Transmitting Prosecutorial Policy - A Case Study in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana (From Prosecutorial Decisionmaking - Selected Readings, P 183-200, 1980, Joan E Jacoby, ed. - See NCJ-79210)

• NCJ Number: 79220
• Author(s): J E Jacoby; L R Mellon; E C Ratledge; S H Turner
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 17 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0034
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Bureau of Social Science Research, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Available on microfiche as NCJ-79210.

Annotation

Decisionmaking uniformity and consistency are examined in the district attorney's office in East Baton Rouge Parish, La.

Abstract

Consistency is defined as the extent of agreement between the assistants and the policymaker, and uniformity is defined as the amount of agreement among the assistants independent of a comparison to the leader. The test, which was conducted on November 15-16, 1979, produced 33 responses (32 assistants and the chief assistant) to each of the 30 cases of the standard case set. The distribution of cases along the priority scale indicates that a full range of cases was presented, from the lowest to the highest priority, and that the statistical tendency to normalize distributions at the average level was not violated. Both of these conditions give credibility to the subsequent analysis. The decisionmaking outcomes examined were (1) the priority of the case for prosecution, (2) accepting a case for prosecution, (3) case disposed of by plea, (4) case reduced to a lesser charge, (5) disposition by trial, and (6) recommendation for incarceration. Analysis of the factors considered by the assistants in their decisionmaking shows that the office staff is behaving rationally and predictably and that the decisions are based on factors that are logically consistent and related. Findings on decisionmaking uniformity and consistency indicate that the district attorney's policy is known to the assistants and has been integrated into the assistants' decisionmaking processes. Background information is provided on the office's structure and operations, and tabular data are included.