Copyright by John William Stickels 2003 The Dissertation committee for John William Stickels certifies that this is the approved version of the following Dissertation: VICTIM SATISFACTION – A MODEL OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Committee: Aditi Gowri, Supervisor William Spelman Dagmar Hamilton Mark Stafford Robert Dawson VICTIM SATISFACTION – A MODEL OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM by John William Stickels, B.S., J.D. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin December 2003 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the one person who makes everything in my life meaningful. Angela, if it were not for you, none of this would be worthwhile. VICTIM SATISFACTION – A MODEL OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM Publication No._____________ John William Stickels, Ph.D. The University of Texas at Austin, 2003 Supervisor: Aditi Gowri This dissertation introduces and explains the “Victim Satisfaction Model of the Criminal Justice System.” This model proposes that one of the primary purposes of the criminal justice system is to attempt to achieve victim satisfaction during the course of the prosecution. The utility of the “Victim Satisfaction Model” is then compared to Packer’s traditional Crime Control and Due Process Models and to the newer victim participation models. The Victim Satisfaction Model is then used to explain the reality of criminal prosecutions of victim-involved crimes. The last chapter discusses the implication of the “Victim Satisfaction Model” for criminal justice policy. v. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW ............................1 Purposes of the Criminal Justice System .....................................................1 Victim Involvement in the Criminal Justice System....................................2 Would Victim Involvement Change the Character Criminal Justice System? ........................................................................................................9 Alternatives to Defendant Focused Models ...............................................10 Importance of Victim Satisfaction .............................................................12 Victim Satisfaction Blends the criminal and Civil Systems ......................14 CHAPTER TWO – HISTORY OF VICTIM PARTICIPATION IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM...................................................................18 History and Evolution of Victim’s Rights..................................................18 The Development of Victims’ Rights in the Late 20th Century .................26 The Theory of Punishment in the Criminal Justice System.......................30 The Role of Models in Social Science Research.......................................34 Models of the Criminal Justice System......................................................35 Emerging Models that Address The Victim’s Role In the Criminal Justice System ........................................................................................................41 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY.......................................................45 Qualitative Research Design ......................................................................45 Data ............................................................................................................47 Data Analysis .............................................................................................48 Sampling Methods......................................................................................51 CHAPTER FOUR: THE VICTIM IS A PARTY TO THE PROSECUTION ........................................................................................................................59 Chapter Summary.......................................................................................59 The Victim Is A Party To The Prosecution................................................60 The Victim is a Party to the Bail Decision.................................................61 Bail is used as a collection device..............................................................71 The Victim is a Party to the Plea Bargaining Process................................76 Conclusion..................................................................................................89 vi. CHAPTER FIVE: THE PROSECUTOR ASSUMES THE ROLE OF REPRESENTING THE VICTIM AND MAKES DECISIONS TO SATISFY THE VICTIM’S INTERESTS .......................................................................91 The Prosecutor Represents the Victim During the Charging Decision......91 The Prosecutor Represents the Victim During the Bonding Decision.......97 The Prosecutor Represents the Victim During the Plea Bargaining Process ....................................................................................................................98 Prosecutors are reluctant to ‘plead out a case’ without victim consent ...106 CHAPTER SIX: THE GOAL OF SATISFYING THE VICTIM IS A PRIMARY DETERMINANT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.112 Summary Findings ...................................................................................112 Cases are filed in an attempt to achieve victim Satisfaction....................113 Cases are resolved in an attempt to achieve victim Satisfaction..............116 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICY ........................................................................................123 Victim Satisfaction In Practice.................................................................123 Criminal Procedure has changed from focusing Solely on the defendant to focusing More on the victim ....................................................................124 Societal “Justice” is no longer the objective of the Criminal Justice System ..................................................................................................................127 The criminal justice system is pseudo-civil with the authority of the state on the side of the defendant......................................................................128 New theory of crime – more classes of victims equals more crime.........134 APPENDIX I: GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROCEDURE ..............................................................................................138 Background Information - Arrest.............................................................138 Background Information - Bail and Bail Bond ........................................139 Background Information – Plea Negotiations and Plea Bargains............142 Sentence Types.........................................................................................143 Various Court Procedures ........................................................................145 Family Violence Procedures ....................................................................146 APPENDIX II. DATA .................................................................................148 The Victim is A Party to the Prosecution.................................................148 The Victim is a Party to the Bonding Decision........................................148 vii. The Victim is a Party to the Prosecution..................................................166 THE PROSECUTOR ASSUMES THE ROLE OF REPRESENTING THE VICTIM AND MAKES DECISIONS TO SATISFY THE VICTIM’S INTERESTS.................................................................................................198 The Prosecutor Represents the Victim During the Charging Decision....198 The Prosecutor Represents the Victim During the Plea Bargaining Process ..................................................................................................................213 REFERENCES.............................................................................................219 Books and Articles: ..................................................................................219 Cases: .......................................................................................................225 Constitutions, Statutes and Rules:............................................................226 VITA ............................................................................................................228 viii. CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW PURPOSES OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM For many years, we have been taught that the two basic purposes of the Criminal Justice System are assuring a ‘true finding’ of guilt and controlling crime. In theory, a true finding of guilty is accomplished by guaranteeing that the defendant is dealt with in a just manner with the justice system protecting the defendant’s Constitutional Rights – commonly referred to as ‘Due Process.’ In theory, crime is controlled through the imposition of the criminal sanction against the convicted defendant – commonly referred to as ‘Crime Control.’ In other words, the criminal justice system assures the defendant is guilty and then punishing the guilty defendant controls crime. One of the perceived problems with the due process and crime control theories of the criminal justice system is the lack of victim involvement in the prosecution and the justice system. Most people would agree that victims should participate in the criminal justice system. We understand that the victim is the person directly injured by the crime and realize that the justice system should be