Towards a Prosecutorial and Defense Production Function Constructing a Measure of Output

• NCJ Number: 92952
• Author(s): E C Ratledge
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): 80-IJ-CX-0032; 82-IJ-CX-0028
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Justice (NIJ); US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Jefferson Institute for Justice Studies
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Submitted to American Society of Criminology, 35th Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, November, 1983

Annotation

Once prosecutors have a means of measuring which cases are more likely to achieve the desired sentence, they will be better able to allocate resources.

Abstract

This paper discusses a possible model for measurement of the likely success of a prosecutor's quest for a level of sanction and the use of such a measurement. The study involved having prosecutors evaluate sentences using a scale and then having another group of prosecutors apply sanctions to 30 hypothetical cases. Prosecutors can improve the quality of a case by adding resources to a case in which the chances of a conviction are not quite strong enough. Conversely, the prosecutor can lower the desired sentence to where the probability of conviction is certain, (i.e., with a plea). The choice is between expending a large amount of resources on a small number of cases or achieving the minimum sanction on a larger number of cases. The minimum acceptable sanction will be lower if the case is to be disposed of by a plea; it will be higher if the case is expected to go to trial. The minimum acceptable sanction will increase with the seriousness of the offense. Results showed that the relationship between the level of sanction chosen and the criminality of the defendant was weak. Tables accompany the text. The appendix includes the tests given the prosecutors and the results.