Questions: (Pick 4 out of the 5 for your exam presentation).
1. Both Cole and Bjerk discuss the role of discretion among prosecutors. Discuss the importance of discretion as they describe it. What implications might this have for the legitimacy of the court system (consider Tom Tyler’s reading)?
2. Blumberg describes a grim picture of the legal system as a con game. Rather than being adversarial as the U.S. court system was designed, court actors work together to complete their work quickly and efficiently. Compare this to what you read in Courtroom 302. Do you think the practice of law is a con game? Defend your position using the readings.
3. Without trial is it possible to describe the court system as legitimate (again, consider Tyler’s reading)? Does Galanter’s description of the court process fit more into Packer’s Crime Control Model or Due Process Model of criminal processing?
4. According to Gershowitz and Killinger what are the workloads of prosecutors like around the country? How might this impact prosecutors’ ability to do their jobs? What role might prosecutor workload play in ‘doing justice’ for defendants, victims, and the public?
5. Bogira paints a portrait of some of the more personal and nuanced day-to-day activities that go into courtroom behavior and decision making. Describe some of the often overlooked aspects of day-to-day court operations (i.e., judges background, public pressures, defense attorney and prosecutorial ambitions, etc.) and how they may affect court outcomes for defendants?
INSTRUCTION:
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Develop a PowerPoint presentation that covers the assigned questions.
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Make sure you are citing the relevant readings from this course.
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Ensure your slides are clear, concise, and visually engaging.
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You need to provide citations to support your claims. What studies/data support your claims? You should be integrating the three empirical studies from the course reading at a minimum into your response.
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Presentation skills – use bulleted points for key area you want to discuss and then elaborate on the points on your own. Make sure you cover each bullet.
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Responses are too vague. Need to demonstrate more depth of comprehension.
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You need to provide citations anytime you make an empirical claim on each slide
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PROVIDE MORE EXAMPLES
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USE ONLY CLASS READING TO SUPPORT YOUR ANSWERS
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Thorough and insightful coverage of all prompts with accurate information and comprehensive analysis. Demonstrates deep understanding of the topics.
Readings:
1.
Cole, G. F. (1970). The decision to prosecute. Law & Society Review, 4, 331-344.
2.
Bjerk, D. (2005). Making the crime fit the penalty: The role of prosecutorial discretion under mandatory minimum sentencing. The Journal of Law and Economics, 48(2), 591-625.
3.
Blumberg, A. S. (1967). The practice of law as confidence game-organizational cooptation of a profession. Law & Society Review, 1, 15-40.
4.
Bogira: Courtroom 302 (book)
5.
Galanter, M. (2004). The vanishing trial: An examination of trials and related matters in federal and state courts. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 1(3), 459-570.
6.
Gershowitz, A. M., & Killinger, L. R. (2011). The state (never) rests: How excessive prosecutorial caseloads harm criminal defendants. UL Rev., 105, 261.
7.
Mitchell, O., Wilson, D. B., Eggers, A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of drug courts on recidivism: A meta-analytic review of traditional and non-traditional drug courts. Journal of Criminal Justice, 40(1), 60-71.
