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Roles of Interest Groups in U.S. Criminal Justice Policy Making: Who, When, and How

NCJ Number
194596
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 2 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 51-69
Author(s)
Barbara A. Stolz
Date Published
February 2002
Length
19 pages
Annotation
To provide a better understanding of what does or does not become criminal justice policy in the United States, this article proposes a broader definition of the policymaking process and a framework for analyzing interest groups in criminal justice.
Abstract
A review of early studies and more recent case studies of Federal criminal justice legislation suggests that lay groups do play an important role in keeping certain criminal justice issues off the policy agenda, educating policymakers and the public about emerging issues, and maintaining legislative support for policies. As defined in this article, the criminal justice policymaking process model includes seven steps: agenda setting (initiating or blocking legislation); legislative drafting; public hearings; legislative deliberations (markup and debate); legislative enactment; legislative implementation; and legislative reauthorization. This revised model draws attention to the use of the hearing process by interest groups to achieve their goals. This model provides the context in which researchers may begin to consider who is setting the parameters for which criminal justice policy issues. The proposed framework also advances the effort to examine systematically which interest groups attempt to influence criminal justice policy, at which points in the process, and using which strategies and techniques. Admittedly, this approach does not permit assessments of the extent of influence exercised by particular groups or categories of groups. 1 figure, 1 table, 4 notes, and 29 references

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