Download In California, the Superior Courts are the mainstay of the

Introduction to Criminal Justice
8th edition
Robert Bohm & Keith Haley
CALIFORNIA STATE SUPPLEMENT
Revised 2013
Rick Michelson
Professor, Administration of Justice
Grossmont College
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Chapter 1
The California Criminal Justice System
Most of us only see small vignettes of the criminal justice system on the nightly news. Only with
the trial of high profile cases, and the advent of popular television shows such as CSI, Law &
Order, Cops, or Court TV (and other similar programs), have we seen the criminal justice system
up close and personal. Unfortunately, just because we see it up close doesn’t mean we will
always agree with the decisions made by a jury or by the Supreme Court.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students should be able to do the following:
• Articulate the goals of the California criminal justice system.
• Identify the three major components of the California criminal justice system.
• Compare and contrast the differences between the federal law enforcement system and
state or local agencies.
• Differentiate between the federal court system and the state or local systems.
GOALS OF THE CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
While not all states may have the same wording, most states have goals similar to those stated by
the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training:1
1. Guarantee due process: Due process of the law is guaranteed by the U.S. and California
constitutions, overseen by the courts, and practiced daily by police officers.
2. Prevent crime: Crime prevention is more than the apprehension of offenders. Peace
officer presence in the community and interactions with citizens also serve to prevent
crime.
3. Protect life and property: Peace officers must be dedicated to protecting and defending
the members of their communities as well as those individuals’ property.
4. Uphold and enforce the law: The law enforcement component of the justice system has
the primary responsibility to uphold the law. The judiciary system, through rulings of the
court, and the corrections component, also play a role in enforcement.
5. Dispense equal justice: The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees
equal justice under the law to all persons. Individuals from each component of the
criminal justice system must treat all persons equally, fairly, and with justice.
6. Apprehend offenders: Apprehending offenders deprives them of their liberty and requires
them to answer the criminal charges brought against them.
7. Assure victim’s rights: In the effort to apprehend and deal with the criminal, the criminal
justice system cannot overlook the victim. Victims must be made aware of their rights
and of the services available to them.
1
California POST Basic Course Workbook Series, Student Materials, Learning Domain 2, Criminal Justice System
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MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE
CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
There are three basic components of the criminal justice system.
1. Legislature
2. Judiciary
3 Executive branch
The Legislature
There generally are two types of law: substantive law and procedural or adjective law.
Substantive law is that which is created by a federal, state or local government and written into
legal codes or statutes. Procedural law is how the law is administered, whether by the police, by
the courts, or by corrections. Since early law was referred to as “common law,” it was not written
or codified as it is today. Most states today do not use common law but rely on statutory law.
Through the wishes of the people under a particular jurisdiction, it is the federal, state, or local
elected officials who define what is or is not criminal behavior. However, it is really society—or
social forces—that actually forms or shapes the definition of what crime is or is not. It is the
legislature that writes and then enacts laws, establishes procedures, and provides funding and
direction for the enforcement of such laws. For example, to deal with the issue of increased
domestic violence, the legislature passed laws to crack down on offenders, establish the protocol
for administering the enforcement of the law, and allocate funding the training of law
enforcement. In the United States, the state and federal criminal justice systems are similar. The
only real differences are in the jurisdiction, scope, and application. For example, the state system
handles matters within the confines of state law, whereas the federal system handles matters
related to federal laws and constitutional issues.
The Judiciary
The judiciary consists of the court system. In both the federal and state systems, there are
essentially three separate entities:
• Trial courts (superior courts)
• Appellate courts
• Supreme courts
We will examine the differences between these more closely in Chapter 3. In 1791, the Bill of
Rights was added to the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment reserved the states’ authority in
judicial matters. However, the U.S. Supreme Court can review and overturn decisions by lower
courts or ultimately declare a state law unconstitutional. Typically the statute is described as too
overbroad or vague and is deemed “Void for Vagueness.” (For an example, see Kolender v.
Lawson 461 U.S. 352)
Tenth Amendment:
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
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Under what is referred to as the “Supremacy Clause,” the United States Supreme Court has
the power to hear constitutional issues that may be applicable to all the states. This was decided
in the landmark case of Marbury v. Madison 5 U.S. (1 Cranch) 137, 2 L.Ed.60 (1803).
It established the concept of judicial review in the United States.
The Executive Branch
The executive component is similar in both the federal and state systems. The chief executive
over national issues is the president, and the chief executive over state issues is the governor, as
they relate to the following matters:
1. Powers of appointment
2. Power to grant pardons: Pardons, commutations, and clemency are “executive” privileges
that allow a governor or the president to grant a prisoner clemency by showing leniency.
