ABSTRACT
The criminal justice process illustrates the norm-enforcement function of courts, which occurs when courts punish acts and failures to act that violate criminal statutes. Criminal courts do not only enforce social norms, though; they also resolve disputes between the people of a state or of the United States and the defendant(s). The most important participant in State v. Johnson was the defendant, Stan Johnson. The New Hampshire native who played a prominent role in State v. Johnson was the prosecutor, Granite County Attorney Kevin Quinlan, a "hometown boy" who had grown up in Grayson. On February 1, 2015, Stan Johnson appeared for his arraignment before New Hampshire Circuit Court Judge Nathan Cody at the Grayson County Courthouse. After Stan rejected a plea bargain, both sides began preparations for trial; for the defense, preparations included the filing of several pretrial motions. On August 27, 2015, Judge Romano convened a sentencing hearing in State v. Johnson.
