Family Questions for the Final Exam

Below are the questions I accepted from the families. Remember, these will be on the final exam.

BLACK FAMILY (Thomas, Natalie, Grant, Matt) 5 points

1. In the context of the discussion of the various drug cases in "Tulia," why did public defenders usually encourage their indigent clients to accept plea bargains?
(2)

ANSWER: Public defenders were poorly compensated for their efforts, only $400 per case, and so they were not motivated to do a good job. And they were also allotted only $500 for investigation purposes, which is grossly inadequate to properly defend someone. So, they usually spent their time trying to get the "best deal" for their clients.

2. Regarding "the most important lesson" to be drawn from "Gang Leader for a Day," the Black Family noted that: "the general lack of opportunities force many people to either work for the gangs or cooperate with them to make money to survive..." In a follow-up comment, how did I relate that to Prof. Ahrens' view of crime? (2)

ANSWER: that, as Ahrens stressed: there is little opportunity for legal, intelligent action in this disorganized world. And that it is this disorganized world that must be addressed in order to deal with the crime problem.


BLUE FAMILY (Marie, Meredith, Kit Jessica) 5 points

1. Why might auto theft attract the professional thief? (1)

ANSWER: There is only a 14% arrest rate, the lowest of any crime category.

2. What is a "fence," and why is this person significant for a certain type of crime? (2)

ANSWER: A fence is someone who buys and sells stolen goods, and this person is a crucial player in the crime of burglary. Without fences, burglars would have a hard time to get rid of the stuff they steal or turn it into cash.


GREEN FAMILY (Aubrey, Miya, Melanie, Sara, Jeremy) 5 points

1. What is the difference between what is called "real rape" and "simple rape?" (2)

ANSWER: Real rape is aggravated rape, involving violence and weapons, whereas simple rape is date or acquaintance rape and it often dismissed as "not real."

2. In the book "Tulia," who was the "mayor of Vigo," and what got him involved in the war on drugs? (2)

ANSWER: Gary Gardner, and he got involved when his son refused to submit to a drug test in school.


RED FAMILY (Wilson, John, Catherine) 5 points

1. After offering some reasons he would give an extraterrestrial to explain why certain drugs are illegal, what does Michael Pollan suggest (in "A Very Fine Line") might be the criteria for legal drugs? (2)

ANSWER: "A capital letter at the beginning of their names and a 'TM' at the end."

2. Identify any TWO things in Tom Coleman's background that should have disqualified him to be an undercover narcotics officer. (2)

ANSWER: Any two of the following: (a) he was openly racist, (b) was a pathological liar, (c) had an arrest warrant for theft and abuse of official property from a previous job in law enforcement, (d) he had walked away from debts, one of them over $6,900.
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That's all folks. See you Thursday afternoon at 2PM.

Reminders & Tulia Notes and Plan

Reminders: At last check, several people still have not posted their comment on "A Hard Straight." Remember, the deadline for that is this coming Friday, Dec. 11th.
We probably won't have much time tomorrow for the families to confer about final exam questions. Nonetheless, you should be making up some questions individually. The families will have some time in class on Thursday (12/10), our last class, to determine which four questions you want to submit. AGAIN, THE DEADLINE FOR THAT IS FRIDAY, DEC. 11TH AT NOON. I have read most of the in-class essays you wrote last Thursday and should be able to hand them back in class tomorrow, 12/8. Finally, continue reading "Tulia," which you should be finishing this week.
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TULIA NOTES AND PLAN: I am going to post some lecture notes below, but let me first lay out a "game plan," of sorts, for how we will cover the rest of this book this week. First, tomorrow (Tues., 12/8) I will be showing a documentary on Tulia. It runs about 55 minutes. It was done as this case was unfolding and you will hear from many of the characters, with two notable exceptions: Vanita Gupta, and Terry McEachern. One way of getting a handle on this book is to try to remember the cast of characters and the parts they played in this story. I have pared down my notes considerably, so that on Thursday I should be able to get to the end of the book. Below are some things I planned to talk about tomorrow.

