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CHAPTER 7
VICTIMS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM:
COOPERATION AND CONFLICT PART II:
PROSECUTORS, DEFENSE ATTORNEYS, JUDGES,
AND CORRECTIONS OFFICIALS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completing this chapter the student should be able:
1. To recognize the various ways that prosecutors can serve victims who are their clients.
2. To realize how conflicts can arise between victims and the lawyers assigned by the
government to represent them in court proceedings.
3. To better understand the complexities of the witness intimidation problem.
4. To appreciate how victims and defense attorneys might become embroiled in conflicts.
5. To discover how judges make crucial decisions affecting victims.
6. To become familiar with the many Supreme Court decisions that affect how victims are
handled during legal proceedings.
7. To explore how jurors might react to victims and their plight.
8. To realize how corrections officials make decisions that either help or hurt victims.
9. To become alert to the problem that all victims were not treated equally in the criminal
justice process in the past, and the possibility that differential handling probably still occurs.
KEY TERMS
district attorneys courtroom work group
assistant district attorneys disposed of
plea negotiation going rate
consideration sentence disparity
plea bargain allocution
cop a plea victim impact statements
bedsheeting pre-sentence investigation report (PSIR)
overcharging bifurcated capital trials
Instructor’s Manual
CHAPTER OUTLINE
VICTIMS AND PROSECUTORS
Assisting Victims and Other Witnesses for the State
Protecting Victims Who Serve as Witnesses for the Prosecution
Dismissing Charges and Rejecting Cases
Negotiating Pleas
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Prosecutors are the chief law enforcement officers in their jurisdictions. They represent
the interests of the county, state, or federal government. Their offices also supply the lawyers
that deal directly with victims. Therefore, prosecutors’ offices can be viewed as public law firms
offering free legal services to complainants who are willing to cooperate and testify as witnesses.
To a great extent, victims are on the “same side” as the government; prosecutors and victims
therefore are natural allies who ought to cooperate with each other.
However, county prosecutors, usually referred to as district attorneys, are elected
officials. Besides wanting to do what is best for victims, they are also concerned about their own
careers and political futures, the well-being of their agencies, and the general good of the entire
community and society. Attending to these other concerns can cause conflict between
prosecutors and victims.
82
Chapter 7: Victims and the Criminal Justice System
Part II: Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Judges,
and Corrections Officials
The ways in which an Assistant District Attorney (ADA) can serve the victim are
numerous. He can seek the victim’s input when deciding which charges to file. He can keep the
victim informed about the status of the case as it moves through the process. He can represent
the victim’s wishes to the judge, for consideration when deciding on bail, motions, restitution,
and the like. The ADA can use the resources and power at his disposal to protect the victim and
witnesses against retaliation from the defendant. The ADA can also aid in retrieving property for
the victim.
The difficulties, inconveniences, and frustrations faced by victims serving as witnesses
for the prosecution have been well known for decades. Chief among them is negotiating pleas.
The vast majority of cases carried forward are resolved through out-of-court settlements known
as plea negotiations. A plea negotiation refers to the process in which the ADA and the defense
counsel meet in private to hammer out a compromise without having to hold a public trial. The
typical outcome of the “bargaining” is the defendant agrees to confess in return for some
consideration from the government. The concession the state agrees to could be dropping certain
charges or the dismissal of particular counts. Often consideration is a promise or
recommendation about a lesser punishment, such as a suspended sentence, probation, a fine, or
incarceration for an agreed-upon period of time below the maximum permitted by law. Ninety-
seven percent of all convictions are secured by the accused admitting guilt (in the seventy-five
busiest urban counties, 2004).
Victims and defense attorneys are on opposite sides and therefore are natural enemies
within the adversary system. Whether hired privately for a fee or provided free of charge to
indigents, these lawyers have a duty to advise suspects, defendants, and convicts about their best
interests, the risks they face, and the options they can exercise. Defense lawyers have an
obligation to zealously represent their client’s best interests, which usually translates, if not into
getting entirely out of trouble with the law, at least into being sentenced to less than the
maximum punishment.
The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees accused persons the right to a
speedy trial. Hence, problems of congested court calendars and needless delays usually have
been approached from the defendant’s standpoint. Many states and the federal government have
set limits on the amount of time that can elapse from arrest to trial. Victims suffer from the
uncertainty that envelopes unresolved cases and share a common interest with defendants in
having legal matters settled in as short a time as possible.
