialism, the Third World offers an opportunity to study the interaction and impact of law, politics, economics, social control, and social change on the development and operations of criminal justice. Using examples from the literature of anthropology, law and social change, and political and economic development, the author attempts to demonstrate the usefulness of this interdisciplinary approach and the Third World context in teaching about the criminal justice system.     

Competency-based education: An alternative for criminal justice education?

Over the last several years, criminal justice education In the United States has increased dramatically. Much of this growth has been in response to the needs of an evolving criminal justice field. However, there is some concern among professionals that the criminal justice system needs to be impacted more directly, and that institutions of higher learning need to be impetus for this change. To complete this task, curricula in higher education programs need to become more relevant to the needs of the system, while not ignoring the student of the educational system. This article examines the use of competency-based education (CBE) as a model that will serve the criminal justice student of today and the criminal justice system of tomorrow.     

新自由主义对美英国家刑事法制的影响及反思

从一国或地区的政治经济体制来理解其刑事法制,可以以相对宏观的视角把握其刑事法制脉络。美国刑事法制自20世纪70年代以来发生了深刻变化,从刑事法制基本观念到具体实践都渗透强烈的报应主义色彩,而隐藏其后则是新自由主义思潮。美国刑事法制的转变也影响着英国等国家。对这一思潮进行研究,一方面可以对这些国家刑事法制过去半个世纪发展脉络进行整体把握,另一方面也为分析研究这些国家刑事法制提供了一个更具批判性的视角。     

Personal and Vicarious Experience with the Criminal Justice System as a Predictor of Punitive Sentencing Attitudes

This study examined the impact of prior personal or vicarious experience with the criminal justice system on sentencing attitudes. Existing research on sentencing attitudes has examined factors such as race, gender, income level, political affiliation, and education level, but few research studies have focused on actual contact with the criminal justice system and its influence on perceptions of sentencing as either too harsh or too lenient. The current study utilized data collected by the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research. Over 1,500 respondents were surveyed nationwide in 2006 regarding sentencing attitudes. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the impact of factors of interest on sentencing attitudes. Results indicated that individuals who had been charged with a crime (personal experience), or who had an immediate relative or close friend who had been charged (vicarious experience), were more likely to perceive the criminal justice system as too harsh, regardless of race/ethnicity.     

Criminal justice policy and the psychology of peacemaking

Psychology which once was a primary influence on the development of criminal justice policy has, in recent decades, lost much of its ability to inform how laws and policies are made that concern punishment and social control. The reason for psychology's loss of inluence can be traced to the war on crime political rhetoric adopted by politicians and criminal justice administrators. This paper argues that an emerging peacemaking perspective in the criminal justice system allows the discipline of psychology to once again inform the discourse on criminal justice policy. Issues such as drug abuse, gun control, and capital punishment are appropriate subjects for a psychological perspective in the national debate on criminal justice policy.     

刑事诉讼制度发展的三种模式：一个概要性的分析

从各国刑事诉讼制度变迁的基本事实出发,大致可以概括出三种不同的刑事诉讼制度发展模式,即立法修律模式、司法判例模式与试点实验模式.这三种模式具有不同的内在特质,在推动刑事诉讼制度发展上各有其独特优势与内在局限.各国刑事诉讼制度变迁的历程表明,刑事诉讼制度发展不能只依赖一种模式,应是多种模式的组合或交替使用.目前我国刑事诉讼制度发展主要依靠立法修律和试点实验,司法判例还未被有效运用.未来应该根据各国刑事诉讼制度发展的经验以及上述三种模式的实际价值与内在局限,合理确定我国刑事诉讼制度发展的模式组合。     

美国少年司法严罚刑事政策的形成、实践与未来

建立独立的少年司法制度，在保护主义的理念下处理少年犯罪，曾经是美国的骄傲，也是其他国家效仿的范本。但自20世纪70年代后期开始，严罚刑事政策开始逐步占据美国少年司法刑事政策的主流，呈现出逐步背弃福利型少年司法传统的趋势。这种转变是在少年犯罪恶化与古典犯罪学派复兴的社会背景与理论背景下发生的，也是对少年司法理念的歪曲。少年司法严罚刑事政策的推行激化了少年法院存废的争论，也遭到了激烈的批评和日益深入的反思。     

Understanding of criminal reconciliation in ancient China

It is the duty of literature on criminal law to record the states orthodox criminal legislation and justice. However, it is difficult to find a systematic and sufficient historical literature for directly expounding the criminal reconciliation outside the state criminal litigation system. This is a civil act among people or a non-statutory criminal reconciliation. Meanwhile, the object of historiography of modern criminal law is usually limited to the evolution and development of the state criminal law and official criminal justice. Thus researchers focus on these areas leaving little systematic evidence for scattered, local, individual, non-statutory and non-normalized criminal reconciliations between victims and offenders. However, upon investigation of the long standing institutional change of Chinese society as well as an analysis of the social reality reflected by Chinese traditional social and legal cultures, it can be confirmed that criminal reconciliation in ancient Chinese society existed reasonably and necessarily.     