Commutation and clemency are really similar: clemency is the reason; the commutation
is the action. Pardons, by comparison, erase the entire conviction and are usually offered
in cases where some injustice has occurred.
PARALLEL SYSTEMS
The United States has two parallel systems of justice (federal and state) that have three similar
components for both jurisdictions. These components are:
1. Law enforcement component (federal agencies vs. police, sheriff, state police/highway
patrol, and special agents)
2. Judicial (federal vs. state courts)
3. Corrections (federal prison vs. local jails, prisons, juvenile facilities, probation and parole
systems)
The Prosecution
The prosecution includes both state and federal roles. Both are under their respective justice
departments (executive branch) and are considered the top law enforcement officers within their
jurisdictions. For example, the United States Attorney General is currently Eric Holder. Each
state then has its own attorney general. Depending on whether the jurisdiction is a city or county,
the term is slightly different for the prosecution.
City or Municipal Prosecutors – City or Municipal Attorneys
Since every state has many municipalities, townships, and villages within each county, some of
the larger municipalities have their own local prosecutors. In some areas they are simply called
“city attorney” or “municipal attorney.”2 The office handles most of the relatively minor criminal
or civil cases directly related to the city’s municipal code. 3
County Prosecutors – District Attorneys
2
3
There is an International Association of Municipal Attorneys: http://www.imla.org/
For a listing of state municipal codes, see: http://www.municode.com/
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Within each state, each separate county has its own county-wide prosecutor, usually referred to
as the district attorney or D.A. These are elected offices, and most serve a four-year term of
office and have to run for reelection. They are aided by deputy district attorneys who actually do
most of the trial work for the county.
State Attorney Generals – (State’s) Department of Justice
The current California Attorney General, Kamala D. Harris,4 was elected by the state’s citizens
to a four-year term of office.5 The role of an attorney general is to ensure laws of the state are
uniformly and adequately enforced. This is specified in the California constitution (Article V,
Section 13).6
The attorney general carries out responsibilities of the office through the state’s department of
justice and represents the people of the state in both civil and criminal matters including trial,
appellate, and supreme courts. The office also serves as legal counsel to various state officers,
state agencies, boards, and commissions. The attorney general also assists district attorneys, local
law enforcement, and federal and international criminal justice agencies in the administration of
justice.
To support statewide law enforcement efforts, the attorney general coordinates statewide
narcotics enforcement efforts, participates in criminal investigations, and provides forensic
science services, identification and information services, and telecommunication support. In
addition, the attorney general establishes and operates projects and programs to protect citizens
from fraudulent, unfair, and illegal activities that victimize consumers or threaten public safety,
and enforces laws that safeguard the environment and natural resources. The attorney general
can act as an aggressive agent, and can target corrupt or fraudulent activities.
Attorney General Opinions 7
The attorney general carries out responsibilities of the office through the California Department
of Justice. In essence, the AG is the “top cop” for the state. Although a state attorney general
may issue legal opinions, these do not have the same effect as “case law” and are used as general
guidelines for local district attorneys and the police. These decisions are referred to as “formal”
or “informal” in nature and usually address a specific issue that has been called into question. It
is the duty of the attorney general to see that the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately
enforced (California Constitution, Article V, Section 13).
4
http://oag.ca.gov/about
California Attorney General’s website at: http://oag.ca.gov/
6
California Constitution, Article 5, Section 13 http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.const/.article_5
7
Recent opinions can be accessed on the California Attorney General’s website at: http://ag.ca.gov/opinions.php
5
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CALIFORNIA COURT SYSTEM
California’s Trial Courts: The Superior Courts
In California, the Superior Courts are the mainstay of the prosecutorial workload. They have
jurisdiction, or the power to hear or “try” cases involving state law, such as robbery and burglary
as well as civil law, such as in personal-injury cases. While some state trial courts have many
different names and levels, including municipal court, district court, and superior court,
California has integrated minor courts into the Superior Courts. There are also specialized courts,
such as family courts, juvenile courts, drug courts, veterans’ courts, and others that are
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specifically designed to handle a particular type of offense or civil action. State trial courts such
as the superior courts are referred to as courts of general jurisdiction.
California Appellate Courts
Most states have some form of an appellate court, usually known as a court of appeals. These
courts hear appeals of state trial court decisions. A case’s outcome may be overturned if an
appellate court rules that the trial court made an error in interpreting or applying the law in the
case. After this decision, there are also state supreme courts.
State Supreme Courts
All states have an appellate court of last resort, usually known as a supreme court. State supreme
courts hear a limited number of appeals of lower state court decisions. Their jurisdiction is
discretionary, which means supreme courts choose which cases to review based on the legal
issues presented. The decisions of state supreme courts involving state law are final.
CALIFORNIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM 8
Stages of the Criminal Justice System
California’s criminal justice system can be thought of as having four stages:
1. Commission of the crime
2. Arrest by law enforcement
3. Prosecution of a case in the trial courts
4. Detention and supervision by corrections agencies
Crime in California
Crime is generally measured as a rate per 100,000 residents to allow easier comparison across
states and regions. The federal government collects crime-rate statistics for certain crimes,
primarily property and violent felonies. (This data does not include drug crimes, infractions,
or most misdemeanors.)
The crime rate in California has declined substantially since the early 1990s and is now at a level
similar to that of the early 1960s. In 2011, the overall crime rate in California was slightly below
the national average. These rates, however, only reflect reported crimes, and national surveys
show that most crime is not reported to law enforcement authorities.
California has experienced declines in both property and violent crime rates since the early
1990s. Between 1991 and 2011, the state’s overall crime rate declined by 56 percent. This trend
is similar to declines in crime patterns in the rest of the United States. There is no consensus
among researchers regarding the cause of these declines.
Source material from California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office report on the California Criminal Justice System – a
Primer: www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2013/crim/criminal-justice-primer/criminal-justice-primer-011713.pdf
8
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There were 1.1 million crimes in California in 2011 reported in the federal Uniform Crime
Statistics system. This is down from a high of over 2 million felonies reported annually in the
early 1990s.
9
The violent crime rate in California has decreased by 63 percent since peaking in 1992. The
property crime rate has decreased by 63 percent since peaking in 1980.
Overall, California reported about 3,000 crimes per 100,000 people in 2011. Property crime
accounted for 86 percent of reported crimes in California in 2011, and violent crime accounted
for 14 percent. Property crime is reported in five categories:
1. Larceny-theft of property over $400 in value
2. Larceny-theft of property under $400 in value
3. Burglary
4. Motor vehicle theft
5. Arson
9
http://oag.ca.gov/crime (California Attorney General)
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Although the proportion of crime changes slightly every year, property crimes have consistently
represented approximately 85 percent of all reported crimes over the past 25 years.
• California’s overall crime rate was somewhat lower than the U.S. crime rate in 2011, and was
third lowest among the ten most populous states.
• California’s violent crime rate is 6 percent higher than the U.S. rate and the fourth highest
among the largest states.
• California’s property crime rate ranks as third lowest among the largest states, 11 percent
below the national rate.
• Among the largest counties in California, San Joaquin had the highest overall crime rate in
2010, including the highest violent crime rate and second-highest property crime rate (after
Fresno).
• Since 2001, violent crime rates have decreased in 11 of the 15 largest counties, and the
property crime rate has decreased in 13 of the 15 largest counties. (There are 58 counties in
CA.)
• Based on national surveys, about half of all violent crimes—excluding homicides, but
including aggravated assault, robbery, and sexual assault—go unreported to police and other
law enforcement authorities (the “dark figure of crime”).
• People are even less likely to report certain property crimes, including motor vehicle theft,
burglary, and theft. Overall, about three-fifths of these property crimes go unreported.
Homicides and gangs:
A survey conducted by the Governor’s Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy eestimated
that, between 2005 and 2009, over one-third of homicides in California were reported to be
related to gang activity or committed by a gang member. The remaining homicides include
murders committed as part of domestic disputes or vehicular manslaughter.
• About half of the homicides in Los Angeles County during this time period were gangrelated, compared to about one-fourth in the rest of the state. This difference may be due in
part to differences in how local law enforcement agencies collect and report data.
• Total homicides have declined in recent years, decreasing by 22 percent from 2005 to 2009
statewide (35 percent in Los Angeles and 13 percent in other parts of California). Gangrelated homicides decreased by about the same amount over that period.
Sex offenders:
Most individuals adjudicated for sex crimes in California (both felonies and misdemeanors) are
required to register with local law enforcement for the remainder of their lives. There are
currently about 105,000 such registrants listed in the Megan’s Law database maintained by the
DOJ. The public may access information—including name, address, and crime—for most of
these offenders based on their specific conviction.
• As of October 2012, about 74,000 sex registrants were in the community, 10,000 had been
deported, and 21,000 were incarcerated for subsequent offenses.
• According to data from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR), nearly 70 percent of sex registrants released from state prison in 2007–2008 were
returned within three years (including returns for new convictions and parole violations).
This is slightly higher than the recidivism rate of other released inmates.
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Of the sex offenders returned to prison, less than 2 percent were returned on a conviction for
a new sex crime.
