What's Changing in Prosecution? Report of a Workshop (2001) / Chapter Skim
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3 What's Changing in Prosecution?
3 What's Changing in Prosecution?
Pages 12-21
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From page 12... ...
These changes, seemingly superficial, nevertheless can have a large impact on the efficiency, effectiveness, and broader social impact of prosecution practices, especially an influence on safety and the evolution of community norms. NEW TOOLS AND THE GROWING ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Workshop participants noted that scientific and technological advances appear to have had the greatest impact on how the work of prosecution is performed and managed.
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From page 13... ...
It frequently enables prosecutors to conclusively establish the guilt of a defendant, particularly in sexual assault and homicide cases, where an offender is most likely to leave his genetic signature, in the form of skin, hair, or bodily fluids, at the crime scene (National Institute of Justice, 19991. Moreover, DNA evidence is even more likely to exonerate a wrongly accused suspect than to identify a guilty one.
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From page 14... ...
Social science research can improve the human interface with the technical capabilities of DNA profiling by developing information on the kinds and number of cases where the use of DNA evidence benefits the prosecution or the defense. It is also important to document the nontechnical reasons for success or failure, for example, by tying procedures to collect and preserve DNA evidence to case outcomes.
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From page 15... ...
POLITICAL ADVOCACY: THE CASE OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE In the early 1980s, victim advocacy organizations brought new attention to the problem of family violence, especially partner assault and homicide. Their political activism, together with a number of successful lawsuits against the police, and more recently, the availability of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal assistance, convinced many local and federal prosecutors' offices to develop special units to handle family violence complaints.
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From page 16... ...
Technology the videotaping of injuries and of initial police interviews with victims, and the ability to quickly retrieve computerized records of prior complaints and protective orders facilitates the building of evidence, obviating the need for victim testimony. Some workshop participants saw these practices as a fundamental change because of their clear criminalization of behaviors that were once treated as civil matters.
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From page 17... ...
Prosecutors tend to use aggressive prosecution strategies against these offender groups. Youth gang and career offender units frequently use offender profiles that examine criminal histories and offense methods when making judgements about what strategy to pursue in a particular case (for example, see Gramckow and Tompkins, 1999, on the Serious Habitual Offender Comprehensive Action Program)
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From page 18... ...
substantial punitive judgements in civil cases, the concept of the punitive civil sanction has been repeatedly affirmed, and a new jurisprudential area, called the "middle ground" by Mann, is being recognized. Middle ground sanctions include any form of legal process that combines elements of both criminal and civil law, for example, punitive sanctions in civil procedural settings, and remedial sanctions in criminal procedural settings.]
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From page 19... ...
Civil forfeiture is easy to use and offers procedural advantages to the seizing authorities. In recent years, it has raised substantial revenues for law enforcement agencies investigating drug cases in cooperation with federal prosecutors.
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From page 20... ...
While it is clear that forfeiture laws have been a financial boon to many law enforcement agencies, their efficacy in reducing or deterring crime has not been measured. Civil Abatement Procedures The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has been a pioneer in the use of civil abatement procedures to close down illegal drug businesses operating out of privately leased residences within the city.
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From page 21... ...
There is a lack of evaluation on civil abatement programs, as well as other uses of civil law to address crime problems. More research on civil punitive sanctions and their impact on different crime types, offender types, and community/neighborhood settings might lead to increased understanding of how these sanctions can best be used to prevent and control certain crime problems.
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