Congress and criminal justice policy making: The impact of interest groups and symbolic politics

This article explores the congressional criminal justice policy-making process in the United States, using efforts toward federal criminal-code revision and capital punishment as case examples. It examines how interest groups and symbolic politics affect criminal justice policy and thereby attempts to enhance understanding of the political realities of criminal justice policy making. Based on the findings reported here, an approach to criminal justice policy making is recommended. This approach builds on the disjointed incremental model found in the political science literature and should facilitate criminal justice policy makers in becoming more effective participants in the legislative process.     

After the congressional veto: Assessing the alternatives

Congressional choice of effective replacements for the recently banned legislative veto will require an accurate understanding of the actual results of the now unconstitutional device. The impact of the veto varied strikingly depending on, among other things, the type and target of the veto and on the principal sites of review in Congress itself. No single mechanism will suffice. Rather a variety of devices are available and under consideration. The underlying question raised by this analysis is which effects of the veto are worth perpetuating in light of past results and stated congressional objectives.