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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 4 December 2017

Jennifer Cossyleon, John Orwat, Christine George, Don Stemen and Whitney Key

The Cook County State Attorneys’ Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP) is a pre-trial diversionary program that accepts first-time, non-violent defendants charged with a felony…

Abstract

Purpose

The Cook County State Attorneys’ Deferred Prosecution Program (DPP) is a pre-trial diversionary program that accepts first-time, non-violent defendants charged with a felony crime. The purpose of this paper is to document the development, implementation, and program patterns of the DPP to better understand the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional criminal prosecution.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach to evaluating Cook County’s DPP is primarily qualitative. Through interviews with program administrators and current and former participants, the authors document the process of creating and implementing such DPP that aims to avoid a felony conviction altogether. The authors provide program participant patterns to shed light on the program’s scope and reach in diverting defendants from traditional felony prosecution.

Findings

Using data from staff, administrators, and program participants, the authors found that the DPP was developed and implemented through supportive leadership who instilled a culture of collaboration and buy-in. Expanding the program could include increasing the capacity of DPP to include additional participants or having a DPP incorporated into each branch court, instead of the centralized system under which it currently operates. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent defendants.

Practical implications

DPPs are cost effective and can be easily implemented within existing systems. Collaboration and buy-in from all stakeholders are crucial to the program’s success. DPP offers opportunities for expansion. Increasing the capacity and scope of the program could both further decrease criminal court caseloads and most importantly avoid a higher number of stigmatizing felony convictions for first-time non-violent felony defendants.

Originality/value

The main goals of DPP were two-fold. The first was to minimize the level of resources allocated for non-violent offenders in the criminal justice system by diverting such defendants out of the criminal justice system early in the process and reducing the recidivism rates of program participants. The second aimed to provide an option for eligible defendants to avoid a felony conviction, thereby avoiding the collateral consequences associating with a felony conviction.

Details

Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 3 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-3841

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 31 January 2020

Marilú Pereira Castro and Tomas Aquino Guimaraes

The purpose of this paper is to identify dimensions that can influence the innovation process in justice organizations.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify dimensions that can influence the innovation process in justice organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a qualitative approach. Data were collected through a semi-structured interview script. In all, 23 in-depth interviews were undertaken with lawyers, public defenders, judges, prosecutors and public officials from the five regions of Brazil. These data were analyzed using content analysis techniques.

Findings

The perceptions of the interviewees show that the process of innovation in justice organizations can be influenced by five dimensions: Institutional Environment (institutional level), Leadership (organizational level), Organizational Resources (organizational level), Cooperative Relations (interorganizational level) and Innovative Behavior (individual level). These dimensions may promote or restrict innovation.

Originality/value

The results indicate that there are growing efforts to introduce innovations designed to improve the performance and service delivery of justice organizations. However, there is resistance to innovation because these organizations are highly institutionalized and consequently seek stability and absence of change.

Details

Innovation & Management Review, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2515-8961

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 March 2011

Anton Yanagisawa

The purpose of this paper is to raise concern and discussion about poverty. This paper explores the difficulties of defining poverty and its origins.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to raise concern and discussion about poverty. This paper explores the difficulties of defining poverty and its origins.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper utilizes research from psychological and sociological literature to analyze differing schools of thought regarding poverty. A macro‐level perspective of poverty is defined and compared to a micro‐level perspective of poverty. The lack of conformity concerning these opposing schools of thought often impedes the development of solutions for poverty.

Findings

What society believes to be true about poverty will influence how society treats poverty. Some solutions to poverty may only perpetuate the problems of the impoverished depending on how poverty is operationally defined and its origins understood. Literary research is used to support a hypothesis that poverty exists in function to society to insure a readily available, low wage, labor force.

Social implications

The provided information regarding the impact of poverty on society and the individual could aid in the development of government and corporate solutions. Solutions for poverty could be enhanced and employed more accurately by examining the viewpoint of this author.

Originality/value

This paper is of importance for mental health practitioners, corporations, and government branches interested in treating the social effects of poverty.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 38 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2022

Hasan Yousef Aljuhmani, Bashar Ababneh, Lawrence Emeagwali and Hamzah Elrehail

Although prior researchers have consistently established a significant relationship between different strategic stances and organizational performances across different research…

Abstract

Purpose

Although prior researchers have consistently established a significant relationship between different strategic stances and organizational performances across different research contexts, the mechanisms underlying this link remain unclear. This study attempts to fill this gap in the literature by testing the mediating effect of the use of strategic performance measurement systems (SPMS) on the relationship between strategic stances (prospector, defender, and reactor) and organizational performance in the public sector.

