NCJ Number
96948
Date Published
1985
Length
548 pages
Annotation
This study examines the extent and sources of sentencing disparity in Georgia's superior courts from 1976 through June 1982, concluding that no one group of offenders was consistently sentenced more harshly or more leniently than the other offenders.
Abstract
The analysis examined a sample of over 18,000 convicted felons drawn from the files of the Department of Offender drawn from the files of the Department of Offender Rehabilitation, the Fulton County Superior Court, and the DeKalb County District Attorney. Other information sources included official county and court data, interviews with criminal justice professionals, and newspaper accounts. The study examined five aspects of sentencing decisions: sentence type, whether probation or prison; length of probation; total sentence length of offenders receiving split sentences; proportion of the split sentence for which prison was mandated; and length of prison terms of offenders receiving only incarceration. Although legal factors such as offense seriousness more strongly and consistently affected sentences than did social background factors, the magnitude and direction of their effects depended on the sentencing court's characteristics and the surrounding community. Similarly, sentencing disparity based on social background such as race depended on selected features of the court and county. The report provides a literature review, an overview of sentencing in Georgia, and a detailed description of the methodology. Variables examined included court bureaucratization, urban versus rural courts, judges' professional backgrounds, a county's political character and crime patterns, and newspaper coverage. Implications of the study's findings for policy are discussed. Tables and an extensive bibliography are supplied.