Transmitting Prosecutorial Policy - A Case Study in Polk County, Iowa (From Prosecutorial Decisionmaking - Selected Reading, P 165-182, 1980, Joan E Jacoby, ed. - See NCJ-79210)

• NCJ Number: 79219
• 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 county attorney's office in Polk County, Iowa.

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 October 31, 1979, produced 18 responses (17 assistants and the county attorney) to each of the 30 cases in the standard case set. The distribution of cases along the priority scale shows that a full range of cases was presented, from lowest to 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 indicates that the office staff is behaving rationally and predictably and that the decisions are based on factors that are logically consistent and related. Results on uniformity and consistency in decisionmaking indicate that the prosecutor's policy is known to the assistants and that levels of uniformity and consistency in decisionmaking are almost equal. Background information is provided on the office's structure and operation, and tabular data are included.