Design/methodology/approach

This research is based on data collected by surveying 224 managers at public organizations in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and conducts an analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings

The study findings show that prospector strategy is positively associated with organizational performance through the use of SPMS. The reactor strategy was negatively related to organizational performance through the use of SPMS. The defender strategy shows mixed results in terms of its effect on the use of SPMS and organizational performance.

Research limitations/implications

The results obtained here provide strong evidence of the vitality of the use of SPMS for efficiency and effectiveness as a mediator between prospector strategy and organizational performance. To extend this position, future researchers could incorporate other contingent variables, such as structural autonomy, or use experimental design methods during economic austerity in the aftermath of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic.

Originality/value

This study represents an attempt to address public administration literature' general calls for grounded research that spells out to practitioners how different strategic stances are likely to affect the use of SPMS to achieve organizational performance levels in the public sector. The present study extends the public administration literature by examining the unexplored linkage of the use of SPMS through which strategic stances influence organizational performance in major public sector organizations.

Details

Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1757-4323

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 July 2017

Jerrod Brown, Janina Cich and Jay Singh

Persons diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system than general population controls. Although…

Abstract

Purpose

Persons diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are more likely to come into contact with the criminal justice system than general population controls. Although previous survey evidence has suggested that federal district attorneys are limited in their knowledge of the psycholegal impairments presented by defendants with this condition, such research has yet to have been conducted with state-specific public defenders. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The Dillman Total Design Method was used to disseminate an electronic survey to public defenders in Minnesota. The survey included questions designed to measure their knowledge bases on and legal experiences with FASD. Surveys were completed by 135 respondents (nMen=63; nWomen=72) with an average of 16.22 years (SD=11.34) of legal experience.

Findings

Respondents varied in their knowledge bases on the cognitive impairments, social deficits, and physical complications characteristic of FASD. Less than 20 percent of respondents reported having received training on the psycholegal impairments experienced by individuals diagnosed with FASD from arrest until the start of adjudication, during adjudication, or during incarceration. Over 95 percent of respondents reported that they could benefit from a Continuing Legal Education course on the psycholegal impairments of individuals diagnosed with FASD, and over 90 percent reported that they could benefit from being provided the findings of a screening tool for FASD in their daily practice.

Originality/value

First survey of state public defenders’ perceptions of FASD.

Details

Advances in Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1282

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 June 2021

Bernardo Oliveira Buta

In most Latin American countries, the provision of legal assistance to the vulnerable population is carried out by public defender's offices (PDOs), agencies composed of…

Abstract

Purpose

In most Latin American countries, the provision of legal assistance to the vulnerable population is carried out by public defender's offices (PDOs), agencies composed of state-paid career lawyers. The aim of this paper is to explain the cross-country variation in regarding the autonomy levels of Latin American PDOs.

Design/methodology/approach

A scale to measure autonomy was built allowing access to the autonomy of sixteen different PDOs. Data were gathered through content analysis of the statutes that organize the PDOs and analyzed through qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).

Findings

The results demonstrate different levels of autonomy among Latin American PDOs. Furthermore, conditions related to institutional and social contexts, such as levels of income, human development, democracy, and the complexity of the political systems, presented sufficient relationships for high levels of autonomy.

Research limitations/implications

It was not possible to interview representatives of the PDOs analyzed. This could help the interpretation of the legislation applied to PDOs, as well as the observation of regulations that may not have come to the knowledge of researchers. Thus, analyses were made according to what was observed in the legislation of each country. It is also noteworthy that this research covered only nationwide PDOs, not involving subnational PDOs. In addition, the data have only internal validity, and cannot be extrapolated to the population.

Practical implications

The creation of a scale to measure the autonomy of public agencies stands out as an original comparative data set of PDOs covering a large amount of Latin American countries.

Social implications

This study was able to characterize the institutional arrangements of sixteen national PDOs, allowing broad comparison between legal aid agencies for the vulnerable population in a region of the world that still suffers from high levels of poverty.

