Trial Courts in the Modern System of Criminal Justice

Abstract

The Criminal Justice system has been criticized recently because of the lack of coordination among its parts. The current system is viewed by some to be operating in such a haphazard and unplanned fashion that it could more properly be characterized as a "nonsystemr." Because of this situation, trial court judges are being called upon to assume new responsibilities in the modern system of Criminal Justice. There have been calls for greater integration of the activities of the trial courts with those of the other segments of the Criminal Justice System. This greater coordination and closer interrelationship among the segments of the Criminal Justice System is supposed to alleviate the inefficiency in the current nonsystem and lead to smoother functioning, and a less expensive, Criminal Justice System. Though the benefits to be derived from the current evolution of Criminal Justice relationships is obvious, the potential hazards are in need of further study. After describing some of the current proposals for integrating the Criminal Justice System, this article will present and analyze some of the problems resulting from such proposals.