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Utility theory has been proposed as a fruitful approach to the study of compliance & noncompliance with law in general. Here it is used to investigate one form of noncompliance with law--crime. Two questions are addressed: (1) How much variation in crime rates can be accounted for by utility factors? (2) What is the relative contribution of expected costs & benefits of crime & of compliant activity to that variation? A regression analysis of data on major crime rates in 108 Calif cities in 1971 finds that indices of the costs & benefits of crime & the benefits of compliance account for between 31% (rape) & 61% (robbery) of the variation in crime, far more than do indicators of the probability of sanctioning alone, & that measures of compliance benefits have the sharpest effects on the overall felony crime rate. 5 Tables. AA.

The access of citizens to the courts has recently begun to gain attention from political scientists. An approach to this question is outlined, in which primary emphasis is given to macrolevel variables. It is suggested that propensity to litigate & mode of litigation will both be affected by political culture. Three political cultures are contrasted: traditionalistic, individualistic, & moralistic ones. Data from 5 federal judicial districts are examined, including those from: household telephone surveys of 5,148 households; court records of 1,649 cases in state & federal courts; telephone interview data with litigants in those cases; & survey data from interviews with 96 federal & state trial judges. The overall findings do not appear explicable on a political culture basis. However, certain specific findings appear to be related to political culture differences; for example, the state of SC can be interpreted as a traditionalistic culture, Philadelphia, Pa, as an individualistic one. It appears that current conceptions of political culture may be too narrow to include the legal dimension. 9 Tables. W. H. Stoddard.