March/April TA

Resolved: The primary objective of the United States criminal justice system ought to be
rehabilitation.
 CJS
CJS = Criminal Justice System
Step 1: Interaction with the police. Miranda rights are read to you  procedural checks
on the state.
 In the US, we have an adversarial system of justice = opposing sides that each
have an opportunity to win [IE. debate!]
 The burden of proof is on the state, not only are u PRESUMED INNOCENT, but
the state (in most criminal cases) must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
 That stems from monarchy.
 Hobbes and the leviathan were written to justify unchecked state power – ie in the
hands of the “sovereign.”
 Locke publishes ideas which then leads to the declaration of independence, the
constitution, and bill of rights.
 The us is built on a philosophy of it is better to let 10 guilty run free, it’s always
better than for an innocent person to be punished.
Step 2: You can be interrogated – u have the right to remain silent. Then you can
potentially (depending upon what you are accused of) be put in JAIL [the temporary
holding in the police station – prison is NOT the same as jail]
 Jail = where you are held before your trial
 Prison = where you serve your sentence
Step 3 [formal 1st step]: Arraignment – the defendant is formally charged.
 The prosecutor/district attorney tells the judge what accusations are being sought
against this person.
 The P/DA doesn’t have to choose everything that the police write up.
 At that moment, they can ask for representation (some people chose to self-
represent, but it is rare).
Step 4 [formal 2nd step]: Pre-trial hearing – defendant usually given a plea deal.
Step 5 [formal 3rd step]: Trial: if the defendant doesn’t plead guilty [usually they have
had multiple opportunities to plead guilty and they haven’t taken any].
 It can either be a:
o JURY TRIAL: isn’t always a 12-person jury (unless it is more serious)
and the jury has to be unanimous in its decision. If it is not unanimous, it
is declared a mistrial, and they have to start the process over again.
 If your attorney believes there is a PROCEDURAL ERROR, you
can apply for an appeal (NOT just because you don’t like the
decision). Also, the prosecutor CANNOT do this.
o BENCH TRIAL: Only the JUDGE decides, as opposed to a jury trial.
 Related Vocab
Matter of fact: Did you do it? – lower courts deal w that.
Matter of law: Is this law good? (should this law be upheld in the first place) – supreme
court deals w that.
Guilty verdict: Sentencing – that is where THIS TOPIC takes place.
Retribution (school of thought): REVENGE – or, restoring society to what it was prior to
the crime. The idea that the punishment should fit the crime, and that people should be
treated according to how they’ve acted.
Recidivism: When the criminal does it again (repeat offender).
REHABILITATION: The idea that you help people re-integrate into society.
 Topic Vocab
Primary: It takes priority over all others – major/main/most important.
Goal: A desired end state – strive towards it
United States Criminal Justice System [US CJS] – the system of arrest, trial, and
punishment.
Ought to be: should/would be desirable.
Rehabilitation: Combination of treatment, education, training, with the goal of
reintegration into society. There are cognitive, biological, and sociocultural components.
 Resolution Info
Superlative – u have to prove that something is the best/the most.
Not truth testing because unless u prove something is better, x is default the primary.
Not comparative worlds because it doesn’t ask you to compare the worlds of x vs y, ie
advocacy vs objectivity.
Neg burden – one other goal = more important, or a multitude of things might be more
important.
Aff burden – you have to prove something unique about rehab that transcends all other
goals. It’s not enough to prove that rehab is good, you have to prove that it is the most
important goal.
 Terminology
Object of evaluation: rehab
Evaluative term: primary
Context: US criminal justice system
Who/what is the agent of action: US CJS – Judges, and Jury’s, and potentially legislators
bc they can decide what types of programs to offer.
 Types of Conflict
 Individuals vs the state – defendant vs government
 Individuals vs individuals – inmates vs inmates
 Individuals vs groups – defendants vs survivors/families
 Individuals vs society – defendants vs community
 Individuals vs self – capacity to accept rehab
o Does the state have the right/jurisdiction to try to change the individual at
an internal level?
Framing
 AFF Prep
1. Fundamental attribution error – a lot of times in the cjs, verdicts r rendered based on a
dispositional judgement toward someone whos a criminal/perceived tonbe opne. When u
have this error, u attribute a negative behavior to the disposition of the person and a
positive e attribute to the experience. If u have a negative bias of someone, you will make
excuses as to why they do good things. Jurys make that error when assessing the
seriousness of the crime.
2. cap – underlying reasons for why ppl commit crimes to begin w – rehab is more
holistic way of viewing the defendant – u don’t j look at the act itself, but the motivatins
that caused it and counteract those in the way u sentence.
3. labeling – when u put someone in prison, u already stigmatize them – self fulfilling
prophecy. When someone views themselves as a criminal they are likelier to do it again.
4. nonviolent offenses – if u label them as criminals, it oculd increase violent crimes that
aren’t happening rn – most offenses ppl get in prison for are nonviolent offenses – neg
has the burden to prove
5. the level of culpability has to be based on not just the offense itself but WHY ppl
commit it – a hgue number of women end up in prison bc they r doing criminal activity
for a man that they r with – that’s rlly common in the cjs. They wouldn’t be doig it but
for the person they wer with.
6. sociology – labels create d a fixed identity – ppl continue to act in accordance w the
lable bc that is how ppl around them treat them. The term criminal is something ppl find
hard to shake. If it is drug offenses, the war on drugs has been unsuccessful us bc
criminalizing addiction is nonsensical. Non violent offenses and drug additictions, focus
on.
7. prison is putative but rehab is restorative – prison has negative connotation but rehab,
ppl can go there for many reasons like eating disorders. Also rehab – u can engage in
society still.
8. More than 28% of criminals are serving life sentences for NONVIOLENT crimes bc of
three-strikes laws
9. reintegration – what is the bl for rights forfeiture?
question – ask – “what is the bright line for rights forfeiture?” – “at what point do we
consider your right to be forfeited?” – shouldn’t have a system of punishment that is so
arbitrary – unclear at what point ppl deserve/don’t deserve rehabilitation  reintegration
solves bc the goal is to get ppl to not reoffend but also to function within society – even if
u think ppl shld face a consequence, it doesn’t mean it has to be sitting in a jail cell, it
shld be more productive
if the neg is very orientated towards punishment, ask: why so myna super high level
white collar criminals get off amd wju the system is structured so that pl who commit
terrinle acts get off – like ppl that Donald trump pardoned like steve Bannon or
something. A sustem that is structured whole groups of ppl and among the elite while
overpunishing others is not good.
Criminalizing ppl who need rehabilitation doesn’t solve:
1. Drug use just becomes underground – harder to regulate
2. Not effective – can’t solve addiction by telling ppl they will be punished if they are
addicts
3. Really arbitrary – don’t criminalize smoking, alcohol, vaping, etc – only criminalize
certain types of addiction (usually ones POC are involved in)
4. Proves rehabilitation is much more effective and reduces racial harm

