Courtroom 302: A Year Behind the Scenes in an American Criminal Courthouse

Courtroom 302 describes a world most of us will never see, nor would we wish to."No man can examine the great penal system of this country without being astounded at its magnitude, its cost and its unsatisfactory results," said John Altgeld, Cook County judge and later governor of Illinois in 1890. At that time, the end result was the imprisonment of fifty thousand citizens. Today the yield is 1.5 million.Ironically the vast majority of those in the system are there for drug-related offenses, almost always non-violent crimes. If you beat your wife, you'll get released on an I-bond (recognizance), because it's a misdemeanor, not a felony, unlike drug offenses. For some bizarre reason we consider a health problem of much greater import than a violent crime.Bogoira's book examines a the Chicago justice system during the course of a year from a variety of viewpoints: judges, accused, police and attorneys. You will finish the book grateful to have a job and money. Without these, you would most likely be lost in the maelstrom of the justice system.The police have immense power and that force was amply displayed in the case of George Jones, prosecuted for the rape and murder of Sheila Pointer. A federal grand jury, which later investigated the case, found it to be a frightening abuse of power by members of the Chicago Police Department. Exculpatory evidence was ignored and other evidence manufactured to charge an innocent man. Seven policemen were later indicted for false imprisonment, false arrest and malicious prosecution.Bogoira follows several individuals as they work their way through the court system It's a scary place where everyone is overworked and justice not an accepted concept. It's clear that it's the innocent who need lawyers, not the guilty, but they are only available to the rich.Not only that, police malfeasance appears common place, so much so it's even enshrined in process. A basic requirement of the legal system is that the defense must be advised of all exculpatory evidence (Brady v Maryland). To get around this, Chicago police kept a double filing system: the evidence they gave the D.A.'s office which had too be turned over to the defense in one file, and all the notes and ancillary material which they decided might not help the prosecution, something called their "street file," is kept in the local police station. Street files never left the precinct and the prosecutor could say in court that the defense had all the records that existed in his files. No mention was ever made of the street files which often contained material that would have been invaluable to the defense.Confessions from anyone, it seems are suspect given tactics often used by police, but the mentally retarded are particularly vulnerable. Bogira cited a study that read Miranda warnings to forty-nine adults with IQs averaging 55.5. A control group was given similar simple explanations of the words in the warning, and it became clear that the retarded adults never understood the meanings nor the implications of the rights they were being asked to waive.Chicago suffered from a great deal of corruption in the court system as revealed by the Greylord investigations in the early eighties. Several judges were sent to jail for having taken bribes. No one could have foreseen the havoc that resulted. The corrupt judges, in order to "balance their sheets," apparently might often help convict those who might be innocent, but who had not bribed the judge, to show their "impartiality." Often, those whose attorneys had been involved in the bribery schemes, were granted new trials; some who had not been, were not. The Appeals courts were concerned that granting new trials across the board would open a flood of new trials. Ilana Rovner, a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals judge, in a dissent, argued ,"It is a sad day indeed when defendants who attempted to purchase their way out of a conviction receive a greater measure of justice than those who do not." Indeed. One cannot help but wonder if Chicago might be the rule rather than the exception.

This book provides a fascinating look into the workings of one of America's largest courthouses, as told through the eyes of defendants working their way through the system and the lawyers, judges, and deputies involved in their journey. We've all seen OJ and Casey Anthony, but this book tells how it works for the small time narcotics dealers, the probation violators, the car thieves that don't get a nationally televised, months long jury trial.Unfortunately, instead of just narrating on the fascinating workings of a large city courthouse the author repeatedly gets on a soapbox with his personal opinion on "the war of drugs" which leads to an abrupt, intrusive shift of tone from formal narration to sarcastic editorializing, and for that I need to drop it one star.

Some may say this is dry, but in all honesty, I enjoyed this book a lot and this is coming from someone who was assigned to read this for a Criminology class. This book helped me gain an interest in law that I didn't know I had.I love how easily it seems to put together the personal stories of so many individuals that walk into the Courtroom 302. It discusses the before, during and after of several different perspectives in the courtroom such as authoritative figures (judge, deputy), attorneys, prosecutors, defendants, victims and their families and peers.It keeps me interested because even though the book may drown out with legal terms and concepts, the backstory behind every character in the book keeps me hooked.This book has a way of showing every figure in the courtroom in good and bad light. The author knows how to draw sympathies toward any character regardless of their acts or behaviors.I highly recommend this book if you want to learn about the criminal system and process without easily getting bored, and if you'd rather read a novel than a textbook. It's good practice for becoming familiar with jury and trial process.As for shipping and physical quality, it was perfect. No marks and in new condition and arrived when expected.

This book is why I love reading non-fiction,to say it's a vivid account is an understatement,I wonder if the author had to sleep under his bed after he wrote this, real names, real cases, real comments, awesome.I love to learn inside dope in peoples lives, like PD (public defender) only to prisoners it means "Penitentiary Dispenser",a lot of sad stories in the book, the worst are the cases of $18.00 amount of a drug found on a drug abuser means she'll go to jail and the ridiculous amount it will cost tax payers, how Prohibition and the War on Drugs have the same affect on society,the court is so busy most cases are handled in 5 min or less,after a PD had been there awhile his only goal was to get out and yet the heart warming story of PD Greenberg defending a mentally handicapped drug abuser multiple times for just his initial fee, all in all a great read for all especially for Illinois voters and anyone thinking of going into law enforcement.

Terrific behind the scenes look at all that goes on inside (and outside) a criminal courtroom. The book covers all the major players - the police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges and the various pressures, motivations, and agendas that drive them to do what they do as the system attempts to do justice. This is not a novel, but it's paced like one, blending quotes from the real life participants with anecdotes, statistics and behind the scenes info. The author does not push any particular agenda and allows the reader to draw her own conclusions about the system as it is and the way we all wish it would be.Though limited to one courtroom in one American city, Courtroom 302 serves as a good introduction to the machinations of the American criminal justice system. Those intrigued by the contents will no doubt pursue further information elsewhere.

A slow start- it is not till later you realize its not the author but the system. Bogira gets the human motives in the justice business, and it is a compelling story. Over-worked judges, defenders, prosecutors; you can practically smell the courtroom. Being English based, before I got into it I thought "ah, its different here..." It isn't.

Another student mentioned it on a forensic psychology course. It is a detailed content, portrays the American legal system in a very poor light indeed.