Originality/value

The article presents possible explanations on the variations of PDOs' level of autonomy, showing PDOs' idiosyncrasies, whose autonomy is influenced also by social context variables, in view of the nature of their mission. It should be noted that factors related to the social context are not widely considered by the literature on autonomy of public agencies.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 April 2022

Fernanda Rodrigues de Siqueira, Carlos André da Silva Müller and Osmar Siena

This research aimed to analyze how information on public policies to mitigate the judicialization of the SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System) have been disseminated via digital…

Abstract

Purpose

This research aimed to analyze how information on public policies to mitigate the judicialization of the SUS (Brazilian Unified Health System) have been disseminated via digital media to citizens and stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Under a qualitative and inductive paradigm, the research was based on the search for news on the Google pages. Data were grouped into higher categories to formalize theoretical generalizations.

Findings

Data analysis showed that there are news classified into 11 codes, forming three news groups broadcast as an effort by the programs to legitimize themselves with society: Perceived Quality, Publicity Produced and Results Achieved.

Research limitations/implications

The relationship between the effectiveness of public policies and their dissemination in digital media has implications for the result/legitimacy relationship, not excluding that public marketing can make a program legitimate without having results that confirm its effectiveness.

Social implications

The work provides a means of understanding the dissemination of public policies, in particular, verifying whether these are being provided in order to establish responsible and transparent communication with the citizen or to legitimize public policies without effective results.

Originality/value

The proposed conceptual model is based on four quadrants and represents the relationship between the results achieved by public policies and legitimacy, considering a phenomenon resulting from public marketing. The association between the intensity of these constructs constitutes four themes: fake public marketing, inefficient public policy, deficient public marketing and full public policy.

Details

Revista de Gestão, vol. 29 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1809-2276

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1989

Robert C. Hauhart

The legal profession has continued to receive a substantial share of media coverage and publicity over the last several years, much of it directed at the increase in numbers of…

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Abstract

The legal profession has continued to receive a substantial share of media coverage and publicity over the last several years, much of it directed at the increase in numbers of law graduates and the often highly publicised starting salaries of recent law graduates at prestigious New York City law firms. Recent estimates indicate that there are now in excess of 650,000 attorneys working in the United States. The New York Bar Journal reported in its April, 1987 issue at page 56 that 36,829 law students graduated from American Bar Association accredited law schools in 1985. The report was based upon a study by the National Association for Law Placement. The study confirmed that the great majority of law graduates, 60.2% in 1985, would join private firms (at an average starting salary of $29,224).

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 9 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Article
Publication date: 8 May 2017

Verl Anderson and Riki Ichiho

The current criminal justice system is pledged to serve and protect society while preserving the rights of those who are accused. The purpose of this paper is to explore the…

Abstract

Purpose

The current criminal justice system is pledged to serve and protect society while preserving the rights of those who are accused. The purpose of this paper is to explore the premise of “innocent until proven guilty” and examine whether this assumption truly prevails under the current criminal justice system, or be modified to accommodate a sliding continuum of virtuosity.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a conceptual paper which relies heavily on the current literature about criminal justice and related ethical issues.

Findings

The paper argues that today’s criminal justice system fails to meet the standards of the virtuous continuum and that those who oversee that system need to rethink how the system operates and is perceived by the public if they wish the criminal justice system to be perceived as just, fair, and ethically responsible.

Research limitations/implications

Because this paper is a conceptual paper it does not present research hypotheses.

Practical implications

This paper suggests that “virtue” and “ethics” must be the foundation upon which the criminal justice system is evaluated, and criminal justice must incorporate an ethical standard which is virtuous and fair to all parties and leaders who oversee that system must meet the standards suggested by the virtuous continuum.

Originality/value

This paper is among the first to identify the viewpoint of the virtuous perspective, moral perspective, amoral perspective, and immoral perspective in the criminal justice system.

Details

International Journal of Public Leadership, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-4929

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 July 2011

Hans Hansen

The purpose of this paper is to introduce narrative construction, a method by which participants produce a narrative to make sense of their organizational context, as well as…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce narrative construction, a method by which participants produce a narrative to make sense of their organizational context, as well as strategically guide action and decision making. While narrative theory has long‐held that people construct narratives to make sense of, and guide, their experience, narrative construction here entails a deliberate and strategic approach to narrative theory.

Design/methodology/approach

This is part of an ethnonarrative approach that includes both a constructionist and interpretive narrative and ethnographic methodology.

Findings

Narrative construction has research implications for an ethnomethodology of social construction and empirical observation of narrative enactment. There are practical implications for enabling change and building highly‐coordinated organizations.

Originality/value

Narrative construction offers a new qualitative methodology and extends ethnonarrative research. The research setting, a death penalty defense team, is also unique. It also moves narrative theory beyond an interpretive device to a constructionist strategy.

Details

Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 24 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0953-4814

Keywords

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