Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the role of culture in legal negotiations of justice for poor criminal suspects. It explains how Defenders anticipate or look upon their task and describes how they view their cultural arena, which includes their own as well as others' roles, the obstacles they perceive themselves to confront, and the cultural 'tools' or language systems that they anticipate they must employ. The book shows how Defenders develop professional opinions of specific cases and decide whether any single case should be plea bargained or taken to trial. It explores the cultural battles among the legal professionals take place. The book provides an overview of the findings and discusses them in terms of their implications for future research and social reform.