THIS BACKGROUND DOCUMENT FOCUSES AS MUCH ON CURRENT ROUTINE CRIMINAL PROSECUTION PRACTICES IN KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MICH., AS IT DOES ON CHANGES IMPLEMENTED BY THE CAREER CRIMINAL PROGRAM. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT OVERWORKED PROSECUTORS AND COURTS CANNOT KEEP UP WITH THE RAPIDLY INCREASING FELONY CASELOAD. (BETWEEN NOVEMBER 1, 1975 AND OCTOBER 31, 1976, A TOTAL OF 2,781 FELONY WARRANTS WERE REQUESTED AND 1,322 WERE AUTHORIZED.) CHARTS GRAPHS, FLOWCHARTS, AND STATISTICAL TABLES DETAIL THE OPERATION OF THE FELONY PROSECUTION SYSTEM, THE NUMBER OF PERSONNEL AVAILABLE TO HANDLE THESE CASES, AND THE BUDGET EXPENDED ON FELONY PROSECUTIONS. A TYPICAL FELONY PROSECUTION IS FOLLOWED STEP-BY-STEP. SAMPLES OF A CASE READINESS CHECKLIST, A CIRCUIT COURT JURY SCHEDULE, PLEA TERMINATION CORRESPONDENCE, AND OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS ARE INCLUDED. THE CAREER CRIMINAL PROGRAM, AN LEAA-FUNDED EFFORT, PROVIDES 10 CRITERIA FOR RANKING CASES AND SETS UP A PROCEDURE FOR MORE INTENSIVE PROSECUTION OF CASES WITH MORE SEVERE RANKINGS. THE PRELIMINARY OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM IS DESCRIBED. BETWEEN JANUARY 1 AND OCTOBER 31, 1976, A TOTAL OF 86 CASES WERE ADMITTED FOR SPECIAL PROSECUTION, 80 ON THE BASIS OF PAST RECORDS. STATISTICAL TABLES PRESENT DATA ON THESE 86 CASES, NATURE OF OFFENSE, PRIOR RECORDS, ETC. THE BUDGET FOR THE CAREER CRIMINAL PROGRAM IS PROVIDED, AND HOPED-FOR RESULTS ARE BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED. FOOTNOTES CONTAIN ADDITIONAL DATA AND REFERENCES. (GLR)