Researching Law Volume 31 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 9
VO L 31 | NO 1 | SP RING 2020
on their own. But since the 1950s
and 60s, plea bargaining has seen
even more changes than those
prompted by the Survey, including
more use of defense counsels.
According to Professor Feeley,
attempts to provide defendants with
more protection in the criminal
process has allowed defendants to
have “someone to ‘bargain’ with the
prosecutor.” However, Feeley adds
that prosecutors have also gained
more resources. Some new forms of
plea bargaining have paved the way
for harsher sentences and the ability
for police and prosecutors to pile
charges. As a result, Feeley says plea
bargaining today continues to be
structured to “give prosecutors the
upper hand.”
DISSEMINATION AND
IMPACT
When the ABF Survey findings
were released in the 1960s, it was
revelatory for legal scholars and
practitioners alike. The Survey
included the first observational
studies of police, prosecutors,
judges, and probation and
parole officers, and the findings
proliferated due to the detailed
descriptions of the day-to-day
operations and interactions
among criminal justice agencies.
The Survey offered something of
interest for almost everyone—in
fact, the civil rights movement
capitalized on the findings to
investigate whether the decisionmaking process in the criminal
justice process demonstrated
patterns of discrimination.
The Survey helped transform
the field of criminal justice. A
national crisis over crime and
justice prompted President
Lyndon B. Johnson to create
a President’s Commission on
Law Enforcement and the
Administration of Justice in
1965. The ABF Survey’s principal
findings were incorporated
into the Commission’s reports,
mainly because members of the
Survey played critical roles in
the Commission. Goldstein and
Remington even served as coauthors on the Commissions’
“Task Force Report: The Police.”
The Crime Commission has long
been identified as the primary
source of information about the
criminal justice system. But the
critical findings come directly from
the ABF Survey.
Publications Based On
the Survey
The ABF Survey produced a
library of research on the customs
of police, prosecutors, attorneys,
judges, and others who shape the
administration of the criminal
process. Though it took time for
the field research and the results
to be issued, the influence of the
Survey was vast.
In addition to the five books
published on the findings of the
ABF Survey, other publications
resulted from the new information.
From 1956–1966, Donald
Newman’s work created a serious
discussion on plea bargaining. In
1967, Raymond Parnas released
the first scholarly article on police
handling of domestic disturbances,
which was in part based on the
Survey’s field reports and written
at the suggestion of Remington.
That same year, Sanford Kadish
studied the field reports of the ABF
Survey and created an article on
“the crisis of overcriminalization.”
Also influenced by the ABF Survey,
Herbert Packers published his
book, “The Limits of the Criminal
Sanction,” in 1968. Remington’s
experience with the ABF Survey
led him to create the first casebook
on the administration of criminal
justice. His work, “Criminal
Justice Administration: Cases and
Materials,” became the model for
social-science oriented textbooks.
The ABF Survey
produced a library
of research on
the customs of
police, prosecutors,
attorneys, judges,
and others
who shape the
administration of the
criminal process.
Remington and Ohlin also
helped establish one of the first
academic programs to examine the
administration of criminal justice.
They served as consultants and
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