NCJ Number
99934
Date Published
1985
Length
249 pages
Annotation
This historical and comparative examination of State implementation of Supreme Court rulings on civil liberties and Congressional criminal records policy analyzes the relationship between the distribution and exercise of political elites' policymaking authority and styles.
Abstract
After identifying factors likely to influence the effectiveness of policy implementation processes, the evolution of national policies regulating criminal justice processes is traced. Also examined are the institutional, intergovernmental, and organizational dimensions of these policy reforms. Available studies and data then demonstrate nationwide patterns of State policy impact and performance. Case studies of four States (California, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Washington) examine the processes by which national civil liberties and criminal records policies are converted to State policy. The study identifies the importance of State political culture, ongoing institutional relationships, and differential elite support in determining State responses. A general theory of policymaking processes explains the relationship between public policy and American politics. One proposition of the theory maintains that the form of Federal policy strongly influences the ability of State elites to legitimize their policy choices and actions. A second proposition is that important power structural and institutional constraints in a State political culture establish the threshold and direction of change. Case and subject indexes and approximately 260 references.