Court Reports/ Writing in Criminal Justice

The following is an inmate timeline taken from an interview transcript inside the prison just before his parole. The parole officer assigned to the case has asked you to write a short narrative on the inmate’s history to present to the judge. The state is now considering what is called in his state “a 32F,” which means a revocation of his parole, because he recently failed one urine test. Your supervisor asked you to write a narrative to present to the court that will help determine his eligibility. The judge will use this narrative to assess whether the inmate might remain on parole with a warning or whether he is returned to prison to serve the remaining years of his sentence. You review his case file and make arecommendation to the court. Should he stay on parole? Read the inmate’s timeline and write a neutral report to the judge. Name: Joe Roccipella DOB: 8/ 12/ 65 Ages 7– 11: Good childhood. Family involvement/ family outings Age 7 to father’s death: Father would beat us. Disciplinarian. Alcoholic. Mom would object to beatings, and they would fight a lot. Middle School. “I used to love going to school.” “School was fun.” 11 years: Mom shot dad. She never told us, and I only found out when I was 18. Age 11– 12: Mom went to prison, and after that I went to live with my aunt. Family split up. Aunt used to beat my brother and me. Age 13: We left my aunt’s house & went to another’s. My older brother went on his own, did not want to live with family members anymore. We would visit mom in prison after church on Sundays, but we didn’t understand it was prison. Age 14– 16: I attended Central High School. I was kicked out. I was acting out all the time. I skipped school a lot. Got in with the wrong crowd. Mom got out of prison. Everyone moved back to her house. Age 16– 17: This is when I started getting really out of control. I attended an alternative school, and I stayed in it for a few years. It was good. I liked it. Friends drank. I was a follower, trying to fit in. Robbed soda trucks, stole car radios. I was not my own person. Friends got caught and went to Training School for 6 months. Their moms blamed it on me. Age 17: Things really went downhill. Started drinking and smoking and hanging out with an older crowd. Heavy IV drug use. My brother got AIDS from needle sharing and died. Took him a while to die, though. 1983: First bid in prison for B & E. Age 20: B& E. Served 3 years at Max. It was crazy/ rough in there. Started doing whateveranybody else in there was doing. It was like living in the projects, you know, prison was dangerous, too. Age 23: Met my wife Joseline outside Max at an arts and crafts tables. 1988: Once released, we had our daughter, Sarah (now age 25) 1988– 1990: 2nd bid for possession/ selling heroin. As soon as I got out, I came right back in. Was still using crack/ heroine. Out of control. That bid was for possession/ selling heroin. Joseline brought Sarah in the very next day after her birth for a visit. Ever since then, my daughter and I are very close. 1990– 1993 I worked with Joseline at the newspaper. We put papers together 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Also worked 3 to 11 at a pallet company. 1991– 1992 Sarah was 4 or 5 years old: I got her mom hooked on heroin. Feel guilty about that. Was also dealing out of the house. “I guess this was neglect in a way.” Joseline knew what was going on. I was really out of control. I had happy times with my daughter. I would get mydaughter up, get her dressed and ready for school every day. I would also go and pick her up. In the afternoons, we would go to a movie or go get ice cream. 1991 or so: Joseline had an abortion. (I just found out about this a couple of years ago. I had no idea, but I understand why she did it.) We probably weren’t fit to be parents. 1992: This is when I started my current bid. A friend came over to the house. He convinced me to rob a liquor store with him. We were both high on drugs/ alcohol – and so I said yes. The liquor store clerk identified his car and called police. We got home after the robbery and while outside with a dope customer, police caught up with us. Both customer and I were locked up in police cars when we heard shots. Cops entered house, found my friend hiding in a closet. The friend shot the cop point blank in the face when the cop opened the closet door. They told me he died on the way to the hospital. Police shot my friend. Multiple times. He died in the closet. Once other cops heard the shot, police startedshooting at the house. Joseline and Sarah were still inside. Sarah remembers seeing the friend get shot in the leg. I realize now how traumatizing it must have been for her. Over 40 shell casings were found inside. The cops just killed my friend. They went crazy. I was charged with two felony murders, consecutive life sentences, plus the robbery/ heroin/ parole violation, which I still had 9 years to serve. I guess I had a moment of weakness and smoked a little pot with some friends, which is why I failed the piss test. I know this is why they want to send me back to prison. I’ve never been a violent man. It seems ironic that I’ve been charged with felony murder. I mean, I know why they charged me with felony murder, but I was sitting in the squad car when all the bullets went flying. Seems like I will never move on from that fateful day. But in many ways, I’m thankful. I think prison saved my life back then when I was going wild. Now, I guess I just wasn’t thinking, but I have the good fortune of knowing my daughter, and now she has a daughter. I’m a grandpa now. Conclusion As you can see by Joe’s testimony, the layers are complex and it is important to write as objectively and mindfully as possible. Everyone you may encounter will have a complex history, and it is important to write with precision and clarity. You can assume that during your career you will write documents that court personnel will review. The stakes could not be higher for both the justice professionals and the individuals whose cases are adjudicated in court. Also, your own professional reputation may be affected by the quality and comprehensiveness of your reports. One judge once told this author that there are only a handful of writers she knows and trusts to write responsibly where court time is used expediously because she knows she can trust the writer to provide a comprehensive, objective, and mindful report. When she does not have their particular reports in front of her, she says that she uses valuable court time to interview the defendant herself. Finally, it is important to remember that we cannot always know whether a document will receive court review. This means that when we write, we must always be complete, comprehensive, well organized, devoid of judgmental language, free of jargon, and grammatically correct.      

Sample Solution