NCJ Number
200395
Date Published
1999
Length
320 pages
Annotation
This overview of North Carolina's criminal justice system contains chapters on crime, the State constitution, lawmaking, law enforcement, prosecution and defense, courts and adjudication, corrections, juvenile justice, the Federal presence, education and training, and victims and related social services.
Abstract
The main purpose of this text is to explain how North Carolina's criminal justice system developed and how it resembles and differs from the criminal justice systems of other States. The chapter on crime contains sections on crime rates and trends, delinquency rates, murder rates, the Southern subculture of violence, Southern stereotypes and Southern culture, and whether a subculture of violence exists in North Carolina. The chapter on the State constitution considers rights pertinent to criminal justice processing, legal authority, and the financing of criminal justice. The chapter on lawmaking addresses the common law, the State supreme court, the general assembly and its work, local lawmaking, the Governor's Crime Commission, and African-Americans in the general assembly. The chapter on law enforcement discusses State, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies, as well African-Americans and law enforcement in the State. The chapter on prosecution and defense has sections on the Office of the Attorney General, the district attorney, public defenders and the defense bar, and race relations and the legal profession. In discussing courts and adjudication, chapter 6 considers court unification and structure, the adjudication process, and African-Americans and the judiciary. The chapter on corrections focuses on county jails, the history and organization of State corrections, the Department of Correction, the death penalty, and race and convict labor. In presenting an overview of juvenile justice, chapter 8 reviews the beginnings of juvenile justice in the State, delinquency prevention programs, juvenile case processing, and meeting the needs of African-American youth. A chapter on the Federal presence in North Carolina considers how the Federal components of criminal justice (law enforcement, courts, and corrections), as well as Federal funding impact State criminal justice. One section considers African-Americans and the impact of the Federal system. The chapter on education and training profiles pre-service training, college education, and graduate school for criminal justice personnel, along with historically Black colleges and universities and career opportunities in criminal justice. The concluding chapter on victims and related social services considers crime victims in general, domestic violence victims, rape victims, child abuse victims, and legal aid societies. Chapter references and a subject index