LECTURE NOTES: We left off last Tuesday, 12/1, about to get into Chapter Four, The Mayor of Vigo.

A. Gary Gardner (the informal mayor of Vigo), bankrupt farmer, was in the midst of fighting s school board decision to institute a drug testing program, which his son refused to participate in (a case which he won, by the way). When he heard of the big drug bust in Tulia, he began saving articles and any other information relevant to the case.

B. He was especially troubled by the biased press coverage -- in the Tulia Herald the headline read: "Tulia's Streets Cleared of Garbage." He was also troubled by statements from the sheriff and district attorney, both of whom talked about the accused as if they were guilty. Gardner felt, in particular, that Sheriff Stewart applied the law too rigidly.

C. The author goes into Gardner's background. But most significantly, Gardner made a decision to draft a letter to the Tulia defendants (based on his new-found legal expertise), which he did not send right away, but he eventually did after he got a call from someone he had helped years ago. That letter actually contained two very sound pieces of legal advice: (1) he urged them to seek a change of venue (i.e., move the case out of Swisher Co.) and (2) he strongly suggested they investigate Tom Coleman's background.

Part Two

Chapter Five: "Deep Cover"

A. Other attorneys representing other defendants from the Tulia bust were surprised at the flimsy case the prosecution presented to get Joe Moore convicted and sentenced to 90 years.

B. Blakeslee focuses on one attorney in particular, Paul Holloway. He had a reputation for doing exhaustive pretrial preparations and he refused to play the standard plea-bargain game for indigent defendants.

1. In Texas, fees for indigent lawyers (or public defenders) were capped at $400, with only an additional $500 for investigative purposes, which is grossly inadequate and creates a strong incentive to plea bargain. (To give you some idea how inadequate those caps are: it is not unusual for an attorney to charge $100 AN HOUR for his services, and in terms of investigation, for example, ordering a DNA test in a case costs THOUSANDS.)

C. Holloway was troubled by the police reports on the cases which provided little detail and no corroborating evidence, which McEachern excused in the case of Coleman because he was supposedly operating "deep cover." Holloway went on to discover some of Coleman's checkered past, perhaps most significantly that Sheriff Stewart HAD ACTUALLY ARRESTED HIM IN RESPONSE TO AN ARREST WARRANT, WHILE HE WAS UNDERCOVER. McEachern had NOT informed the defense of this. But when Holloway approached Judge Self with such information, Judge Self refused to throw the cases out and McEachern successfully blocked the defense from presenting this to the jury.


Chapter Six: Officer of the Year

A. Holloway decides to do some further digging in Coleman's background by contacting his ex-wife Carol Barnett, and she gave him an earful, including the revelation that she was afraid of him.

B. Blakeslee goes on to talk about Coleman's dad who was a Texas Ranger. Coleman wanted to follow in his footsteps, but he got in trouble in school, dropped out in the 11th grade. His dad pulled some strings to get him a job as a prison guard and deputy, but he was not highly motivated and he was inattentive on the job. And this is not to mention his problems with debt, his divorce, etc.

C. It is in this chapter that Blakeslee desribes how McEachern successfully blocked efforts to get this information about Coleman presented to the jury. HOWEVER, IT SHOULD BE STRESSED THAT BOTH MCEACERN AND JUDGE SELF HAD AN OBLIGATION TO JUSTICE TO ACT ON THIS INFORMATION AND PROBABLY THROW THESE CASES OUT. SEEMS, HOWEVER, THEY WERE ONLY INTERESTED IN WINNING THESE CASES, EVEN IF THERE WAS A VERY GOOD CHANCE THESE PEOPLE WERE INNOCENT.


That brings us up to Chapter Seven (p. 106), where I'll pick up with my abbreviated notes in class. See you tomorrow.

