The small size and extensive familiarity of the Erie County criminal court community have contributed to the development of an effective "grapevine" and to a tradition of informality and accommodation in interpersonal relations. The proximity of major participants in the criminal court system has also facilitated informal interaction and the exchange of information. Principal characteristics of each of the three major sponsoring organizations in the Erie County criminal court system--judges, prosecutors, and public defenders--are described in some detail with respect to age and experience, content of policies and internal management styles, degree of cohesion, structure of attitudes, and nature of relations with newspapers and lower court judges. The author shows that both judges and prosecutors adhere more strongly to a belief in punishment than public defenders, that judges are surprisingly negative in their regard for due process, and that tension exists in relations between public defenders on the one hand and judges and prosecutors on the other hand. Prosecutors tend to criticize judges for their lack of hard work, their leniency, and their unwillingness to change the calendar. Judges, however, exert the most influence over the operations of the Erie County criminal court community. 3 notes