Arrests and Local Law Enforcement
After a crime is committed and reported to law enforcement, suspected offenders are arrested by
law enforcement officers. Most arrests are for misdemeanor offenses. Of offenders arrested for
felony offenses, most are adults, and most are arrested for nonviolent crimes. In California, state
sentencing laws are primarily enforced at the local level by the sheriff and police officers, who
investigate crimes and apprehend offenders. The state does have a limited role in law
enforcement. For example, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has a comparatively small
number of officers to ensure safety and enforce traffic laws on state highways and county roads
in unincorporated areas. The state also provides law enforcement officers in other places, such as
state parks and college campuses. In addition, the California Department of Justice (DOJ), led by
the state attorney general, provides assistance and expertise to local law enforcement in the
investigation of crimes that are multi-jurisdictional (occur in multiple counties), such as
organized crime.
There were almost 1.3 million arrests of adults and juveniles for felonies, misdemeanors, and
status offenses in California in 2011.
• Almost two-thirds of these arrests were for misdemeanors, while one-third were for felonies.
• The total number of arrests was down slightly from about 1.4 million in 2010.
• In 2011, males represented about eight out of every ten adult and juvenile felony arrests.
• Almost two-thirds of all adult felony arrests were of people between the ages of 20
and 39.
• A majority of felony arrests were of blacks or Hispanics, with Hispanics making up just over
half of all juvenile felony arrests.
• The percent of adult felony arrestees that were Hispanic was similar to the proportion of the
population in California as a whole.
• About 6 percent of adults and juveniles in California are black, which is less than the roughly
20 percent of adult and juvenile arrestees who are black.
• There were a total of 420,000 felony arrests in 2011 (377,000 adult felony arrests and 43,000
juvenile felony arrests).
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•
•
•
•
•
•
About three-fourths of these arrests were for nonviolent crimes (such as property and drugrelated crimes).
Specifically, property crimes and drug offenses accounted for just over half of all felony
arrests in 2011.
Other nonviolent crimes (such as illegal possession of a firearm) accounted for 21 percent of
felony arrests.
As compared to adult felony arrests, a higher percentage of juvenile felony arrests are for
property crimes, while a lower percentage are for drug crimes.
About one-fourth of adult and juvenile felony arrests were for violent crimes, including
homicide, rape, and robbery.
There were a total of 1,572 arrests for homicide in 2011, which is about 0.4 percent of all
felony arrests.
Prosecutions and the Courts
Once an individual is arrested and charged with committing a crime, he or she must go through
California’s trial court system. The trial courts are funded by the state, though local governments
provide district attorneys and public defenders to try criminal cases.
When including all types of criminal cases—felony, misdemeanor, traffic infractions, and
juvenile delinquency—there were over 8 million filings in California trial courts in 2009–2010.
Only a few hundred thousand of these were for felony cases each year. Of adult felony cases
brought by the district attorney, 80 percent result in a guilty verdict, and most of these offenders
are sentenced to a combination jail and probation. Almost all juveniles adjudicated a felony
offense are sentenced to county supervision. Federal criminal law is limited to the powers of the
federal government enumerated in the United States Constitution. Federal criminal laws relate to
the federal government’s role in the regulation of interstate commerce, immigration, and the
protection of federal facilities and personnel. Consequently, federal law enforcement and
prosecutions tend to focus on nonviolent crimes such as drug trafficking, immigration violations,
fraud, bribery, and extortion.
Local and State Corrections
The component of the criminal justice system that supervises offenders is commonly referred to
as “corrections” or the “correctional system.” In California, adults convicted of felony crimes
generally are placed under supervision either at the local level (jail and probation) or the state
level (prison and parole), depending on the seriousness of the crime and the length of
incarceration. Juvenile offenders can be adjudicated to local probation to be supervised in the
community or housed in local juvenile facilities, or they can be sent to state facilities in some
cases. Most offenders, including felony offenders, are supervised by local corrections agencies,
while a smaller number of the most serious and violent offenders are supervised by the state.
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WEB LINKS
California Attorney General: http://oag.ca.gov/about
California Court System: http://www.courts.ca.gov/
California Criminal Justice Programs: http://www.caag.state.ca.us/programs.htm
California Criminal Justice Statistics: http://oag.ca.gov/crime
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov
California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST):
http://www.post.ca.gov/
Department of Juvenile Justice: http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Juvenile_Justice/index.html
California Legislative Analyst’s Office: http://www.lao.ca.gov/laoapp/main.aspx
U.S. Department of Justice: http://www.justice.gov/
U.S. Attorney General: http://www.justice.gov/ag/
U.S. Court System: http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts.aspx
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