CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Handcuffs, Political Philosophy
18 Jun 2018
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Which Model Crime Control or Due Process
Herbert Packer, a Stanford University law professor, constructed two models, the crime
control modeland the due process model, to represent the two competing systems of
values operating within criminal justice. The tension between the two accounts for the
conflict and disharmony that now is observable in the criminal justice system.
The crime control model should prevail
The following assertions are the key concerns of the crime control model:
1. The repression of crime should be the most important function of
criminal justice because order is a necessary condition for a free society.
2. Criminal justice should concentrate on vindicating victims' rights
rather than on protecting defendants' rights.
3. Police powers should be expanded to make it easier to investigate,
arrest, search, seize, and convict.
4. Legal technicalities that handcuff the police should be eliminated.
5. The criminal justice process should operate like an assembly line ‐
conveyor belt, moving cases swiftly along toward their disposition.
6. If the police make an arrest and a prosecutor files criminal charges,
the accused should be presumed guilty because the fact finding of police ‐
and prosecutors is highly reliable.
7. The main objective of the criminal justice process should be to
discover the truth or to establish the factual guilt of the accused.
The due process model should prevail
Packer's due process model is a counterproposal to the crime control model. It consists
of these arguments:
1. The most important function of criminal justice should be to provide
due process, or fundamental fairness under the law.
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
Herbert packer, a stanford university law professor, constructed two models, the crime control modeland the due process model, to represent the two competing systems of values operating within criminal justice. The tension between the two accounts for the conflict and disharmony that now is observable in the criminal justice system. The following assertions are the key concerns of the crime control model: The repression of crime should be the most important function of criminal justice because order is a necessary condition for a free society. Criminal justice should concentrate on vindicating victims" rights rather than on protecting defendants" rights. Police powers should be expanded to make it easier to investigate, arrest, search, seize, and convict. Legal technicalities that handcuff the police should be eliminated. The criminal justice process should operate like an assembly line conveyor belt, moving cases swiftly along toward their disposition.
