Court Issues and Practices

Chpt 9

	Managing case loads
	Managing high profile cases
	Court involvement in health issues
	Gender bias in the courts

Managing case loads

DRUG COURTS

• Case backlog in large due to drug related cases
• Creation of specialized drug courts to handle problem
• Best known: Miami Diversion and Treatment Program
  since 1989. Processes 80 cases per day-initial costs higher than prosecution

Three phases to program:

• Detoxification
• Stabilization
• Aftercare

Overall cost per offender per year: same as for jailing the
offender 9 days.

11% re-arrested in Dade County on any criminal charge during
year following program completion

Check out this DOJ document for additional
information on drug courts.

DELAYS:

Primarily due to drug war and resulting increases in drug arrests

QUESTION:
Which is the more plausible explanation for more drug arrests?

• More drug offenders?
• More resources focused on detection/investigation and arrest?

Consequences of Delay

• pretrial confinement may influence/pressure defendant to plead guilty
• defendant has better chance at bargaining for lesser charges/penalties
• jail overcrowding
• Mockery of "speedy trial" provision in Bill of Rights

SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS to court delays and case backlogs:

• Speedy trial statutes (federal system-100 days
• Six member juries
• Limits on criminal appeals
  

Look at the website of the Fresno County Superior Court

Cameron County, Texas, Signs $3.7 Million Contract for Courts Software

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR COURT TECHNOLOGY

Judiciary Makes the Most of Resources Now—and For The Millennium

COURT ROOM TECHNOLOGY IN THE United States Court, OHIO N.D.

NEW JERSEY COURT SYSTEM SAVES TIME AND MONEY WITH STATE-WIDE VIDEOCONFERENCING TECHNOLOGY

CENTER FOR DEMOGRACY AND TECHNOLOGY

TRADE-OFF- greater efficiency vs. serving justice
(crime control model vs. due process model)

TWO METHODS FOR SCHEDULING CASES:

• Individual calendar system (arraignment through trial by same judge)
  Problem: Difficulties in judging speed of each case-outcome of plea
  bargaining
• Master Calendar System(judges specialize in a particular stage of
  the case. Judges can become more efficient, also can be assigned based
  on what they can do best.
  Problem: uneven workload distribution

Master Calendar System most often used by metropolitan and state courts-

NOTE: Courts which have switched from Master calendar to
Individual Calendar system experienced significant reductions
in delays.

Managing high profile cases

O.J. Simpson...Mike Tyson... William Kennedy Smith...Oliver North...
Marion Barry... Manuel Noriega... Officers in Rodney King case... Robert Blake...Michael Jackson, etc.

ISSUES:

• Selection of judge (experience, legal skills, reputation, health,
  bearing, fair etc.
• Extensive planning-contingency plans (security, space, transportation,
  facilities, access controls, etc.
• Continuation of other cases
• Communication with media (top priority)

THE THIRTEENTH JUROR: MEDIA COVERAGE OF SUPERSIZED TRIALS

Court involvement in health issues

HEALTH RELATED LITIGATION

• Technically complex
• Unique situations
• Emergency conditions

Related problem:

Increased use of scientific testimony

• Ability of jury to understand testimony and scientific data
• Judicial lack of understanding of the nature of the evidence
• Credibility and quality of scientific testimony

FEDERAL JUDGE: "an expert can be found to testify to the truth
of almost any factual theory, no matter how frivolous."

SOLUTION:

• Court appointed expert witness
  80% of judges believe it to be useful
• TRAINING FOR JUDGES ON SCIENTIFIC METHODS
• Crash courses for jurors, use of juror notebooks

Studies have shown-decisions by judges/jurors based on wide range of issues-
some not rational or even supported by the evidence.

INTERPRETERS IN COURTROOM:

• Public Law-federal court Interpreters Act
• Similar actions at state level
• 96.6% of interpreter use-Spanish
• Increase in appeals challenging accuracy of translation/interpreting

Gender Bias in Courts

• Juvenile females held in detention longer than males, lesser
  use of community programs
• Battered women issues not dealt with seriously
• Some data suggest tendency of classifying rape of females as
  being "victim precipitated."
• Nature of Child support/alimony awards resulted in poverty
  for women/children

Other issues:

• Degree of credibility given to females
  (attorneys, judges, victims, witnesses)
• View that female jurors decide differently
  from males in certain cases.

Read more about Gender Bias in the Courts

REFERENCES EXAMINING ASSAULTS BY WOMEN ON THEIR SPOUSES OR MALE PARTNERS: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Important Concepts/Information:

Four major issues regarding the courts were discussed in class (be able to identify them)

The most plausible cause of the high rate of drug convictions is greater emphasis on drug enforcement

The large number of drug cases is the primary cause of backlogs and delays in court cases

Drug courts are not clearly successful in meeting their objectives

A delay in criminal trials can benefit both the defendant AND the prosecution

The speedy trial act or similar statutes have a limited impact in major cases

Twelve member juries are not a constitutional requirement in most cases

The court calender system used in large metropolitan areas is the least efficient system

Court appointment of expert witnesses, while more useful, is not likely to be favored by attorneys

Gender bias in the courts against females is diminishing with more females in the legal profession