Reminders

For those who saw "A Hard Straight" on Tuesday (11/24), don't forget to post a response to the question I posed on the previous blog post, Individual Activity, last Friday, 11/20. For those of you who did not see it, when you get back to campus go to the circulation desk in the library and ask for this DVD on reserve. IT IS FOR USE IN THE LIBRARY ONLY. There is a viewing room downstairs which can fit a few people. It might be a good idea to see it with some of your classmates. It runs an hour and 15 minutes. To earn the 4 activity points, you need to see it and post your comment by the last day of classes, FRIDAY, DEC. 11TH.

DON'T FORGET TO START READING "TULIA." IF AT ALL POSSIBLE YOU SHOULD TRY TO READ THROUGH PART II (UP TO P. 179) BY NEXT TUESDAY (DEC. 1ST). IT WOULD ALSO BE A GOOD IDEA TO TAKE SOME NOTES ON IT. YOU WILL BE DOING YOUR THIRD AND FINAL ESSAY ON THIS BOOK, AND WE MAY DO IT IN-CLASS ON THURSDAY, DEC. 3RD, FOR WHICH YOU COULD USE YOUR BOOKS AND WHATEVER NOTES YOU MAY HAVE TAKEN.

I will be handing back your papers when you get back on Tuesday. Hope everyone had a good holiday and will be ready to wrap this semester up when you get back.

Individual Activity: "A Hard Straight"

I handed out in class yesterday (11/19) a description of an individual activity in connection with viewing the video, "A Hard Straight," this coming Tuesday (11/24). Below are the details of this assignment.

After viewing "A Hard Straight" in class on Tuesday, Nov. 24th, I want you to compose and post a couple-paragraph response as a comment on this blog post, in which you will focus on ONE of the three parolees featured in the documentary. What I want you to address is simply: what could have been done to help this person make a successful transition to life outside of prison, thereby avoiding the personal and social costs of sending him or her back, as over 50% of parolees in California are today?

This activity is worth 4 points and is due NO LATER THAN THE LAST DAY OF CLASSES FOR THIS SEMESTER, FRIDAY, DEC. 11TH. (The reason for the long response time is that I anticipate some of you may miss the showing next Tuesday and so will have to see it on your own when you come back after the break. I will put it on reserve in the library after I show it next Tuesday.) NONETHELESS, I BELIEVE IT WOULD BE BEST IF YOU CAN SEE IT NEXT TUESDAY.

Reminders & Some More Lecture Notes

Reminders: For those who attended the lecture on drugs and film last Thursday, remember you need to post a brief comment about it in order to earn the extra credit points. Don't forget the paper focusing on two articles on a particular crime type is due this Thursday (11/19), and I plan to devote that class period to your brief reports about what you found. In class tomorrow (11/17), I plan to wrap up the remainder of Chapter 5 and then Chapter 6 in the text. Finally, mainly for those who were missing last Thursday, I stressed that you need to purchase "Tulia". I do plan to cover that book during the final two weeks of the semester.
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LECTURE NOTES ( I left off last Thursday where the author begins to address PROFESSIONAL CRIME p. 168)

PROFESSIONAL CRIME

A. Hagan opens with a couple examples of what might be considered "professional" crime and then gets into the whole notion or concept of professional crime.

1. It does seem to fit the definition of professional be gives (bottom, p. 168). But he basically decides to use it because it is widely used in the literature (which, to my mind, is not really an acceptable justification).

a. I agree with Cressey who "...warns that many skilled criminals are simply slightly better than other crooks at lying, cheating, and stealing, and that we should be careful about calling them 'professionals'." (p. 169)

2. Sutherland's characterization of the "professional thief" (1937) makes sense. These are criminals that are clearly more committed to crime than the occasional or conventional criminal. "In his original formulation, Sutherland saw the professional thief as characterized by crime as a sole means of livelihood, careful planning, reliance on technical skills and methods, and a migratory lifestyle. Professional thieves were found to have a shared sense of belonging, rules, codes of behavior, and a specialized language." (p. 169)

3. Hagan, then, goes on to describe various types --

B. Scams/Cons

1. Gives several examples. Some do not require great skill. But to be successful you have to have CONFIDENCE (and perhaps some acting ability) and gullible victims. (As P.T. Barnum once observed: "There's a sucker born every minute.")

