NCJ Number
155862
Journal
Buffalo Law Review Volume: 39 Dated: (1991) Pages: 737-802
Date Published
1991
Length
66 pages
Annotation
Prosecutors have tremendous discretion, particularly at the precharging stage of the criminal justice process, and the extent of prosecutorial abuse in the case of drug-addicted mothers is examined.
Abstract
Prosecutor discretion is virtually unconstrained by courts, legislatures, and the electorate. Consequently, there is great potential for prosecutors to use their discretion against some of the least powerful in society, drug-addicted poor minority women. The extent of prosecutorial discretion and potential abuse is examined using the paradigm of drug-addicted women. Justifications for allowing prosecutors wide latitude and existing inadequate constraints on prosecutor discretion are discussed. Ways in which demographics, pluralistic ignorance, and the ideology of U.S. courts contribute to doctrinal anemia in the area of prosecutor discretion are highlighted. Effects of gender, color, and class on prosecutor bias and ways in which feminist and critical race methodologies reveal such bias are explored. Criminal justice system reforms are recommended to curb prosecutor discretion in the case of drug-addicted mothers. The creation of a board system is proposed to provide information for the democratic control of prosecutors and to provide community perspectives on gender, race, and class biases. 272 footnotes