A status passage analysis of the defendant's progress through the Magistrates' Court

One possible solution to the problem of subjectivity in the interpretation of social phenomena is the application of models derived from formal grounded theory, since such models make explicit the writer's perspective and the assumptions he or she brings to the social situation. This article uses the Status Passage Theory of Glaser and Strauss (1971) to analyze systematically the way in which English Magistrates' Courts deal with defendants. It identifies various features in the courtroom and precourtroom processes and in the attitudes of the courtroom professionals that appear consistent with the view that the social degradation of offenders is an implicit, yet important, objective of these courts. Finally, comparisons are made between the lower criminal courts in England and the United States and tentative explanations offered as to why differences exist between social degradation aspects of the two systems.This article is an abridged and revised section of the author's LL.M. thesis. Many of the revisions are the result of helpful comments made by Tony Bottoms, Peter Moodie, and Barbara Harrel-Bond on the original thesis.     

Local planners — global constraints

A number of reports have been published over the past few years documenting the evidence of decline in the northeastern U.S.A. and the simultaneous migration of industry to the U.S. Sunbelt. (Academy for Contemporary Problems, 1977; Sale, 1975; Sternlieb and Hughes, 1975). In developing appropriate recommendations to planners, such studies invariably urge that localities or regions facing industrial out-migration arrest this activity by making themselves more suitable and attractive (Council for Northeast Economic Action [CNEA], 1977a) within the framework of a number of characteristic strategies. We propose to examine critically some of the traditional strategies recommended by these reports.