2. Many "too-good-to-be-true" opportunities for easy money and "get-rich-quick" schemes out there, that are really cons or scams. They are proliferating on the Internet; I am sure you see these all the time in your email inbox.

3. Many scams border on the edge of slick business practices, such as used car dealers.

C. Identity Theft

(Although Hagan gives some idea of the magnitude of this crime, it warrants more than just a sentence. In fact, many of the Internet scams mentioned above are aimed at identity theft.)

D. Ponzi Schemes

1. Hagan discusses the origin and nature of such schemes, but unfortunately overlooks the most recent and sensational example: Bernard Madoff who was recently convicted; involved 10s of billions of dollars.

2. Ponzi and Pyramid are basically the same thing: early customers being paid off with money obtained from later ones.

E. Boosters (or professional shoplifters)

1. Like any other professional, the booster employs more skill and planning than the typical amateur shoplifter. Often work in groups and focus on certain items, as noted in Crime File 5.3 "Shoplifting" (pp. 182-3)

F. Cannons (or professional pick-pockets)

1. Requires skill, dexterity, art of misdirection. Notes how South Americans are the world's most skilled, even have a pickpocketing school in Colombia.

G. Professional Burglars

1. Gives a nice overview of this group and how involved and organized it is, using involving several people. Given this, law enforcement needs to pay attention to all aspects of this activity in order to crack down on it. (See last paragraph p. 184 for a brief description of some of the people involved.)

2. Safe-crackers or "box men" fall under this category -- really just professional burglars who specialize in breaking into safes.

3. Professional fence is crucial to success of professional burglars. "Professional burglars could not operate on a long term basis without reliable relationships with fences willing to buy large quantities of stolen property on short notice." (p. 186)
Which is why police often set up their own fencing operation to uncover burglars or burglary rings.

H. Paper Hangers (forgers of money, checks, other documents)

1. Notes how counterfeiters are still around and have been helped by the development of advanced color copiers, although the government itself has made great strides in printing more tamper-resistant money.

2. Phony credit cards is a growing area and logically so, since credit cards have become so much more pervasive in our society.

3. Leads into intellectual property theft, video piracy, cable service theft -- billions of dollars involved.

I. Professional Robbers

1. In contrast to most other professional criminals, professional robbers use force or the threat of force, which the author suggests does not require much skill, especially if one has a gun.

2. One major difference with the amateur is that professional robbers focus more on commercial establishments rather than individuals.

J. Professional Auto Theft Rings

1. Notes some of the sophisticated techniques involved in stealing cars.

2. Also notes how many stolen cars end up overseas where they can fetch a much higher price.

3. "There is only a 14 percent arrest rate for auto theft, the lowest of any crime category." (p. 192), which certainly may be part of the attraction, especially for the professional thief.
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That brings us up to CRIMINAL CAREERS OF PROFESSIONALS (p. 194). You will note that I skipped over a few of the many types of professional criminals mentioned in the text. Of course, as always, please incorporate these notes in your own notebooks.

Reminders & Family Points From "Gang Leader For a Day"

Reminders: I know several people went to the lecture yesterday afternoon after class. Remember, to earn the 4 points you have to post a brief response on this blog -- specifically as a comment on the blog post entitled, EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY. Also, YOU ALL NEED TO MAKE SURE TO PURCHASE A COPY OF "TULIA," WHICH THE BOOKSTORE IS SENDING BACK TODAY. So you may have to go to your local bookstore or find it online.
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FAMILY RESPONSES TO "GANG LEADER FOR A DAY"

(1) Most surprising fact or observation:

GREEN FAMILY: The most surprising observation was that gang members are willing to risk their lives for very little money. Their participation is based more on loyalty to the community and the sense of unity that the Robert Taylor Homes produced.

