Errors of Justice: Nature, Sources and Remedies

by Brian Forst

• ISBN13: 9780521821308
• ISBN10: 0521821304
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-17
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

In this book, Brian Forst takes a fresh new perspective on the assessment of criminal justice policy, examining the prospect of assessing policies based on their impact on errors of justice: the error of failing to bring offenders to justice, on the one hand, and the error of imposing costs on innocent people and excessive costs on offenders, on the other. Noting that we have sophisticated systems for managing errors in statistical inference and quality control processes and no parallel system for managing errors of a more socially costly variety - on matters of guilt and innocence - the author lays the foundation for a common sense approach to the management of errors in the criminal justice system, from policing and prosecution to sentencing and corrections. He examines the sources of error in each sector, the harms they impose on society, and frameworks for analyzing and reducing them.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
1 The Problem	1	(9)
Introduction	1	(2)
What Is an Error of Justice?	3	(4)
Aim and Overview of the Book	7	(3)
2 Errors of Due Process	10	(12)
Introduction	10	(1)
What Is Due Process?	11	(2)
Landmark Due Process Cases	13	(3)
The Sources of Due Process Errors and Their Social Significance	16	(3)
Managing Due Process Errors	19	(2)
Conclusion	21	(1)
3 Errors of Impunity	22	(9)
Introduction	22	(1)
What Is an Error of Impunity?	23	(1)
The Sources and Consequences of Errors of Impunity	23	(4)
Managing Errors of Impunity	27	(3)
Conclusion	30	(1)
4 Frameworks for Analyzing the Incidence of Justice Errors	31	(14)
Introduction	31	(1)
Managing Errors of Statistical Inference: The Problem of Reliability	32	(4)
Managing Errors of Statistical Inference: The Problem of Validity	36	(4)
Parallels between Errors of Statistical Inference and Errors of Justice	40	(1)
Managing Errors in Production and Service Delivery Processes	41	(2)
Conclusion	43	(2)
5 Assessing the Cost of Justice Errors	45	(12)
Introduction	45	(1)
What Are the Social Costs of Crime and Justice?	46	(2)
Difficulties in Assessing the Social Costs of Crime and Justice	48	(4)
Optimal Levels of Interventions Against Crime	52	(2)
Initial Estimates	54	(1)
Conclusion	55	(2)
6 Standards of Evidence	57	(9)
Introduction	57	(1)
Varying the Parameters	58	(6)
Conclusion	64	(2)
7 Police-Induced Errors	66	(46)
Introduction	66	(1)
Making Sense of Policing Errors	67	(2)
Nature and Sources of Justice Errors Associated with the Police	69	(23)
Managing Justice Errors Attributable to the Police	92	(14)
Balancing Error Management with Other Policing Goals	106	(3)
Conclusion	109	(3)
8 Prosecution Policy and Justice Errors	112	(22)
Introduction	112	(2)
Prosecutorial Discretion and Errors of Justice	114	(2)
Improved Coordination with Police	116	(2)
Errors of Fact, Questions of Culpability, and Tactical Errors	118	(2)
Should the Prosecutor Emphasize Conviction Quality or Quantity?	120	(2)
Analyzing Data on Prosecution under a Range of Assumptions about Factual Guilt	122	(5)
Analysis by Crime Category	127	(4)
Conclusion	131	(3)
9 The Jury	134	(16)
Introduction	134	(2)
Jury Policy, Representativeness, and Justice Errors	136	(4)
How Many Jurors? Must Their Decision be Unanimous?	140	(5)
Jury Dynamics	145	(4)
Conclusion	149	(1)
10 Sentencing and Corrections	150	(34)
Introduction	150	(2)
Optimum Sanctions under Alternative Frameworks	152	(20)
Sources of Excessive Social Costs in Sentencing	172	(1)
Who Might Cause Sentences to be Outside the Norm?	173	(3)
Should Sanctions be Based on Predictions?	176	(2)
Errors in Corrections	178	(2)
The Critical Role of Incentives and Systems of Accountability	180	(2)
Conclusion	182	(2)
11 Homicide	184	(28)
Introduction	184	(1)
Basics about Homicide: Opportunities for Error in Classification	185	(5)
Failures to Bring Homicide Offenders to Justice	190	(7)
Excessive Intrusions in Homicide Cases	197	(2)
The Death Penalty	199	(4)
Remedies and Impediments to the Management of Errors in Homicide Cases	203	(7)
Conclusion	210	(2)
12 A Matter of Legitimacy	212	(9)
Introduction	212	(1)
What Is Legitimacy?	213	(2)
Operationalizing the Notion of Legitimacy	215	(2)
Conclusion	217	(4)
Bibliography	221	(22)
Index	243