NCJ Number
230651
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 38 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 2010 Pages: 185-192
Date Published
March 2010
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined a sample of felony drug defendants processed by State courts to test for potential interactions between race, gender, and age of the defendants to more accurately determined if and how these factors influence prosecutors' decisions to dismiss criminal charges.
Abstract
A growing body of research examined the ways in which various legal and extralegal factors influence prosecutors' charging decisions. Though the results of these studies were mixed, some researchers reported that extralegal factors had little or no effect on important decisions such as case rejection and dismissal. The majority of this research, however, suffered from a considerable shortcomingthat is, most studies considered the direct effects of measures such as age, race, and gender, but failed to consider the potential interactions that might occur between these factors. Consequently, the present research employed a nationally representative sample of felony drug defendants to address this issue by examining whether or not age and gender condition the effect of race on prosecutors' decisions to dismiss criminal charges. Implications of the findings are discussed in the context of theory, research, and policy. Tables, notes, and references (Published Abstract)