When victims are not worn down through stalling techniques, defense attorneys might try
to discredit them on the stand at trial so the jury won’t give much weight to their testimony.
Trials are relatively rare events. Most victims will never be called upon to testify and undergo
cross-examination. Since the outcomes of trials are uncertain and involve risks, attorneys for
both sides usually prefer to strike a deal out of court. Atatistically speaking, most trials are
successful from the point of view of victims and prosecutors: defendants usually are found
guilty.
The percentage of all criminal indictments that result in trials varies according to two
factors: the jurisdiction and the nature of the charges. Some prosecutors are more willing to put
defendants on trial than others. Serious felonies such as murder, rape, aggravated assault, and
robbery go to trial more often than cases involving lesser crimes such as burglary or auto theft.
81
Instructor’s Manual
Rape complainants are the most likely to be subjected to hostile cross-examination by defense
attorneys. About five percent of all rape cases are resolved through trials with the help of the
complainant’s testimony.
Judges are supposed to act as referees within the adversary system. Defendants often
consider them to be partisans representing the state and favoring prosecution. Angry victims,
however, frequently see judges as guardians of the rights of the accused rather than protectors of
injured parties. Victims who have been mistreated by the offender, the police, the prosecutor,
and the defense attorney expect the judge will finally accord them the justice they seek.
Conflicts between victims and judges can erupt over bail decisions, admissibility of evidence,
and sentencing.
Victims can express their wishes concerning the offender’s sentencing in two ways:
either by conveying their requests to judges in writing or by expressing their views orally in
person (allocution) at sentencing hearings. Written victim impact statements (VIS) enable
judges to learn about the actual physical, emotional, and financial effects of the offense on the
injured parties and their families. Questionnaires ask (under the threat of penalties for perjury)
about any wounds, medical bills, counseling costs, other expenses, insurance reimbursements,
and lifestyle changes resulting from the crime. Statements of opinion ask victims what they
would consider to be fair and just. In most jurisdictions, the victim impact statement is
incorporated into the pre-sentence investigation report (PSIR) prepared by a probation officer.
Corrections officials include jail and prison wardens and guards, and probation and
parole officers. Victims whose cases led to successful prosecutions seek the cooperation of these
corrections professionals but may find themselves in conflict over issues of safety and money.
Corrections officials can serve victims by keeping them safe from the convicted offender, by
collecting any restitution payments that may have been ordered, and by allowing victim input
during parole hearings.
MEDIA SUGGESTIONS
Brubaker
A reformer tries to clean up an abusive, corrupt prison
A Time to Kill
The Accused
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How might victims be treated better throughout the court process?
2. Review the U.S. Supreme Court cases in this chapter. Did you agree with how the court
decided in each case? Why or why not?
82
Chapter 7: Victims and the Criminal Justice System
Part II: Prosecutors, Defense Attorneys, Judges,
and Corrections Officials
3. Is there a group of victims who do not deserve red carpet or VIP treatment by prosecutors?
What separates this group from other groups of victims to you?
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
1. Compare a rural, suburban, and inner city prosecutor’s websites. Compare the amount,
quality, and variations of victim services provided. Write a paper on your findings.
2. Interview a prosecutor, defense attorney, and judge regarding the role of crime victims in
the court process. Prepare a survey with five questions particular to the involvement of
crime victims in court. Analyze the differences between roles in responses. What did you
find out?
3. Critique a scholarly journal article on the victim’s perceptions of the court process. Be
sure to provide a link or a copy of the article with your critique.
4. Spend a day watching court. Take field notes on your observations. Be sure to
specifically watch whether certain victims receive better treatment than others. Note any
patterns in behaviors of the courtroom workgroup you found.
83
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Abb. 105. Puppen aus Wachs. ¹⁄₁. Chané. Rio
Parapiti.
Alltagskleidung.
In den Dörfern, wo der Einfluß der Weißen nicht die alten
Trachten verdrängt hat, tragen die Chané- und Chiriguanofrauen ein
sackförmiges Kleidungsstück, „tiru“ (Abb. 106). Dieses kann, wie aus
den Photographien ersichtlich, auf verschiedene Weise getragen
werden. Früher scheint der Tiru nicht die jetzige Form gehabt zu
haben. Viedma[72] sagt, die Chiriguanofrauen hatten nur ein Stück
Zeug um die Hüften. Sicher hat sich die Tracht unter dem Einfluß der
„moralischen“ Christen so entwickelt, daß sie „anständiger“
geworden ist.