(a) To which I would add: Dealing drugs was not very lucrative but it was better than nothing or some menial job. And J.T. and the other gang members clearly were committed to the community -- to looking out for tenants, not just themselves. They probably felt good about themselves in this context, even if they were engaged in other, more destructive criminal activities.

BLACK FAMILY: How inhabitants of the Robert Taylor Homes used sex as currency for almost anything they needed -- appliances, diapers, drugs, place to stay, weapons, rent, and to avoid prison.

(a) To which I would add: I would make two points about this: (1) Most importantly, this is an indication of how desparate the plight of these people was -- that there was so little money to be had legitimately through jobs or even government welfare, that they had to resort to selling themselves for basic necessities. (2) Also, it hearkens back to a feudal-like economy based on barter.

(I never got the Red family's response to this question.)


(2) Most insightful passage.

GREEN FAMILY: "He fancied himself a philanthropist as much as a leader....He mandated that all his gang members get a high-school diploma and stay off drugs. He gave money to some local youth centers for sports equipment and computers. He willingly loaned out his gang members to Robert Taylor tenant leaders, who deployed them on such tasks as escorting the elderly on errands or beating up a domestic abuser....A drug economy, he told me, was 'useful for the community,' since it redistributed the drug addicts' money back into the community via the gang's philanthropy." (p. 115)

This passage shows how J.T. wants to justify his gang's activity and give them a legitimate role in the community. His goal is to explain how intertwined the gang is in the community, making it seem to be a philanthropic organization and not just a bunch of ignorant criminals running around selling drugs.

BLUE FAMILY: "The next day I would wake up free of the hundreds of obligations and judgments I'd been witness to. But J.T. wouldn't. He'd still bear all the burdens of running a successful underground economy: enforcing contracts, motivating his members to risk their lives for low wages, dealing with capricious bosses. I was no less critical of what he did for a living. I also wanted to know more about his professed benevolence and how his gang acted on behalf of Robert Taylor's tenants. And I still knew very little about J.T.'s bosses." (p. 143)

Sudhir said this toward the end of his stint as "gang leader for a day." It reveals the kind of leadership skills J.T. needed to operate this illegal, underground economy.


(3) Most important lesson.

BLACK FAMILY: The most important lesson is that it is very hard to prevent or deter crime in areas such as the Robert Taylor Homes, because (1) the cops are either not around or look the other way or, in some cases, are corrupt and take bribes to overlook criminal activities; (2) the general lack of opportunities force many people to either work for the gangs or cooperate with them to make money to survive and possibly go to school and maybe even escape the projects.

(a) To which I would add: This lesson touches on the point Prof. Ahrens made in that passage I gave you to analyze for essay II -- that there is little opportunity for legal, intelligent action in this disorganized world. And that it is this disorganized world that must be addressed in order to deal with the crime problem.

RED FAMILY: In terms of understanding and dealing with gangs, the most important lesson to be learned would involve an assessment of means and goals. In the author's interaction with characters such as J.T. and Ms. Bailey, the issue of lack of access to legitimate means constantly arises. While many people may assert that the solution to this impoverished, crime-ridden community would be such things as education, a steady job, etc., Venkatesh discovers that the answer is not that simple. For some of these gang members, this gang involvement is perhaps one of the only means of making money to support their families. While their methods of making money, supporting and feeding their families may seem somewhat controversial or uncanny, as outside observers of this sort of culture, we must realize that though their means may be different from our own, they are attempting to reach the same goals we are.

