Showing 1 – 7 of 7 results.
Curated
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Exploring the Reach of Evidence Outside the Jury Box [United States], 2005-2011 (ICPSR 34679)
Released/updated on: 2016-05-20
Geographic coverage: United States, New York (state)
Time period: 2010-01-01--2011-01-01, 2005-01-01--2006-01-01
These data are part of NACJD's Fast Track Release and are distributed as they there received from the data depositor. The files have been zipped by NACJD for release, but not checked or processed except of the removal of direct identifiers. Users should refer to the accompany readme file for a brief description of the files available with this collections and consult the investigator(s) if further information is needed.
The purpose of the study was to compare how the quantity versus the quality of evidence influences the likelihood of trial convictions and plea decisions and examine whether evidence has differential impacts on the perceived likelihood of trial convictions and plea values. In Phase I (Phase I Data, n=2,593) defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, completed an online survey of a hypothetical legal case in which the presence of three types of evidence (confession, eyewitness, and DNA) and length of defendant criminal history were manipulated. In Phase II (Phase II Data, n=502), researchers worked with two District Attorneys' offices in New York state to code the contents of case files. Researchers coded 502 closed cases from 2005 and 2006, all of which originated as felony arrests. Researchers also obtained criminal history record information on the defendants involved in the cases.
Curated
National Survey of Judges and Court Practitioners, 1991 (ICPSR 9837)
Released/updated on: 2000-10-27
Geographic coverage: United States
The United States Sentencing Commission, established by the 98th Congress, is an independent agency in the judicial branch of government. The Commission's primary function is to institute guidelines that prescribe the appropriate form and severity of punishment for offenders convicted of federal crimes. This survey was developed in response to issues that arose during site visits conducted in conjunction with an implementation study of sentencing guidelines and was intended to supplement the information obtained in the more extensive site visit interviews. Topics include the impact of the plea agreement, departures by the court, mandatory minimum sentences, the general issue of unwarranted sentencing disparity, and whether this disparity had increased, decreased, or stayed about the same since the sentencing guidelines were imposed in 1987.
Curated
Performance Measures in Prosecution and Their Application to Community Prosecution at Two Sites in the United States, 2005-2006 (ICPSR 20401)
Released/updated on: 2008-10-31
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 2005-01-01--2006-09-01
The purpose of this study was to explore empirical evidence to support the performance measurement framework identified by the American Prosecutors Research Institute's (APRI) Prosecution Study for the 21st Century. The framework included promoting the fair, impartial, and expeditious pursuit of justice and ensuring public safety. Two prosecutors' offices participated in the study. One was a traditional office, and the other was a more community-oriented office. Each site submitted monthly data on the identified performance measures for analysis. APRI also designed and administered a public safety survey to assess a number of factors related to the performance of prosecutors' offices, but for which data could not be provided by the offices. The public safety surveys were administered by phone using random digit dialing (RDD). Part 1, Site 1 Administrative Data, contains 15 months of data, and Part 2, Site 2 Administrative Data, contain 6 months of data on the identified performance measures for analysis from each site. Part 3, Public Safety Survey Data, contains variables that provide some basic demographic data about the respondents and several variables in response to Likert-style questions measuring attitudes and opinions on six factors. These include the seriousness of local crime, safety of the environment, organizational behavior of the prosecutor's office, participation in the community, community education, and task performance.
Curated
Police Documentation of Drunk Driving Arrests, 1984-1987: Los Angeles, Denver, and Boston (ICPSR 9400)
Released/updated on: 2005-11-04
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts, Colorado, Los Angeles, Denver, California, Boston
Time period: 1984-01-01--1987-01-01
These data measure the effects of blood alcohol content coupled with officer reports at the time of arrest on driving while intoxicated (DWI) case outcomes (jury verdicts and guilty pleas). Court records and relevant police reports for drunk-driving cases drawn from the greater metropolitan areas of Boston, Denver, and Los Angeles were compiled to produce this data collection. Cases were selected to include roughly equal proportions of guilty pleas, guilty verdicts, and not-guilty verdicts. DWI cases were compared on the quality and quantity of evidence concerning the suspect's behavior, with the evidence coming from any mention of 20 standard visual detection cues prior to the stop, 13 attributes of general appearance and behavior immediately after the stop, and the results of as many as 7 field sobriety tests. Questions concerned driving-under-the-influence cues (scoring sheet), observed traffic violations and actual traffic accidents, the verdict, DWI history, whether the stop resulted from an accident, whether the attorney was public or private, and sanctions that followed the verdict. Also included were demographic questions on age, sex, and ethnicity.
