An Analysis and Exploration of the Criminal Justice System in Sarasota County, Florida and Criminal Defendant Non-Compliance

Date of Award

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Brain, David

Keywords

Criminal Justice, Jail, Defendant Knowledge

Area of Concentration

Sociology

Abstract

This thesis is an analysis of the current organization and procedures within the Sarasota County criminal justice system, including a small scale empirical exploration of first-offender criminal defendants. The analysis section of this thesis includes a broad and historical look at national policies, public opinion shifts, organizational pathologies and the bond reform movement. This is done in order to offer a better understanding of the origins and significance of some of the problems that are seen today in Sarasota County. The empirical exploration of criminal defendants was also conducted out of concern for the access and opportunities for information for criminal defendants that occur during the short period of pretrial detention, especially for first offenders. This section of the thesis gauges inmate levels of comprehension through structured interviews with defendants after they have been released from the jail. The interviews consist of questions designed to test comprehension about current charges, future legal proceedings, conditional release responsibilities, and other issues that have valuable consequences on the defendant�s future legal success. Exploratory research of this sort has the potential to show that defendants are being released with inadequate levels of comprehension and may have implications for improving pretrial detention policies and avoiding unnecessary recidivism.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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