(a) To which I would add: Although we share similar goals, there is no question but that we have much more access to legitimate means to achieve them, whereas illegitimate means are predominant in this impoverished gang subculture.
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That's it. INCORPORATE THE ABOVE IN YOUR NOTES. IF I ASK ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BOOK ON THE FINAL EXAM, THEY WILL COME FROM THE ABOVE RESPONSES.

Remainder of Lecture Notes on Chapter 4

Before I post these lecture notes, make sure to check out the previous blog post today which describes an extra credit opportunity tomorrow.
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I left off talking about "Rape as a Violent Act." So, let me pick up with "Sexual Predators"

3. Sexual Predators: Hagan gives background on the passage of "Megan's Law," which requires states to inform local authorities when a sexual predator is being released in their community -- so people would be aware of these people and better able to protect their children. (Although from the labeling perspective, such a policy may only serve to reinforce this behavior.)

4. Stalking: California and 20 other states have passed laws to prevent this. A survey "discovered that stalking was a much bigger problem than previously believed -- about 1.4 million victims annually." (p. 131)

ROBBERY

A. Hagan defines it: "...theft through violence or the threat of violence," and notes how it is concentrated in our largest cities -- the "quintessential urban crime."

B. The rewards are not that great, although the sentences are stiff. And he notes some dumb things bank robbers have done (which reflects poorly on the rational choice theory which assumes robbers are rationally calculating the costs and benefits of their actions.)

C. He also talks about CARJACKING, which involves the use or threat of force to steal a vehicle. Is a quick way to get around some of the more sophisticated auto-theft devices -- simply attack the driver in the car.

D. In the context of Conklin's TYPOLOGY OF ROBBERS (the typology itself being insignificant in my view), he makes another point which casts a shadow over rational choice theory. Of a study of armed robbers in Montreal, he says, "Most were under 22 years of age, wore no disguise, and usually stole less than $100. Nearly half of the robbers either did not plan ahead at all or planned their robbery far less than an hour in advance. The robbers indicated that they viewed armed robbery as the fastest and most direct means of getting money compared with burglary and fraud. Younger robbers in particular claimed that they enjoyed the thrill, excitement, status, feeling of power associated with the crime." (p. 134) -- that is, the focus was all on the potential rewards, no consideration of possible costs was evident.


DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

A. Hagan documents the extent of domestic violence, such as child abuse and increased attention to it. (Hagan relies heavily on the work of Straus and Gelles. I knew Straus from graduate school, and I have reason to suspect that some of these figures may be exaggerated because of how broadly he defined abuse. This is NOT to say, of course, that this is still not a huge problem. It is.)

B. Somewhat surprising was a finding that husbands and wives are equally likely to batter each other. (Straus, again)

C. Elder abuse likely to grow and suspicion that it is grossly underreported.


CRIMINAL CAREERS OF VIOLENT OFFENDERS

A. Hagan points to a seriously misguided prediction, which I was unaware of. He says, "Conservative writers in the early 1990s predicted a massive wave of violent superpredators. W.J. Bennett, Dilullio, and Walters in BODY COUNT: MORAL POVERTY AND HOW TO WIN AMERICA'S WAR ON CRIME (1996) predicted that the United States was about to experience unprecendented violence, blamming this on moral poverty rather than joblessness, racism, and inequality. Not only did their forecast never come true, but crime declined the most in the very areas that they predicted it would be worst." (p. 140)

B. Hagan talks about the "culture" and "subculture" of violence, which I believe fits with what Venkatesh revealed in "Gang Leader for a Day." But Hagan also throws some cold water on this argument by citing some studies which indicated that lower classes and minority groups do not have attitudes which favor violence.


SOCIETAL REACTION

A. He opens by talking about the need to do a better job to crack down on chronic or career offenders who are responsible for most crime. And he talks about the need for early crisis intervention in domestic violence cases.

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That's all for now. We will pick up with Chapter 5 tomorrow in class.