CONTROLLING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: COLORADO AS A CASE STUDY

Criminal justice reformers have recognized that many in the criminal justice system have the power to incur expenses that will be paid by someone else; a city police officer can make an arrest, for example, that will result in jail expenses paid for by the county, a county prosecutor can charge a crime which will result in a prison sentence paid for by the state. There is another, largely unexamined means by which actors in the criminal justice system can externalize cost: states have donated law enforcement authority to the federal government, and vice versa. Using the example of Colorado, this Article maps out the ways in which Colorado shares arrest and prosecutorial power. The United States, in turn, makes it possible for Colorado law enforcement officers to make arrests for federal crimes, and Colorado prosecutors to prosecute them. Because charging authority (and therefore spending authority) has been diffused, it will be more difficult for decision makers in one jurisdiction to establish binding criminal justice policy, even in its own courts.