CRIMINAL JUSTICE SATISFACTION

Criminal Justice Satisfaction

Criminal Justice Satisfaction

Introduction

This article describes the various models historically used to explain the principal purpose of the criminal justice system and discusses their ineffectiveness in satisfactorily reflecting current practices. These models include; Packer's crime control and due process models and Roach's punitive and restorative models as well as Beloof's victim participation model. The author's new victim satisfaction model, which purports that the primary value that influences the course of a criminal prosecution is victim satisfaction, is used to explain the actual functioning of the criminal justice system, particularly in the prosecutorial phase in Texas. This model is based on findings derived from the author's victim participation study, in which qualitative research methods were used to investigate the interaction between victims and the criminal justice system. In conclusion, the implications of the utilization of the victim satisfaction model on criminal justice policy are discussed (Beloof, 1999).

Summary of the Article: “Models of the Criminal Justice System”

For more than forty years, legal scholars have relied on models to simplify and explain the actual functional operations and values of the criminal justice system. These models not only take into account the current legal standards, but also the discretionary powers and human elements involved in the prosecution of criminal cases. An analysis of the dominant models and the historical context in which they were formulated illustrates the evolving nature of the criminal justice system and the need for periodic re-evaluation and introduction of new models that more accurately reflect the currently prevalent trends and themes. The purpose of this article is to discuss the existing models and their inadequacy when applied to the criminal justice system in Texas at the beginning of the 21st century as well as to introduce a new paradigm—the victim satisfaction model—that better serves as a guide to understanding the shift in values within the existing system. Historically, the normally accepted purpose of the criminal process has been to ascertain whether the accused was factually guilty of committing a crime against society as established by the authority of legislatures, either state or federal.

However, in 1961, the Supreme Court, under the leadership of Chief Justice Earl Warren, began rendering decisions designed to protect the constitutional rights of the accused, particularly their fourth, fifth, and eighth amendment rights which were often infringed upon by the police while investigating facts of guilt. In the case of Mapp ...