- Email: [email protected]
Courts and criminal justice: Emerging issues
278
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
India,” further developing the socialization theme of the preceding chapter. Chapter twelve, “The Familial Transmission of Crime,” by D.P. Farrington et al.. is based on a search for criminal records of 394 young men (born 1951-54) residing in a working class area of London and those of their parents and siblings. Various explanations of the “familial propensity to crime” are discussed, including the importance of societal reactions and socialization factors. Part IV, Crime Against the Family, contains three chapters. Chapter thirteen, “Households Touched by Crime.” suggests that family income, place of residence, and race are important factors to consider in predicting victimization rates of crime against families. Chapter fourteen deals with victims of torture and their families, focusing on political refugees from Latin America who settled in Canada in the 1970s. Chapter fifteen presents a study of burglary victims in Toronto, including comparison of nonreporting patterns with data from the United States and a discussion of prevention strategies adopted by victims. A very detailed index completes the volume.
Courts and Criminal Justice: Issues (Perspectives in Criminal edited by Susette M. Talarico
Emerging Justice 9)
Sage Publications (275 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212), 198.5, 175 pp., hardcover-$22.00, softcover-$10.95. The eight chapters in this anthology are grouped around four major themes, with a brief introduction to each section by the editor. In the introduction to the first “What Should Criminal Courts section, Do?” Talarico succinctly outlines the major functions criminal courts have been expected to serve in the United States, the contradictions that have always been present. and new problems that have arisen with the decline of the rehabilitative ideal and the move toward determinate sentencing. In the first chapter in the section Anne Heinz explores expectations regarding the purpose of criminal courts and specifically
ABSTRACTS
the question whether procedural or distributive justice should take priority. She found that court participants had difficulty deciding preferences between the two. In the second chapter Shannon Jordan offers a normative analysis of plea bargaining. Dealing solely with cases having sufficient evidence for conviction, and in which the courts stood to gain from a waiver of trial, she concludes that courts inappropriately allow plea bargaining. Section II is on the use of expert witnesses. In the introduction, Talarico points out the relationship between questions about the proper role of expert witnesses and questions about sanction priorities. She also discusses the difficulties created by the adversarial character of criminal trials, i.e. the issue of whether the scientific method underlying the use of expert witnesses is compatible with the “truth-seeking” objectives of the adversarial model, whether lawyers and scientists are able to communicate in the same forum and to the same purpose. The first chapter, by Robert J. Homant and Daniel B. Kennedy, examines the degree to which subjective preferences affect the attitudes of potential expert witnesses toward the validity of the insanity defense. In the other chapter, Marc G. Gertz and Edmond J. True describe their experiences as expert witnesses for the prosecution in the trial of a woman who murdered her husband and claimed to be a victim of spouse abuse. Gertz and True were asked to assess the validity of the battered wife syndrome cited by the defense and the merits of the specific case. Both of these chapters call for a limited use of expert witnesses in criminal trials. The third section deals with comparing different types of criminal courts. In the introduction Talarico points out the preponderance of case-specific studies of criminal courts and the difficulties involved in obtaining comparative data. In the first chapter Gary Keveles compares the military court system to civilian adult and juvenile structures and suggests a reform strategy requiring broader comparative focus. The second chapter, by Jack E. Call, is a
CURRENT
PUBLICATIONS
India,” further developing the socialization theme of the preceding chapter. Chapter twelve, “The Familial Transmission of Crime,” by D.P. Farrington et al.. is based on a search for criminal records of 394 young men (born 1951-54) residing in a working class area of London and those of their parents and siblings. Various explanations of the “familial propensity to crime” are discussed, including the importance of societal reactions and socialization factors. Part IV, Crime Against the Family, contains three chapters. Chapter thirteen, “Households Touched by Crime.” suggests that family income, place of residence, and race are important factors to consider in predicting victimization rates of crime against families. Chapter fourteen deals with victims of torture and their families, focusing on political refugees from Latin America who settled in Canada in the 1970s. Chapter fifteen presents a study of burglary victims in Toronto, including comparison of nonreporting patterns with data from the United States and a discussion of prevention strategies adopted by victims. A very detailed index completes the volume.
Courts and Criminal Justice: Issues (Perspectives in Criminal edited by Susette M. Talarico
Emerging Justice 9)
Sage Publications (275 South Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90212), 198.5, 175 pp., hardcover-$22.00, softcover-$10.95. The eight chapters in this anthology are grouped around four major themes, with a brief introduction to each section by the editor. In the introduction to the first “What Should Criminal Courts section, Do?” Talarico succinctly outlines the major functions criminal courts have been expected to serve in the United States, the contradictions that have always been present. and new problems that have arisen with the decline of the rehabilitative ideal and the move toward determinate sentencing. In the first chapter in the section Anne Heinz explores expectations regarding the purpose of criminal courts and specifically
ABSTRACTS
the question whether procedural or distributive justice should take priority. She found that court participants had difficulty deciding preferences between the two. In the second chapter Shannon Jordan offers a normative analysis of plea bargaining. Dealing solely with cases having sufficient evidence for conviction, and in which the courts stood to gain from a waiver of trial, she concludes that courts inappropriately allow plea bargaining. Section II is on the use of expert witnesses. In the introduction, Talarico points out the relationship between questions about the proper role of expert witnesses and questions about sanction priorities. She also discusses the difficulties created by the adversarial character of criminal trials, i.e. the issue of whether the scientific method underlying the use of expert witnesses is compatible with the “truth-seeking” objectives of the adversarial model, whether lawyers and scientists are able to communicate in the same forum and to the same purpose. The first chapter, by Robert J. Homant and Daniel B. Kennedy, examines the degree to which subjective preferences affect the attitudes of potential expert witnesses toward the validity of the insanity defense. In the other chapter, Marc G. Gertz and Edmond J. True describe their experiences as expert witnesses for the prosecution in the trial of a woman who murdered her husband and claimed to be a victim of spouse abuse. Gertz and True were asked to assess the validity of the battered wife syndrome cited by the defense and the merits of the specific case. Both of these chapters call for a limited use of expert witnesses in criminal trials. The third section deals with comparing different types of criminal courts. In the introduction Talarico points out the preponderance of case-specific studies of criminal courts and the difficulties involved in obtaining comparative data. In the first chapter Gary Keveles compares the military court system to civilian adult and juvenile structures and suggests a reform strategy requiring broader comparative focus. The second chapter, by Jack E. Call, is a