Series I. Criminal Justice, 1974-2015 (bulk, 1978-1982)
Extent
Scope and Contents
This series includes material from Scoppetta's positions as Commissioner of Investigation for the City of New York (1972–1977) and Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice (1976–1978). There is significant coverage of NYPD Detective Robert Leuci's cooperation with the Knapp Commission's investigation of police corruption. The series also contains course readings for the seminar Scoppetta taught for New York University School of Law—"The Administration of Criminal Justice"—between 1979 and 1982. A small amount of printed matter, much of it on police corruption, rounds out the series.
Arrangement
Series I is divided into three subseries, each arranged chronologically:
Subseries I.A. Criminal Justice: General, 1974-2015.
Subseries I.B. Criminal Justice: Teaching Material, 1978-1982.
Subseries I.C. Criminal Justice: Printed Material, 1941-2000.
Subseries I.A. Criminal Justice: General, 1974-2015
Scope and Contents
This subseries spans Scoppetta's years in the administrations of Mayors Beame and Lindsay in his capacity as Commissioner of Investigation for the City of New York (1972–1977) and Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice (1976–1978). It includes a significant amount of material on NYPD Detective Robert "Bob" Leuci's cooperation with the Knapp Commission's investigations into police and criminal justice system corruption (Box 1, Folders 11-16). Leuci's involvement inspired former NYPD Commissioner Robert Daley to write Prince of the City: The True Story of a Cop Who Knew Too Much (1978), which was later filmed by director Sidney Lumet.
Arrangement
The material is arranged chronologically (Box 1, Folders 1-10), followed by the contents of an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci" (Box 1, Folders 11-16). Newsclippings come at the end of this subseries (Box 1, Folder 17).
[Criminal Justice: Beame appointments], 1974, 1976, 2011
Scope and Contents Note
Certificates signed by Mayor Abraham D. Beame appointing Scoppetta Commissioner of Investigation (1 January 1974) and Chairman of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (1 March 1976). Includes a printout of a 2011 e-mail from Scoppetta, "My take on my five years as DOI Commissioner."
[Criminal Justice: General], 1977-1981
[Criminal Justice: "Getting Away With Murder"], 1978
Scope and Contents Note
Two copies of the Saturday Review, 10 June 1978, containing Nicholas Scoppetta's article "Getting Away With Murder: Our Disastrous Court System."
[Criminal Justice:] Police & Official / Corruption—Denver / Seminar, 1989 March 8
[Criminal Justice:] FBI Conference, 1990 June 10
Scope and Contents Note
Notes from the FBI's "Advanced Public Corruption Conference" held at Phoenix, Arizona.
[Criminal Justice: LaGuardia oral history], 1995
Scope and Contents Note
Two typescript copies (one annotated) of Scoppetta's oral history interview for the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, LaGuardia Community College, City University of New York. Includes two letters from Richard K. Lieberman, Director of the Archives.
[Criminal Justice:] Police Comm. Re: Litigation Mayor v City Council, 1995
[Criminal Justice:] Re: Ex. Order City Council, 1995
[Criminal Justice: General], n.d.
Scope and Contents Note
Manuscript notes headed "What Do We Expect Our C. J. System To Do."
[Criminal Justice: Lindsay remembrance], 2015
Scope and Contents Note
Contains the book John V. Lindsay: 50th Anniversary Commemoration of His Election as Mayor of New York City, November 2, 1965. Reflections from More Than 260 Friends and Colleagues (McLean, Va.: International Publishers, 2015), to which Scoppetta contributed a remembrance (pp. 375-376). Lindsay appointed Scoppetta Commissioner of Investigation for the City of New York on 1 December 1972.
[Criminal Justice: Leuci] Relevant Notes / Leuci, 1970-1978
Scope and Contents Note
From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci."
[Criminal Justice: Leuci] Bob Daley, Manuscript of "Prince of the City", circa 1977
Scope and Contents Note
Partial draft of Robert Daley's book Prince of the City: The True Story of a Cop Who Knew Too Much (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1978). From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci."
[Criminal Justice: Leuci] Draft of LW's [Loudon Wainwright] Article on "Prince..." Investigation, n.d., 1981
Scope and Contents Note
With a photocopy of "A Dangerous Gift of Recall," another piece Wainwright wrote for LIFE Magazine (October 1981). From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci."
[Criminal Justice: Leuci], 1974, 1978
Scope and Contents Note
Includes Department of Investigation memorandum to all NYC Administrators and Agency Heads regarding the "implementation of Mayoral Executive Order No. 21 dated 19 August 1970 and Mayoral Executive Order No. 1 dated 1 January 1974." With Scoppetta's remarks to Domestic and International Scientific Planning, Annalysis and Cooperation (DISPAC) Sub-Committee Hearings, 10 January 1978, and a copy of the First Annual Report of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice for the City of New York, January 1978. From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci."
