Question

Describe the “funneling” or screening process in the administration of justice.

Answer 1

Of the crimes that are recorded by the police, only about 20% are "cleared by arrest." As a result of initial prosecutorial screening, for example, about 25% of all arrests are rejected, diverted, or referred to other jurisdictions. Another 20% or so of all people arrested are released later for various reasons during one of the pretrial stages.

Answer 2

The funneling or screening process in the administration of justice refers to the series of steps that occur from the time a crime is reported to law enforcement through any subsequent court proceedings. This process helps determine whether a case will move forward for prosecution and, if so, at what level.

Initially, when a crime is reported to law enforcement, officers will conduct an investigation to gather evidence and identify possible suspects. If there is sufficient evidence pointing towards a particular suspect(s), they may be arrested and charged with committing the crime.

Once charges have been filed against an individual(s), there are typically several stages of pre-trial decisions made by various actors within the criminal justice system.

Firstly, prosecutors must decide whether or not to pursue formal charges based on their evaluation of available evidence. If they determine that there isn't enough evidence for probable cause or that there isn't enough public interest in pursuing formal charges with scarce resources then no further action may be taken.

If charges are pursued then judges would screen out weak cases due to lack of reasonable suspicion/probable cause during preliminary hearings before trial (judges could dismiss case too) - this prevents people from spending significant amounts waiting for trial only later finding out it was unjustified

During plea bargaining after indictment/arraignment where both parties try avoid trail by agreeing on lesser penalties as defendants plead guilty instead which reduces full caseloads while increasing conviction rates

Finally, trials take place where juries/judges evaluate all presented facts/evidence before deciding guilt beyond reasonable doubt which brings either acquittal/sentencing