NCJ Number
61398
Journal
American Political Science Review Volume: 72 Dated: (SUMMER 1978) Pages: 911-924
Date Published
1978
Length
14 pages
Annotation
A MODEL IS DEVELOPED OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS AMONG JUDGES' ROLE ORIENTATIONS, ATTITUDES, AND SENTENCING BEHAVIOR, USING DATA FROM THE IOWA DISTRICT COURT SYSTEM.
Abstract
MEASURES OF THE ROLE ORIENTATIONS AND ATTITUDES OF THE JUDGES WERE DEVELOPED FROM PERSONAL INTERVIEWS WITH 26 JUDGES, AND A MEASURE OF SENTENCING BEHAVIOR WAS CONSTRUCTED FROM COURT RECORDS ON NEARLY 3,000 CRIMINAL CONVICTIONS. BIVARIATE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN THE ATTITUDES OF THE JUDGES AND THE SENTENCES GIVEN WERE LOW. THE REASON FOR THE LACK OF SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS CAN APPARENTLY BE ATTIBUTED TO THE EFFECT OF AN INTERVENING VARIABLE--ROLE ORIENTATION. ROLE ORIENTATION CONSISTS OF A JUDGE'S BELIEFS ABOUT WHAT VARIABLES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO INFLUENCE JUDICIAL SENTENCING BEHAVIOR. AS A MATTER OF ROLE ORIENTATION, SOME JUDGES BELIEVE IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR PERSONAL ATTITUDES AND PERSPECTIVES TO INFLUENCE THEIR LEGAL DECISIONMAKING; WHEREAS, OTHER JUDGES WOULD SCREEN OUT PERSONAL ATTITUDES IN DECISIONMAKING SO AS TO MAKE DECISIONS BY LEGAL PRECEDENT AND OTHER LEGAL PARAMETERS. WHILE ROLE ORIENTATIONS DO NOT DIRECTLY PREDICT THE POLICY CONTENT OF JUDICIAL DECISIONS, THEY DO PROVIDE A KEY AS TO SOME OF THE VARIABLES THAT WILL BE INSTRUMENTAL IN A PARTICULAR JUDGE'S DECISIONMAKING. THE INTERACTIVE REGRESSION MODEL CONSTRUCTED FROM THIS REASONING EXPLAINED TWO-THIRDS OF THE VARIANCE IN SENTENCING AMONG THE JUDGES STUDIED. THE DATA CLEARLY SHOW THAT JUDGES WHO VIEW ATTITUDES AS LEGITIMATE CRITERIA OF DECISIONMAKING ARE STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THEIR ATTITUDES IN THE SENTENCES GIVEN. THE RESEARCH HAS ALSO SHOWN THE GENERAL USEFULNESS OF COMBINING SEVERAL VARIABLES IN DECISIONMAKING MODELS. TABULAR DATA, FOOTNOTES, AND REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)