Chapter 1 Crime and Justice in American Society
Suppose you are walking to a convenience store. The police stop you without probable cause and then arrest and search you after learning you have a warrant for a minor traffic violation. Their search uncovers an illicit drug. Because this evidence was found after an illegal police stop, can the evidence then be used in a drug prosecution against you?
In June 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Utah v. Strieff that evidence found in these circumstances may indeed be used in court (Liptak 2016). This case began in 2006, when a Utah police officer stopped Edward Strieff as he was walking to a convenience store from a house the officer had been watching after an anonymous tip reported drug activity there. After discovering that Strieff had an outstanding warrant for an unpaid parking ticket, the officer arrested and searched him, and discovered a bag of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Strieff was then charged with possessing this contraband. The Utah Supreme Court later ruled that the drug evidence could not be used against Strieff because his police stop was illegal.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling reversed the Utah court’s decision. In a stinging dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote, “This case allows the police to stop you on the street, demand your identification and check it for outstanding traffic warrants—even if you are doing nothing wrong. If the officer discovers a warrant for a fine you forgot to pay, courts will now excuse his illegal stop and will admit into evidence anything he happens to find by searching you after arresting you on the warrant.” She added that “it is no secret that people of color are disproportionate victims of this type of scrutiny.”
This case goes to the heart of some of the most important issues in criminal justice today:
How much power should the police have to do their jobs?
Where should we draw the delicate line between civil liberties and public safety?
How punitive should the criminal justice system be?
To what extent does the criminal justice system discriminate against poor people and people of color?
How effective is it in preventing and reducing crime?
This book deals with all these issues and more. It presents a concise but comprehensive understanding of criminal justice in the United States. You will learn how the criminal justice system works, and you will also hear about the issues just mentioned along with many others, such as the death penalty, the accuracy of crime statistics, police behavior, plea bargaining, prison violence, and juvenile justice. You will read about how the criminal justice system works in theory, and how it often actually works in practice. And you will also read about the importance of race and ethnicity for criminal justice dynamics and outcomes. We hope you will enjoy and learn from the exploration into the world of criminal justice that you are about to make!
To begin the book’s discussion, this first chapter reviews the problem of crime in the United States and outlines the major elements of the criminal justice system.