NCJ Number
79824
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
In this videotaped workshop session on court specialists, four speakers discuss the role of the State Planning Agency (SPA) specialist in the criminal justice planning process.
Abstract
Chief Justice C. William O'Neill of the Ohio Supreme Court focuses on the role of the court specialist from the viewpoint of the court, including how States can help court reform. Concerns center on the judicial selection system; salary and pension for judges; unification of the courts; and State financing of courts, including lower municipal courts. A district attorney from Louisiana discusses the role of the court specialist from the prosecutor's perspective, noting that the planner should know what prosecutors do in the criminal justice system. He asserts the importance of communication, establishment of priorities, prior determination of the cost of new programs, and assessment of a program's impact on the police. The next speaker, Rollie Rogers, a Colorado State public defender, examines the court specialist's role from the defense viewpoint. He recommends training programs for lawyers and investigators, paralegal programs, offender rehabilitation programs, and pretrial diversion programs that include representatives of the defense function. The last speaker, director of the Maryland SPA, discusses the role of the SPA court specialist from the perspective of the SPA. He delineates five basic functions of the SPA planner: brokerage, technical assistance, information dissemination, quality assessment, and evaluation. For other tapes of this workshop session, see NCJ 79822-28.