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Investment of Prosecution Resources in Career Criminal Cases

NCJ Number
78819
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 71 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1980) Pages: 118-123
Author(s)
W M Rhodes
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This research paper focuses on the premise that career criminal units increase attorney time devoted to the handling of habitual offenders.
Abstract
The findings were drawn from a larger study deriving case weights from the prosecution of adult felony cases in Los Angeles County, Calif. In that study, case weights were defined as the average amount of attorney time spent on a criminal case, if the type of offense and disposition are held constant. This paper provides a summary of the methodology used in the Los Angeles study. In addition, it presents (1) case weights for the prosecution of career criminal and noncareer criminal cases; (2) the distribution of attorney time, broken down by their activity in career criminal and noncareer criminal cases; and (3) the distribution of attorney time over the life of a typical case. The analysis showed that career criminal cases consumed 5 to 7 times as many attorney hours as the prosecution of routine criminal matters. In addition, the data indicate that the extra time allowed prosecutors to develop their cases earlier in the case life and to sustain their intense involvement over the life of the cases. However, it was not possible to determine if this increased effort has an impact on either the probability that a case resulted in conviction or the probability that the convicted offender received a prison sentence. Figures, tables, and footnotes are included. (Author abstract modified)

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