NCJ Number
86090
Date Published
1981
Length
87 pages
Annotation
This study focuses on the productivity of the New York State criminal justice system through examination of the costs involved in arresting and prosecuting three robbery cases in Manhattan.
Abstract
Data upon which the analysis was based were supplied by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. In the first case, the issue was disposed of at criminal court arraignment with Legal Aid Society representation. In the second case, the defendant took a felony plea in Manhattan Supreme Court, was in pretrial detention, and had a Legal Aid Society attorney. In the third case, the defendant went to felony trial in Manhattan Supreme Court, was in pretrial detention between arraignment and disposition, and was represented by a Legal Aid Society attorney. Cost differentials and cost shifts formed the basis of analysis, and the facts of the cases were described. Analysis revealed that the total cost to the agencies involved, including the criminal courts, supreme court, district attorney's office, Legal Aid Society, and the departments of correction and probation, was $851.08 for case one, $6,664.81 for case two, and $32,627.42 for case three. The findings demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between severity of sentence and elapsed time to disposition to the total cost to the criminal justice system. Data support the view that plea bargaining is an important resource allocation technique whereby prosecutors and the court can secure a 100-percent assurance of conviction while saving scarce trial resources for defendants who are unwilling to plead guilty. Tables and footnotes are provided, and worksheets are appended.