Curated
Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining in Federal Criminal Courts in the United States, 1983-1990 (ICPSR 9844)
Released/updated on: 2000-06-05
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1983-07-01--1990-08-01
The primary purpose of this data collection was to study whether prosecutorial behavior was affected by the implementation of federal criminal sentencing guidelines in 1987. Monthly time series data were constructed on a number of prosecutorial outcomes, representing either discrete decision steps in the processing of criminal cases or the characteristics of cases that passed through the system. Variables include disposition year and month, number of matters initiated, number of cases filed, declined, and dismissed, number of convictions by trial, by jury, and by bench trial, number of guilty pleas, ratio of guilty pleas to cases resolved, and ratio of trials to cases resolved. The collection also provides a series of dichotomous variables to assess the impact of various events on prosecutorial outcomes over time. These events include the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (effective November 1986), implementation of the sentencing guidelines (November 1987), Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (November 1988), United States Supreme Court's decision in the Minstretta case affirming the constitutionality of the sentencing guidelines (January 1989), and Attorney General Thornburgh's memo outlining Justice Department policy on charging and prosecution (March 1989).
Curated
Testing the Efficacy of the SANE-SART Programs in Kansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, 1997-2001 (ICPSR 20341)
Released/updated on: 2008-10-01
Geographic coverage: United States, Massachusetts, Kansas, New Jersey
Time period: 1997-01-01--2001-01-01
The purpose of the study was to explore the impact of interventions by Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners/Sexual Assault Response Teams (SANE/SART) on the judicial process. The goal was to test the efficacy of SANE/SART programs as a tool in the criminal justice system. The American Prosecutors Research Institute and Boston College tested the hypotheses that SANE/SART exams increase arrest and prosecution rates. The researchers collected case information from SANE/SART, police, and prosecution files in three jurisdictions: Monmouth County (Freehold), New Jersey, Sedgwick County (Wichita), Kansas, and Suffolk County (Boston), Massachusetts. At each study site, the project team randomly selected up to 125 sexual assault cases in which there was a SANE or SART intervention and 125 cases in which there was no SANE/SART intervention from cases that were opened and closed between 1997 and 2001. Comparisons were sought between SANE/SART cases (both SANE only and SANE/SART combined) and non-SANE/SART cases to determine if the intervention predicted the likelihood of certain criminal justice system outcomes. These outcomes included identification/arrest of a suspect, the filing of charges, case disposition, type of penalty, and length of sentence. In addition, researchers collected information on a number of other variables that could impact or mitigate the effect of SANE/SART interventions and case outcomes. The researchers abstracted information from case files maintained by SANE programs, police incident/arrest reports, and prosecution files during intensive five-day site visits. Three standardized records abstraction forms were developed to collect data: (1) the incident form was designed to collect data from police reports and the prosecution files about the actual sexual assault, (2) the case abstraction form was designed to collect prosecution data and case outcome data from the prosecutors' case files, and (3) the SANE/SART data collection form collected information from the SANE/SART files about the SANE/SART intervention. Specific information regarding the evidence collected during the victim's exam, nature of the assault, evidence/forensic kits collected, victim's demeanor, weapon(s) used, number of assailants, and the victim/offender relationship were collected.
Curated
United States Federal Mandatory Minimum Statutes Study, 1989-1990 (ICPSR 6009)
Released/updated on: 2003-01-23
Geographic coverage: United States
Time period: 1989-01-01--1990-01-01
In response to a Congressional directive, the United States Sentencing Commission completed this study of federal mandatory minimum statutes with an emphasis on the presence and/or applicability of statutes prior to conviction and sentencing. To collect this type of detailed information, it was necessary to examine actual offense behavior. To that end, the Commission selected for detailed review a 12.5-percent random sample of its FY90 database of 29,011 cases, focusing on controlled substance offenses and firearms violations. The screening process yielded 1,165 cases. For these defendants, information was recorded on real offense components, indictment history, mode of conviction, and convicted charges, as well as sentence imposed, plea agreements, stipulations, and guideline factors. This information allows for a procedural tracking of cases and the application of mandatory minimum provisions at various stages of the criminal justice process.