System is underfunded and overcrowed – ppl don’t have time to defend which actually
leads to more plea deals
Much more tailored solution – whatever u did u just get a prison sentence
Its not a question of sending everyone to rehab, but rather that the focus towards the cjs
shld be rehab. Not everyone necessarily gets reintegrated but that shld be the goal of the
sustem. The media sensasionalizes ppl in prison to think that everyone there r crazy and
murderers.
 NEG Prep
Psychological evaluations – wheather u have some plan for post prison, ur behavior
towards inmates and authority figures in prison, etc. can point towards an assessment of
whether u r ready to leave. There r objkective criteria used to determine that. Ppl will
fake behing rehabilitated and they will just get out and do it again – although that’s a bad
arg bc its such a low chance of actuallt being able to do it.
Whats the bl for rehab
The neg is not criminals bad, society good, I’m scared of the criminals on the street, etc.
the neg position is also not “side with the victims and not the criminals” – it’s “what do
we do about the innocent ppl who get sentenced by the CJS?”  we agree with the aff’s
premise, but not their conclusion. You can definitely agree that the CJS is racist and
wrongly sentences ppl all the time, but your argument is that a model geared towards
rehab will be worse for innocent defendants.
1. It’s an unchecked abuse of power – rehabilitation means you try to formulate ppl
qualified to re-enter society –if you have a racist system than having a clear determinate
end point for when you get out will just allow for even more racism – they will always
just say, “you aren’t ready” to get out
2. Coerced rehab doesn’t work – if someone makes you go to rehab, you will just say
no – if someone needs rehab but refuses to go, it won’t be successful to make them do so
– means that a) justifies voluntary rehab – potential CP and b) means that the aff isn’t
going to work, bc ppl are forced into a program they don’t want to be a part of

