“The Decision to Prosecute”: Analysis of Arguments, Evidence, and Interpretations
The decision to prosecute requires prolonged and thoughtful contemplations in order to ensure that the principles of justice are followed and every detail of a case is taken into account. By studying the role that the prosecuting attorney plays in the legal system and examining the linkages between the social and political aspects of decision-making in court, one will develop an insight into the existing legal system (Mears, Stewart, Warren, & Simons, 2017).
The case under analysis, “The Decision to Prosecute” by George F. Cole, offers an insightful journey into the intricate framework of the court system and the prosecution process. By giving reliable and valid arguments about the flaws of the legal framework, supporting it by statistical evidence, and providing clear and logical interpretations of the issue, Cole (1969) makes his case very compelling.
The theoretical and conceptual development of the author’s argument in the article allows for a very accurate presentation of the key arguments. For instance, the analysis of the existing court system and its integration into the analysis of the problems that the concept of prosecution has adds legitimacy to Cole’s statements. The fact that the system operates on a small number of cases, as Cole (1969) notes, constitutes the core of the problem, according to the author (p. 263). Therefore, the necessity to use a multifaceted approach in prosecution-rated decision-making becomes all the more apparent.
Approaching the issue from a political angle, one will have to agree with Cole on the matter of impediments toward representing a case in the court of law due to the tension in the relationships between a prosecutor and the court system. For instance, the problems in communication between a judge and a prosecutor may slacken the trial and the analysis of the case to a significant extent (Clair & Winter, 2016). Therefore, the issue of the tools that will allow for a multidimensional perspective on case analysis is indispensable for the successful management of a case.
The empirical validity of the argument that Cole (1969) conveys is also clearly visible in the article. The author appeals to numerous cases that support his position, proving that the reassessment of the decision to prosecute is overdue (Collins & Cooper, 2016). For example, Cole (1969) quotes the explanation provided by the Seattle attorney in order to demonstrate the importance of introducing a multifaceted perspective into the management of the prosecution process and the issue of the “package deal” (269).
Consequently, the statement regarding the importance of maintaining a multidimensional framework of decision-making in the courtroom in regard to the prosecution process is proven (Anwar, Bayer, & Hjalmarsson, 2018). Similarly, the author derives the support for his statements from the data retrieved from the King County to call attention to the fact that many lawyers lacked reliability. Overall, the empirical validity of the statements made by Cole (1969) is rather high, which is defined by the methodology of the author and the application of the statistical data for a more detailed analysis.
The combination of legitimate criticisms of the legal system, the use of the supporting evidence, and the concise and accurate interpretation of the problem of the decision to prosecute makes Cole’s (1969) argument very convincing. The persuasive tone of the article and the decision to focus on a variety of facets linked to the decision to prosecute introduce a substantial amount of objectivity into the paper. While greater attention could have been paid to the theoretical aspect of the issue, the analysis of the cases and the profound, multifaceted assessment of the issue made Cole’s statement legitimate and empirically valid.
References
Anwar, S., Bayer, P., & Hjalmarsson, R. (2018). Politics in the courtroom: Political ideology and jury decision making. Journal of the European Economic Association, 17(3), 834-875. Web.
Clair, M., & Winter, A. S. (2016). How judges think about racial disparities: Situational decision‐making in the criminal justice system. Criminology, 54(2), 332-359. Web.
Cole, G. F. (1969). The decision to prosecute. Law & Society Review, 4, 331-344. Web.
Collins, T. A., & Cooper, C. A. (2016). The case salience index, public opinion, and decision making on the US Supreme Court. Justice System Journal, 37(3), 232-245. Web.
Mears, D. P., Stewart, E. A., Warren, P. Y., & Simons, R. L. (2017). Culture and formal social control: The effect of the code of the street on police and court decision-making. Justice Quarterly, 34(2), 217-247. Web.