Justice?

Rumor has it some of my former coworkers are “disappointed” that Kurt and I started our business. I hope that isn’t true. After working in the criminal justice system in one capacity or another for nearly 34 years, I’ve thought long and hard about the concept of “justice.” I’ve seen the entire system fluctuate from wanting to emphasize pure punishment and retribution to treatment with the emphasis on helping those who commit crimes to make positive changes in their lives to hopefully allow them to avoid committing crimes in the future.  What both extremes seem to forget is that “justice” is supposed to be a balance. The definition of justice includes words like “impartial” and “fair.” Those qualities, being impartial and fair, are supposed to be the foundation of our criminal justice system. It is an adversarial system, with the judge determining what is truly fair, impartial and “just.”

Our system has morphed into a system of plea agreements between the prosecutor and the defendant, with occasional trials. I understand that this is necessary because available resources would not allow every case to be decided at trial, but it gives the prosecution much power in determining what charges will be brought and to what charges the defendant will be given the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty. It remains the duty and responsibility of the court, the judge, to determine the “just” sentence.

As a probation officer, I worked for the court, for the judge. I didn’t work for the prosecution, I didn’t work for the defense, I worked for the person who determines the “impartial,” “fair,” and “just” disposition in each case. At times it was difficult. I have my own opinions of right and wrong and I have my own personal prejudices related to specific offenses. I did my level best to make sure my personal feelings, my personal prejudices, were never present in my reports. I would hope that anyone reading my reports would not be able to identify my personal feelings about any specific defendant or offense.

But ours is an adversarial system. The government, the “law” has an advocate and the accused, the defendant, has an advocate. If I believe in our system of justice, and I do, I have to believe that every defendant deserves to have their side adequately presented to the court during this process. The prosecution has case agents and other law enforcement officers to assist them in gathering information. Why should the defense not have individuals, investigators, to assist in gathering information?

One of the things that bothered me most when I was preparing presentence investigation reports was when I had to tell the parties that their application of the sentencing guidelines was incorrect. While the application of the guidelines is an important part of the plea negotiations, attorneys, both the defense and the prosecution, have many other issues to consider in the process. If assistance can be provided in complicated guideline applications to expedite the process, would that not be a benefit to the entire process?

As probation officers, we spend 20+ years of our lives becoming “experts” in very specialized areas. After we retire, is that experience and expertise no longer relevant or worthwhile? At a maximum age of 57, a retired probation officer is no longer of any use or benefit to the system? Our brains do not automatically switch off when we retire. That information, that knowledge, does not drain right out of our ears when we retire. I would hope that my former coworkers would not see my role as an investigator for the defense as putting me (or Kurt) in a position of direct opposition to their positions as probation officers. If we are able to help avoid the parties making errors in guideline calculations that cause issues at sentencing, if we are able to provide useful information for them in preparing their presentence investigation reports, does that not assist them, as well as the entire process?

Perhaps I am wearing rose colored glasses, but I see many benefits for the entire system in Kurt and I being able to work with defense attorneys. I hope my former coworkers will also see these benefits.