The Changing Role of the American Prosecutor

by John L. Worrall, M. Elaine Nugent-Borakove

Overview

Leading prosecution researchers throughout the United States are brought together in this book to illuminate the new environment of prosecution in America, the prosecution of troubling and emerging crime problems, prosecutorial problem-solving and community prosecution, and the future of prosecution in the twenty-first century. The contributors explore how American prosecutors are moving away from a traditional, reactive approach to the crime problem, and, instead, how they are developing creative problem-solving strategies for dealing with crime and disorder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780791475928
Publisher:	State University of New York Press
Publication date:	10/02/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

John L. Worrall is Professor of Criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas and the author of many books, including Crime Control in America: An Assessment of the Evidence and Criminal Procedure: From First Contact to Appeal. M. Elaine Nugent-Borakove is Director of the Office of Research and Evaluation at the American Prosecutors Research Institute.

Table of Contents

PART I
Background

1. Prosecution in America: A Historical and Comparative Account
John L. Worrall

PART II
The New Prosecutorial Environment

2. The State’s Role in Prosecutorial Politics
Kay Levine

3. Prosecution Policy and Errors of Justice
Brian Forst

4. Have Sentencing Reforms Displaced Discretion over Sentencing from Judges to Prosecutors?
Rodney L. Engen

5. Performance Measures and Accountability
M. Elaine Nugent-Borakove

PART III
Prosecuting Troublesome and Emerging Crime Problems

6. Prosecutors and Treatment Diversion: The Brooklyn (NY) Drug Treatment Alternative to Prison Program
Steven Belenko, Hung-En Sung, Anne J. Swern, and Caroline R. Donhauser

7. Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Changing Role of the U.S. Attorney’s Office
Scott H. Decker and Jack McDevitt

8. Anticipatory Prosecution in Terrorism-Related Cases
Robert Chesney

PART IV
Community Prosecution and Problem Solving

9. Evolving Strategies in 20th-Century American Prosecution
Catherine M. Coles

10. Community Prosecution: Rhetoric or Reality?
M. Elaine Nugent-Borakove and Patricia L. Fanflik

11. Prosecutors in Problem-Solving Courts
John L. Worrall

PART V
Future Challenges

12. The Future of Local Prosecution in America
Judith N. Phelan and Michael D. Schrunk

Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

"…provides a fascinating look at the potential promise a prosecutor's power presents for rectifying many of the ills that currently afflict the criminal justice system." — Harvard Law Review

"Worrall and Nugent-Borakove argue that as prosecutors are becoming more open to public scrutiny and organized pressure, they are also becoming more innovative and proactive in their efforts to control crime … Many of the contributors are themselves empirical researchers, and seem well acquainted with recent studies. By organizing and applying these recent findings, they make them accessible to students." — CHOICE

"The strength of this book is the novelty of the topic. Prosecutors have recently come to the forefront of court research. The contributors give a fresh look into the twenty-first-century prosecutor. They focus on the politics and the new social policy that the new 'American Prosecutor' upholds. No longer is today's prosecutor only interested in convictions. They are interested in crime prevention, which requires a proactive approach rather than merely reacting to situations." — Jeremy D. Ball, Boise State University

From the Publisher