Dynamic systems simulation analysis: A planning tool for the new century

Dynamic systems simulation analysis is an analytical technique that allows for the modeling of complex, nonlinear systems. While this technique is currently not widely used in the social sciences or in criminal justice planning, the author argues that more attention should be given to these models in criminal justice. These models can be used in a variety of ways—to gain greater insight into processes of system change, to track the development of specific system populations (e.g., drug offenders, elderly offenders), and to estimate projected system growth and change over a variety of legislative and policy scenarios—making them useful tools for theoretical development and policy evaluation, as well as more pragmatic considerations such as program, facilities, and overall system planning. An overview of the methodology and some examples of analyses are presented.     

A feminist analysis of the American criminal justice system’s response to human trafficking

While criminological and criminal justice scholars have made important contributions to human trafficking literature, to date, such scholarship has been devoid of a feminist analysis of the topic as scholars have spent little time reflecting on how patriarchy impacts the criminal justice system’s response to human trafficking. Such examination is necessary to understand how the issue of patriarchy impacts criminal justice system approaches to the crime as well as the outcomes of such anti-human trafficking efforts. It is argued the influence of patriarchy on criminal justice system policy development and practice undermines the system’s anti-human trafficking efforts.     

刑事和解:一种新的刑罚改革理念

目前,在司法改革过程中,建立一套既能切实保障犯罪被害人利益,又可以克服传统刑罚体系弊端的刑罚制度,成为最为热门的话题之一。在当前酝酿的刑罚体制改革之中,可以考虑借鉴西方社会的做法,引进刑事和解制度。刑事和解论有关刑事责任的理解,对于从传统的道义责任论向现代的社会责任的转变,极富启发意义。     

Defence lawyers and probation officers: offenders' allies or adversaries?

The shift in recent decades towards an explicitly punitive agenda for criminal justice in Western jurisdictions has been well-documented in the criminological literature. People accused of offences and convicted offenders progress through a punitive criminal justice system replete with crime control values. Furthermore, in criminal justice policy development, the notion of victims' rights and the quest to rebalance the system in favour of victims now override concerns about rights. In the light of this state of affairs, it seems necessary to assess the role of practitioners within the criminal justice system who, by virtue of their professional mandates, can be expected to act as much needed allies for defendants as they progress through the system. These practitioners are defence lawyers and probation officers. Insufficient attention has been paid to the role of both and they have not previously been considered as two parts of a greater whole despite their obviously complimentary nature. In an effort to address this gap in knowledge, this article draws on two different studies to offer an exploratory discussion of how both practitioners interact with their clients and whether or not the practitioners can be viewed as effective allies of those implicated with the criminal process.     

Wither Criminal Justice? An Argument for a Reformed Discipline

The American criminal justice system fails to achieve justice, reduce crime, and provide equal protection to Americans regardless of their social class, race, and gender. But, criminal justice as an academic area of study has become a popular and fast growing liberal arts major in the United States, churning out tens of thousands to work in the criminal justice system. Given the demonstrable harms caused by criminal justice, which are suffered disproportionately by the least powerful people, academic criminologists and criminal justicians have the obligation to promote a reformed discipline. This article briefly summarizes the evidence of bias in the criminal justice system and then turns to how these biases relate to criminal justice as an academic discipline. Using the war on drugs as an example, I argue that the practice of criminal justice as an academic endeavor runs counter to the goal of promoting social justice in America. One of the ironic conclusions of this article is that criminal justice as an academic discipline must get smaller if we are to achieve larger goals of social justice outlined here. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

价值抉择:反恐措施与刑事诉讼——以美国法为范例的检讨与反思

反恐措施对刑事诉讼领域的入侵,对程序正义和人权保障提出了前所未有之挑战。监听、搜查、羁押、司法审查、法庭审判、证据规则等刑事诉讼基本制度受到猛烈冲击并对人权保障产生直接影响。美国的反恐怖立法及其司法实践的变革,成为全球的焦点,也成为该领域的典型范例。这种变革的背后是深层价值选择,是正义和功利之间的博弈引领美国反恐怖立法和司法的走向,而尊严价值的勃兴为程序正义的重新抬头奠定了理念基础。我国刑事诉讼理念更新和立法完善应当引以为鉴,对恐怖犯罪作出合理的反应。在平衡理念之下,程序正义的内在价值决不能向打击犯罪的功利需求轻易低头。     

Criminal justice theory: A case of trained incapacity?

