NCJ Number
179193
Journal
Dalhousie Review Volume: 76 Issue: 1 Dated: Spring 1996 Pages: 33-53
Date Published
1996
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the hidden and theatrical aspects of criminal justice and how these impact public perceptions of what criminal justice is and should be.
Abstract
Through the jury trials that draw the attention of the media and the public, the criminal justice system performs its theatrical and didactic functions. In this context, the public generally perceives that the criminal justice system is serious about ensuring due process, as an effort is made to select an impartial jury and ensure that every right of the defendant is protected through competent defense attorneys. On the other hand, the posturing and maneuvering of the attorneys give the observing public the impression that the trial is not about truth or justice, but is about lawyer's tricks, manipulation of the jury, and winning the trial game. There is another system of criminal justice, however; this is the real, working system of plea bargaining, compromise, and discretionary decisionmaking by criminal justice practitioners. This world is largely hidden from the public's view. Since this hidden world is the daily routine of the criminal justice system, the public rarely develops its opinions of criminal justice based on what actually occurs. This often means that the public perceptions of criminal justice that influence politicians in their decisions fail to address what is and is not actually happening in the criminal justice arena. 39 footnotes