NCJ Number
79210
Editor(s)
J E Jacoby
Date Published
1980
Length
335 pages
Annotation
A collection of papers addresses phases of a 3-year research project on prosecutorial decisionmaking in the United States, including methodology and analysis of findings.
Abstract
A standard case set was used as the tool for measuring the relationship between prosecutorial charging policies and dispositional events and to differentiate among various prosecutorial decisionmaking styles. A case evaluation form was also used. The standard case set and the evaluation form were administered to about 800 attorneys in 15 prosecutors' offices throughout the country. The design for the testing phase of the standard case set in 10 jurisdictions is described, and research related to the objective measurement of various components of prosecutorial decisionmaking is described. This includes a discussion of the concept for measuring the legal evidentiary strength of criminal cases and the development of a seriousness scale from criminal histories. Particular attention is given to the study of the effectiveness of transmitting prosecutorial policy to the decisionmaking of assistants in an office through case studies of six offices. The major decisionmaking points evaluated in the overall project were (1) accepting or rejecting a case, (2) disposing of a case by plea, (3) disposing of a case by trial, (4) disposing of a case by a reduced charge, and (5) incarcerating the defendant. Decisions about assigning case priority are also considered. Other topics discussed are the data processing in the research project, the methodology for studying transmission of prosecutorial policy using the standard case set, and a study of cross-site prosecutorial decisionmaking. Tabular data, notes, and references accompany each paper. For specific papers in this collection, see NCJ 79211-79225.