Non-Trial Dispositions of Criminal Offenders: A Case Study

A number of pre-trial diversion projects, similar to CPA, funded either by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration or by the United States Department of Labor, have been set up in recent years in a number of cities around the country. Many are modeled after the Vera Institute’s Manhattan Court Employment Project in New York and Project Crossroads in Washington, D.C. While the programs are not entirely identical in operation, hopefully this discussion of some of the legal issues involved in non-trial disposition of criminal offenders will be of use outside the immediate confines of the CPA situation. Ultimately the continued success and expansion of this type of program depend on the sociological and penological effectiveness of such treatment concepts. However, these questions concerning the immediate and long-range effects on the individual and on the community, while deserving of study, are outside the scope of this article.