Abb. 106. Chanéfrau von Rio Parapiti, in „Tiru“
gekleidet.
Von einheimischen Schmucksachen sieht man Halsketten aus
Türkis- und Chrysocolperlen und aus schwarzen Körnern.
Nach eigenen Angaben finden die Indianer die Steinperlen in der
Erde, wo alte Wohnplätze und Gräber sind. Die Mestizen im Tarijatal,
die in ihren Feldern eine große Menge dieser Perlen finden,
verkaufen sie den Chiriguanos und Chanés zu hohen Preisen.
Früher wurde eine Halskette aus diesen Perlen mit einem Pferd
bezahlt.
Das Haar tragen die Chané- und Chiriguanofrauen halblang,
mitten auf der Stirn gescheitelt und manchmal im Nacken oder auf
dem Kopf mit einem Band zusammengebunden.
Reinlichkeit.
Die Chanés und Chiriguanos sind sehr reinlich. Sie beginnen, wie
schon erwähnt, den Morgen mit einem Bad, und baden dann oft
mehrmals im Laufe des Tages. Diese Reinlichkeit ist bei Stämmen,
die oft in Gegenden wohnen, wo, wie z. B. im Chipipendital, großer
Wassermangel herrscht, merkwürdig. In der Trockenzeit können sie
dort niemals ein Bad nehmen, wenigstens die Frauen waschen aber
ihren Körper jeden Morgen gründlich ab.
Der Gegensatz, der sich hier in dem Reinlichkeitseifer der
verschiedenen Stämme zeigt, läßt sich, meiner Ansicht nach, durch
ihre Wanderungen erklären. Die Chorotis, Ashluslays und Matacos,
welche sich noch teilweise in Pelzmäntel kleiden, scheinen mir, wie
die Feuerländer und Patagonier, aus den kalten Pampas im Süden,
wo ein Waschen höchst unangenehm war, nach dem Chaco
eingewandert zu sein, während die Chiriguanos und Chanés vom
Norden, aus den feuchtwarmen Urwäldern, von den großen Flüssen
kommen, wo das Baden immer schön und erfrischend war. Nun, wo
sie unter denselben klimatischen Verhältnissen leben, haben die
ersteren ihren Schmutz, die letzteren ihre Reinlichkeit bewahrt.
Abb. 109. Kämme zum Kämmen des Haares, nicht zur Befestigung in dasselbe.
A. von den Chanés. B, C, D von den Chiriguanos.
Im Thurn[73] berichtet, daß die Indianer in Guayana sofort nach
dem Essen baden, ohne daß ihnen dies schlecht bekommt.
Dasselbe habe ich hier oft beobachtet.
Den Kopf schampunieren die Chiriguanos und verschiedene
Chanés mit den Samen von „nyantéra“, die sie mahlen. Zu
demselben Zweck benutzen die Chanés am Rio Parapiti die Rinde
des Mistol, „yúag“. Auch die Nägel, und nicht zum wenigsten die
Zehennägel, werden sauber gepflegt. Zum Kämmen wenden sie in
Holz geschnittene oder aus Rohrstäbchen zusammengebundene
Kämme an.
Ihre Bedürfnisse verrichten die Chanés und Chiriguanos niemals
ganz nahe den Hütten. Besondere Abtritte habe ich aber niemals bei
irgend welchen Indianern, und auch nicht bei vielen Weißen in
Bolivia, gesehen.
Die Chanés und Chiriguanos gehen mit ihren Kleidern sehr
sorgfältig um. Sie halten sie rein und flicken sie, wenn es nötig ist.
Jedes Geschlecht wäscht und flickt seine Sachen selbst. Der Mann
näht hier vollkommen ebenso gut wie die Frau.
Ich habe hier von dem Alltagsleben bei diesen Indianern
gesprochen. Nun will ich die wichtigsten Ereignisse in ihrem Leben,
in ihrem Gemeinwesen, ihre Feste, ihre Industrie usw. schildern, um
zuletzt zu ihren Sagen und ihrer Religion überzugehen.
Chiriguanoindianer (Forts.).