Assignment Content
Apply what you’ve learned about the administration of justice through criminal courts and sentencing practices. Reflect on how the courtroom works and what challenges a professional might face when working with offenders and other justice-involved individuals.
Consider the content discussed in chapters 8 and 9 of Introduction to Criminal Justice.
Review the following:
- Figure 8.7 Funneling Effect (p. 329)
- Figure 8.8 Outcome of 100 Criminal Cases in State Courts (p. 329)
- Analyze the courtroom workgroup:
- Describe the courtroom workgroup. What is it? Who are the key players?
- Analyze the role this workgroup serves within the criminal courts.
- What are the roles of professional service workers in this system?
- Provide a statement of why this workgroup can be a challenge encountered in the criminal justice system for professional service workers.
- What are current practices that address these challenges?
- As professional service workers, you may face complex challenges from this tightly knit courtroom workgroup because of the mechanical nature of their work, which at times neglects the individuality of the justice-involved individuals caught in the system.
- Based on your analysis of the courtroom workgroup, is the defense attorney an advocate for the system or their clients? Explain.
- How might human service workers intervene or participate in the system in order to be advocates for justice-involved individuals?
- How might human service workers respond to this challenge using current practices?