[Criminal Justice: Leuci] Knapp Commission / "Prince of the City" Articles (2 folders), 1974-1981
Scope and Contents Note
From an accordion file Scoppetta labeled "Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice / Det[ective]. Bob Leuci."
[Criminal Justice: Newsclippings], 1974, 1979, 1982, 2007
Scope and Contents Note
Five newsclippings, including Scoppetta's op-ed piece "Should Judges Jail Suspects?" from Newsday, 4 May 1979.
Subseries I.B. Criminal Justice: Teaching Material, 1978-1982
Scope and Contents
In 1978 Scoppetta joined the faculty of New York University School of Law as Director of the Institute of Judicial Administration and Professor of Law. In 1979 he took over from Adjunct Professor Richard H. Kuh the seminar "The Administration of Criminal Justice," which he taught until 1982.
Arrangement
Professor Kuh's course materials from the spring term of 1978 are found in Box 1, Folders 18-19. Scoppetta's adaptions follow and are arranged by seminar session number. Sessions 4, 9, and 11 were conducted on field trips, hence the lack of material for those meetings. Note the alternate version of session 12 (Box 2, Folder 4), presumably from the first (1979) iteration of the course.
[Kuh seminar: sessions I-XIII] (2 folders), 1978 Spring
[Scoppetta seminar: session 1] Syllabus and assignment instructions, 1979-1982
Scope and Contents Note
Includes two student papers.
[Scoppetta seminar: session 2] The Police, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 3] The Prosecutor and Prosecutorial Discretion, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 5] The Grand Jury, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 6] Bail and Pre-Trial Detention, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 7] Plea Bargaining (2 folders), 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 8] The Exclusionary Rule, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: sessions 10 and 12] Sentences and The Media and Criminal Trials, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 13] Juveniles and the Criminal Justice System (2 folders), 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar: session 14] Alternatives to the Criminal Courts, 1979-1982
[Scoppetta seminar, 1979 iteration: session 12] The Trial Jury, 1979-1982
References, Bail & Media Law, "Criminal Court" -- Rothwax, 1979-1982
Subseries I.C. Criminal Justice: Printed Material, 1941-2000
Scope and Contents
A small amount of printed matter, mostly on the theme of police corruption.
Arrangement
This material is filed chronologically by date of publication.
Harold Seidman, Investigating Municipal Administration: A Study of the New York City Department of Investigation (New York: Columbia University Institute of Public Administration)., 1941
Scope and Contents Note
Bound photocopy.
Evaluation of the Office of the Special Prosecutor, State of New York, 1975 April
Scope and Contents Note
Stamped "CONFIDENTIAL / LEAA EVALUATION / REPORT #70." [LEAA = Law Enforcement Assistance Administration]
State of New York Commission of Investigation, The Nadjari Office and the Press, 1976 November 18
Richard S. Winslow and David W. Burke, Rogues, Rascals & Heroes: A History of the New York City Department of Investigation, 1873 to 1992., 1992 June
Scope and Contents Note
Bound typescript version of revised book, below.
Richard S. Winslow and David W. Burke, Rogues, Rascals & Heroes: A History of the New York City Department of Investigation, 1873 to 1993 (New York City Department of Investigation Corruption Prevention and Management Review Bureau)., 1993
Scope and Contents Note
Published version of bound typescript, above.
The City of New York, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Police Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Procedures of the Police Department, Commission Report, 1994 July 7
Scope and Contents Note
Inscribed on flyleaf "NICK SCOPPETTA."
The City of New York, Commission to Combat Police Corruption, First Report of the Commission [loose typescript]., 1996 February
The City of New York, Commission to Combat Police Corruption, First Report of the Commission [bound version]., 1996 March 25
The City of New York, Commission to Combat Police Corruption, The New York City Police Department: The Role and Utilization of the Integrity Control Officer, 1996 December 12
The City of New York, Commission to Combat Police Corruption, The New York City Police Department's Disciplinary System: How the Department Disciplines Its Members Who Make False Statements, 1996 December 12
The City of New York, Commission to Combat Police Corruption, Executive Summary, 1996 December 12
Journal of Law and Policy vol. IX, no. 1., 2000
Scope and Contents Note
The David G. Trager Public Policy Symposium, "Behind Closed Doors: Secret Justice in America." Scoppetta sat on Panel III: Secrecy and the Juvenile Justice System. With an offprint of Panel III papers.