In practice the criminal justice system was composed of two parallel structures. The first comprised the formal legal system set forth in the Constitution and in numerous statutes that provided for an independent judiciary and that specified legal procedures (see The Judiciary , ch. 4). The second system was one in which political and economic clout determined the outcome of conflict resolution. When the two structures clashed, the second was generally perceived to prevail. The widespread perception that the criminal justice system was susceptible to economic and political manipulation meant that few people were willing to confront police, military, or political authority.
Data as of December 1988