7.2: Two Models

Two Models

Many individuals have never been inside a real court room and so instead they form an opinion of what happens in court by watching television or movies. A different way of understanding what happens in the courts is by examining the dominant models. There are two main models and one primary critique model that we can use to enhance our understanding of American courts.

Traditional Model

The traditional model of the American court system is similar to a classic Hollywood portrayal of the intense drama that takes place inside a courtroom when attempting to determine the truth. Under the traditional model the court room provides a setting for what will be an adversarial process. The adversarial battle that will take place is between the defendant (which is the person accused of the crime) and the state. Currently in our country in criminal courts, it is not the victim that brings charges against an individual but rather the state brings forth the charges on behalf of the victim and on behalf of all the residents of the state who might be threatened by the alleged actions of the defendant.

Since the battle is a little lopsided with just the defendant against the victim, the police, the prosecutors, the investigators, and so on—it is important that a very fair and formalized process is followed. Part of that process is to ensure that the defendant has the assistance of a defense attorney and that the process is overseen by a judge who is not biased toward one party or the other. The judge will oversee the process to ensure its fairness as well as rule on questions regarding criminal procedure and rules of evidence.

Systems/Justice Model

According to this traditional model, the judge will oversee the battle between the defendant and the state. Even if the battle seems a little lopsided, as long as the process is followed, we can be assured that justice will prevail in the end. It may sound a little bit like a Hollywood drama but according to this model as long as all parties put their best efforts into the case the truth will be revealed and justice will prevail.

According to the systems model, most cases that are heard in a courtroom setting are not that complicated and full of drama. According to this model, the reality is that the prosecution, the defense, and the judge are individuals that often work together in the courtroom setting. Given how often they work together they are not actually mortal enemies, but instead they form a type of work group in order to get through the cases before them on any given day. Each of these individuals within the court room wants the cases settled in the quickest and simplest way. Rather than a focus on a long and drawn out battle this model focuses on simply handling the cases as efficiently as possible to reach a quick conclusion. While this model does not sound like the setting for Hollywood drama, it may mirror the reality of an overloaded court system it is simply trying to settle the cases as quickly as possible.

Image 7.2

Assembly Line Justice Model

Critics of the current American justice system point out the extensive backlog of cases and how unfair that is to both the alleged victims as well as all of the alleged offenders. Since it may take up to a year to settle some cases, this model points out how there is probably actually very little concern for efficiency or procedure as all parties are simply trying to take care of the overwhelming number of cases as fast as possible. Under this model there are no heated debates or lengthy speeches, but rather a small group of overworked court officials who are not particularly concerned about the lives they are impacting. The willingness to accept plea bargains in order to skip several typical steps in the court process with little concern to the wishes of the victim, or the rights of the defendant, is an example of a common practice that might support the accuracy of this model.

Perhaps all of these models have some accuracy within them as how a case is handled may very depending on the geographic location, the severity of the offense, and the public attention the case has gathered. No matter which model you feel is the more accurate one, or perhaps which model you feel is what our courts should be doing, the American court system is quite complex. Each state has a court system some with numerous separate branches, and others which are more unified. There are also several levels of federal court systems.