Suchergebnisse

Discussions of the link between sentence and legally irrelevant background factors have typically been carried on either without referring to research findings or with reference to only one or two of the legally irrelevant factors, such as race or occupation. The present research incorporates additional factors and places the findings in the context of competing explanatory models.

Crime and criminal justice today -- Criminal law : the foundation of criminal justice -- Crime, offenders, and victims -- Crime theory and social policy -- Policing history and systems -- Police organization and functions -- Police and the law -- Critical issues in policing -- The criminal courts : history and structure -- Prosecuting the accused : from initial appearance to plea bargain -- The trial -- Sentencing -- Corrections : history and structure -- Prisons -- Corrections in the community -- The juvenile justice system -- Terrorism and cyber crime

This article examines the empirical basis for current criminal sentencing guidelines being used in Cook County, Illinois. Unlike in many other sentencing reforms, guidelines have generally been developed out of an empirical analysis of past sentencing decisions through the identification of variables most predictive of sentence. However, when the statistical analysis is inadequate or faulty, the resultant sentencing guidelines must be questioned. Presented is a reanalysis of the original data used to develop Cook County's sentencing guidelines. Generally, the current sentencing guidelines used in Cook County are not found to be predictive of sentence. Implications of this finding are discussed.

This study reports on a search for racial disparities in the value of baseball cards for Black and White members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (HOF). The study's sample of 51 players was derived from the population of the 96 players elected to the HOF since 1936 by the Baseball Writers of America. Although the authors found that race produced no statistical difference in Black and White players' card values, they did observe that players' career performance plus the availability of a player's card (scarcity) exerted a significant effect on the value of cards. The study concludes with a discussion of possible interpretations of these findings.