NCJ Number
79222
Date Published
1980
Length
37 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from a study of changes in case decisionmaking among new prosecution employee-trainees over 7 months in the Kings County (Brooklyn) district attorney's office.
Abstract
The instrument used to test the decisionmaking of the 65 employees during the first week of employment and then 7 and one-half months later consisted of 30 criminal cases with accompanying arrest records distributed uniformly over a range of seriousness. Each case required decisions about (1) overall priority for prosecution, (2) acceptance or rejection of the case for prosecution, (3) disposition of the case (by plea or trial), (4) estimation of where in processing the case would exit, (5) estimation of whether the original charge would be reduced at disposition, and (6) the sanctions imposed upon conviction. Findings show that the subjects became less extreme in evaluating the case priority for prosecution as their judgments tended to move toward the mean, suggesting the development of a sense of the 'average' case. They became more sensitive to office policy about what cases should be accepted for prosecution, and their rejection rates increased. The selection of dispositions other than pleas is demonstrated by the expectations of either a conviction on one hand or an adjournment and contemplation of dismissal on the other. The most pronounced changes occurred in specifying the case exit point in processing. Predictions were refined about which cases would be disposed of early and which would go to trial. Overall, the changes over time show the development of a more conservative and harsher posture regarding reductions, trials, and sentences. The six decisions in each case and factors effecting changes in decisionmaking are examined in detail. Tabular data and two notes are provided. (Author summary modified)