Theories are scientific tools which give meaning to the social and physical reality that scientists study. They also play a crucial role in generating and storing the information of a discipline. The academic field of criminal justice has a wealth of facts but a dearth of theory. As a result, this field is still only partially developed. This article is a call for greater attention to theory so that the analysis of the criminal justice system and its components can be more fruitful.A survey of 25 criminal justice textbooks published since 1975 shows that the analysis of criminal justice retains a facts-without-theory flavor. For criminal justice as an academic field of study to grow, theory must be integrated much more into criminal justice research and education than has been the case. The theoretical frameworks of such social theorists as Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, among others, are suggested as sources to draw upon to develop an integrated comprehensive theory of the criminal justice system.     

Agenda building in criminal justice: The case of determinate sentencing

An understanding of policy development, change and implementation is a necessary ingredient in analysis of criminal justice policy. This paper attempts to describe the process of policy formation in criminal justice within the framework, of “Agenda Building.” Through case studies of sentencing reform policy changes in two states, the applicability of the Agenda Building model to the study of criminal justice policy is demonstrated. The argument is advanced that, through the use of such approaches to the study of justice policy change, we will enhance our understanding of the diversity of specific policies and practices which can emerge from an apparently unified reform movement. Further, it is suggested that an enhanced understanding of policy development will allow reformers to better direct and control policy formulation.     

刑事诉讼价值目标的转换与推证--一种法理学思考

刑事诉讼价值目标是立法群体对刑事诉讼法及其实现活动的基本期望,是关于刑事诉讼法的绝对超越指向的一般要求.一国刑事诉讼价值目标应与其社会现实基础相互动.当前,我国刑事诉讼价值目标顺应社会的变迁,在立法层面上已经发生了一定程度的转换,由实体正义趋向现实正义.但要在立法层面和司法层面上完全实现现实正义,还有赖于我国社会的进一步发展,尤其是社会生产关系和生产方式的进化、社会大众刑事诉讼价值观的更新和刑事司法制度体系的完善.     

Greenland criminal justice: The adaptation of western law

The conflict which many indigenous peoples experience with Westernized systems of law has precipitated a search for alternative models of criminal justice. While the process of colonization has most often resulted in the destruction of traditional practices of social control, in Greenland an attempt was made to adapt Western law to the indigenous culture. The Greenlandic justice system has several unique attributes which have attracted the attention of indigenous peoples and governments worldwide. This article traces the origins, development and evolution of the Greenlandic Criminal Code and criminal justice system, the factors which influenced its development, and the extent to which the objectives of the architects of the systems have been met. The discussion provides key insights into the potential and limitations of adapting Western law to indigenous cultures.     

Where Do They Belong? Giving Victims a Place in the Criminal Justice Process

Historically, victims once had an active participatory role in the criminal justice process and were responsible for not only initiating but also for prosecuting offenders. In common law countries, victims were gradually sidelined and by the 20th century, their role was reduced to that of a witness to a crime against the state. The exclusion of victims from the criminal justice process is a major source of dissatisfaction for victims as many of them want to participate in the criminal justice process. This has fuelled initiatives with restorative justice that claim to more fully include victims than conventional criminal justice. This paper examines three different approaches found in the literature on how to let victims participate. One view is that victims should leave the criminal justice system and that criminal justice should be replaced by alternative, restorative justice schemes in which victims are granted full recognition and respect for their dignity. A second approach is to integrate restorative practices such as victim-offender mediation in the criminal justice process. The third approach is to integrate victim participation and respect (so-called restorative values) in the criminal justice system. These three approaches are discussed and compared with one another. The paper closes with recommendations for criminal law reform.     

Reports of our death are greatly exaggerated: A study of criminal justice academic program survival in Alabama

It has been suggested that the reduction of and eventual termination of LEEP funds for the education of inservice justice system employees would lead to a reduction in the size of criminal justice academic programs with attendant termination of many programs. However, academic programs are rarely terminated and tend to develop their own constituencies. This study examined the survivability of criminal justice academic programs in Alabama and found that while there may have been a reduction in size at some point, the criminal justice programs continue to survive, are experiencing growth in student population, and have longterm plans for program development.