Courts

Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: Courts and Case Processing Why Study Courts? The Structure and Jurisdiction of U.S. Courts Courtroom Actors Court Process Decision Making Overview of the Book, Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources SECTION ONE: OVERVIEW OF COURTS Introduction Conflict: The Wellspring of the Modern Court How Courts Make Law The Role of the Courts in Criminal Justice Striking a Difficult Balance The Juvenile Court Summary: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on Courts Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources How to Read a Research Article Readings The Process Is the Punishment: Handling Cases in a Lower Criminal Court, by Malcolm M. Feeley The Honest Politician's Guide to Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century, by Barry C. Feld The Rehnquist Court and Criminal Justice: An Empirical Assessment, by Christopher E. Smith SECTION TWO: PROSECUTORS AND DEFENSE ATTORNEYS Introduction The Adversarial System Prosecutors Defense Attorneys Summary: Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Readings Prosecutorial Justifications for Sexual Assault Case Rejection: Guarding the "Gateway to Justice," by Cassia Spohn et al. Modeling Prosecutors' Charging Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases, by John L. Worrall et al. Prosecutorial Discretion in Seeking Death: An Analysis of Racial Disparity in the Pretrial Stages of Case Processing in a Midwestern County, by Jon Sorensen and Donald H. Wallace The Criminal Defense Lawyer: Zealous Advocate, Double Agent, or Beleaguered Dealer? by Rodney J. Uphoff Indigent Defenders Get the Job Done And Done Well, by Roger A. Hanson and Brian J. Ostrom Negotiating a Plea: Bargaining With the Devil, by Seymour Wishman SECTION THREE: JUDGES AND JURORS Introduction Judges and Jurors: Fact Finding and Applying the Law Judges Jurors and Jury Decision Making Summary: Judges and Jurors in the Courtroom Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Readings Women and Men Policymakers: Does the Judge's Gender Affect the Sentencing of Criminal Defendants? by Darrel Steffensmeier and Chris Hebert Judges and the Politics of Death: Deciding Between the Bill of Rights and the Next Election in Capital Cases, by Stephen B. Bright and Patrick J. Keenan Juror Decision Making in Hate Crime Cases, by Phyllis B. Gerstenfeld Gazing Into the Crystal Ball: Can Jurors Accurately Predict Dangerousness in Capital Cases? by James W. Marquart et al. Racially Based Jury Nullification: Black Power in the Criminal Justice System, by Paul Butler SECTION FOUR: PLEA BARGAINING AND TRIAL DYNAMICS Introduction The Court Process Plea Bargaining The Courtroom Workgroup: Cooperation Rather Than Conflict Media Influence in Criminal Trials Summary: Pleas and Trials Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Readings Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining in the United States, France, Germany, and Italy: A Comparative Perspective, by Yue Ma The Impact of Arizona's Mandatory Drug Treatment Law on Prosecutorial Plea Bargaining in Drug Cases, by Vincent J. Webb and Nancy Rodriguez It's Not the Old Ball Game: Three Strikes and the Courtroom Workgroup, by John C. Harris and Paul Jesilow Juvenile Justice Reform and the Courtroom Workgroup: Issues of Perception and Workload, by Erika Gebo et al. The Entertainment Value of a Trial: How Media Access to the Courtroom Is Changing the American Judicial Process, by Jeffrey S. Johnson SECTION FIVE: SENTENCING Introduction The Goals of Sentencing The Judge's Options at Sentencing How Do Judges Decide? Summary: Sentencing-An Inexact Science Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Readings The Brothel Boy, by Norval Morris Is Preferential Treatment of Female Offenders a Thing of the Past? A Multisite Study of Gender, Race, and Imprisonment by Cassia Spohn and Dawn Beichner The Interactive Effects of Victim Race and Gender on Death Sentence Disparity Findings, by Marian R. Williams and Jefferson E. Holcomb The Juvenile Penalty: A Comparison of Juvenile and Young Adult Sentencing Outcomes in Criminal Court, by Megan C. Kurlychek and Brian D. Johnson SECTION SIX: SPECIALIZED COURTS AND OTHER TRENDS IN ADJUDICATION Introduction Trendy Courts? The Specialized Court Movement Restorative Justice Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Summary: Specialized Courts Readings The Baltimore City Drug Treatment Court: One-Year Results From a Randomized Study, by Denise C. Gottfredson and M. Lyn Exum Combating Domestic Violence: Findings From an Evaluation of a Local Domestic Violence Court, by Angela R. Gover et al. A Therapeutic Jurisprudence Approach to the Trial Process in Domestic Violence Felony Trials, by Carolyn Copps Hartley Teen Court Referral, Sentencing, and Subsequent Recidivism: Two Proportional Hazards Models and a Little Speculation, by Andrew Rasmussen SECTION SEVEN: BEYOND CONVICTION AND SENTENCING Introduction What Happens Next? Underlying Concepts Appeals Habeas Corpus Considering Clemency Summary Key Terms, Discussion Questions, Web Resources Readings Appellate Court Supervisions in the Federal Judiciary: A Hierarchical Perspective, by Susan B. Haire et al. Measuring the Preferences of State Supreme Court Judges, by Paul Brace et al. The Federal Habeas Corpus Process: Unraveling the Issues, by Robert D. Pursley Who Has the Body? The Paths to Habeas Corpus Reform, by Cary Federman Identity, Strategy, and Feminist Politics: Clemency for Battered Women Who Kill, by Patricia Gagne Glossary References Index About the Authors