JUSTICE IMPACT ANALYSIS - A STUDY - FINAL REPORT TECHNICAL APPENDICES

• NCJ Number: 68896
• Author(s): J F CELESTE; K E DOUGLASS; J M DAWSON
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 283 pages
• Grant Number(s): J-42669
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Mathtech, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

FOUR APPENDIXES TO NCJ-68895, 'FINAL REPORT: A STUDY OF JUSTICE IMPACT ANALYSIS,' ARE PRESENTED; USE OF COMPUTER ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES IS EMPHASIZED.

Abstract

THE APPENDIX TOPICS INCLUDE A DESCRIPTION OF METHODOLOGIES; DOCUMENTATION OF THE FEEDBACK EXPERIMENT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ABOLITION OF DIVERSITY JURISDICTION; THE Q-GERT NETWORK: A TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION; AND DATA SOURCES. A WIDE VARIETY OF METHODOLOGIES CAN BE USED TO STUDY THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENTAL RULE CHANGES ON THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. THE USEFULNESS OF PARTICULAR METHODS FOR PARTICULAR IMPACT STUDIES DEPENDS UPON SUCH CONSIDERATIONS AS THE NATURE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE, DATA AVAILABILITY, AND OTHER FACTORS. SOME OF THE METHODS PRESENTED HAVE BEEN APPLIED TO PROBLEMS OF JUDICIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT, AND SOME HAVE BEEN USED IN OTHER TYPES OF IMPACT STUDIES. THESE METHODS INCLUDE PREDICTING THROUGH ANALOGY; BUREAUCRATIC DELEGATION; AND MATRIX DEVELOPMENT, AS EMPLOYED IN ANALYSES SUCH AS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS. APPENDIX B FOCUSES ON THE FEEDBACK EXPERIMENT ON THE RESULTS OF THE ABOLITION OF DIVERSITY JURISDICTION. THE TECHNIQUE OF THE FEEDBACK EXPERIMENT WAS USED TO INTRODUCE THE ELEMENT OF HUMAN BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATION TO THE COMPUTER SIMULATION OF THE JUSTICE SYSTEM. THE PROCESS OF THE FEEDBACK EXPERIMENT IS THAT OF PRODUCING COMPUTER SIMULATION RESULTS ASKING FEEDBACK PANEL MEMBERS TO REVIEW IT AND SUGGEST BEHAVIORAL CHANGES THAT SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM MIGHT MAKE. APPENDIX C FOCUSSES ON Q-GERT CONVENTIONS. THE Q-GERT IS A NETWORK MODELING VEHICLE AND A COMPUTER ANALYSIS TOOL. GERT IS AN ACRONYM FOR GRAPHICAL EVALUATION AND REVIEW TECHNIQUE. Q-GERT SATISFIES THE NEED FOR A NETWORK APPROACH TO THE MODELING OF SYSTEMS THAT INVOLVE PROCEDURAL, RISK, AND RANDOM ELEMENTS. APPENDIX D SPECIFIES KINDS AND SOURCES OF DATA USED FOR THE STUDY. THESE SOURCES INCLUDE COURT DOCKETS, CASE FILES, THE ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES COURTS, PUBLISHED JUDICIAL OPINIONS, AND THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. TABLES AND COMPUTER GENERATED MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED IN THE APPENDIXES.