Ratting : the use and abuse of informants in the American justice system / Robert M. Bloom.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bloom, Robert M., 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

State's evidence--United States.

State's evidence.

Informers--Legal status, laws, etc--United States.

Informers.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (215 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2024

Place of Publication:

Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Showing informants in a variety of contexts provides a broader picture of them, and highlights the potential pitfalls associated with their use within our criminal justice system. Police depend on insiders to prosecute the perpetrators of many of the so-called victimless crimes like drug dealing, money laundering and political corruption. As victimless crimes have grown, so has the use of informants. Providing insights into law enforcement techniques as well as the Court's response to them, Bloom illuminates the pernicious legal ramifications that can result from the justice system's relationship to and use of informers. Law professors, criminologists, and law enforcement scholars will find Bloom's account of this much used and abused but under-reported aspect of America's law enforcement efforts both edifying and sobering. There are different kinds of informants. Some are used to infiltrate and destroy organized crime operations, and others, such as Linda Tripp, are used to investigate government officials. Informants are motivated by a variety of reasons, including financial gain, political power, elimination of competition, and avoiding criminal punishment. Some are even imaginary, fabricated by police to justify their activity. Bloom discusses each type of informer, grounding his commentary in real cases, some well known, others obscure. He then concludes by suggesting how potential and real abuses of the informant system can be curbed.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Chapter 1 A Historical Overview of Informants

Chapter 2 The Political Informant "A Certain Fair- Weather Friend" - The Story of Linda Tripp

APPENDIX

Chapter 3 The Nonexistent Informant The Story of Officer Carlos Luna

APPENDIX A

APPENDIX B

Chapter 4 Jailhouse Informants The Stories of Leslie Vernon White and Anthony Michael Sarivola

Chapter 5 High- Level Informants The Story of James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi

APPENDIX C

APPENDIX D

Chapter 6 The End of the Story

Notes

Bibliography

Cases Index

Subject Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-195) and index.

ISBN:

9798216004820

9786610315413

9781280315411

1280315415

9780313013850

0313013853

OCLC:

614643268