AFF
The primary objective of the US CJS ought to be rehab because it focuses on the reason
they are there to begin with.
First, it gives people the resources needed to overcome their problem in the first place
which reduces the chances of recidivism -- According to a study from Arizona State
graduate and Journalist Joseph Gilmore in 2023 - ex inmates are 13 times more likely
to die from drug related causes just in the first two weeks after release. This proves
that the current system isn’t doing enough to decrease the chances of people
experiencing the problem again, which is why we need to shift to a system that allows
people to be educated and learn about their negative actions. Ask yourself, why
should we keep putting people in jail if it doesn’t teach them to be better in the
future?
2. Rehab addresses the social conditions behind crime. Data compiled in 2017 by the
United States Sentencing Commission revealed that Hispanic and Black offenders
accounted for about 70 percent of those receiving a mandatory minimum penalty for
138 months as compared to about 27 percent of white offenders for a similar offense
only having to serve an average of 28 months. This proves that while sentences may
not be equal in the status quo, rehab gives people the ability to get out when youre
actually in a better state.
3. Rehab addresses the culpability spectrum by giving people individualized treatment to
focus on the root cause of their actions and prevent them from acting on it again.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 600,000 people are released
from prison each year, but studies show that about two-thirds of those folks are likely
to return to prison within three years.

1:30
Adeena –
Rh breakes cycles of poverty by giving people they need to educate them
Better quality of life

Rh fixes the sickness rather than just the symptom

Rh creates tailored programs
Fixes underlying reasons

Rh reduces a world with 0 accountability

What education do they get after release

What incentive do they have to abide by the law if they are being released without any
education?

If they haven't done anything wrong but are in prison what do you do to change that

What happens to repeat offenders? What do you to prevent them from repeatedly
offending

Effective method of changing behaviors

Allow offenders to learn why their behaviors were negative

Rehab decreases the chances of returning to prison.

Instead of once a criminal always a criminal, we should shift to once a criminal, never a
criminal again.

NEG ---

Pluralism – rehab is a form of objective moral education. Ut assumes a single ethical

code and that is bad for a couple reasons:
It denies constructivist education
The participants don’t have a role/say in their education
It imposes one world view on people – that decreases checks, increases due process
violations, people are rewarded or punished for having the correct way of thinking
Thought policing --- having the right way of thinking
Assumes that there is a right way of thinking.
A question of what cpuonts as proper restitution, what do victims need, what is the best
way to atone to those crimes.
They are never internalizing it so it never really changes them.

NEG drill:
Rehab attempts to reform the lower classes through rhetoric like treatment and therapy.
As a result, rehab has empirically made reintegration contingent on participating in the
labor market – prisons stress actual workforce training as a primary rehabilitative goal,
undertaking the commercial exploitation of prison labor. This emphasis on labor market
participation is also imposed on many of the for million offenders on probation and
parole who are required to search for work or hold down jobs as a condition of avoiding
imprisonment. This perpetually subjugates offenders’ identities by trapping them into a
life of production. Thus, affirming denies their claim to identity. According to their peer-
reviewed study, published in the February issue of the journal Health Affairs, many for-
profit rehab programs charged inflated fees and used misleading sales practices to attract
patients without evaluating their actual medical needs. The industry is full of misleading
and little actual governmental oversight.
Secondly, by making inmates’ release contingent on internalizing specific moral rules,
rehab presents an objectivist view of moral education – ie one in which there is a single
ethical code that prisoners must use. This is a terrible model to endorse because it denies
constructivist education in which participants have a role in their education. Rehab
imposes one world view on people because it assumes proper restitution, what victims
need, what the best way to atone to those crimes is, etc. that decreases checks and
increases due process violations where people are rewarded for having the correct way of
thinking, and punished otherwise. This turns the aff arguments because offenders are
never internalizing it, so it never really changes them.