scholarly journals When in Rome... on Local Norms and Sentencing Decisions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Abrams ◽  
Roberto Galbiati ◽  
Emeric Henry ◽  
Arnaud Philippe
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Optimal Design ◽  
Spatial Variation ◽  
Criminal Sentencing ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Local Norms ◽  
Judicial Systems

ABSTRACT We study spatial variation in criminal sentencing. We show the existence of local sentencing practices varying widely even across geographically proximate areas. Using compulsory rotation of judges in North Carolina, we find that judges arriving in a new court gradually converge towards local sentencing practices. We provide evidence that convergence in sentencing corresponds to a process of learning about local practices, which is accelerated by the presence of senior judges in the district, and that these sentencing practices are correlated with local norms of behavior. Finally, we discuss the theoretical implications of these results for the optimal design of judicial systems.

Risk assessment in sentencing decisions: a remedy to mass incarceration?

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan R. Kopkin ◽  
Stanley L. Brodsky ◽  
David DeMatteo
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Measures ◽  
Risk Measure ◽  
The State ◽  
Criminal Sentencing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
The Past ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Under Construction

Purpose The legal system’s use of risk assessment has grown exponentially over the past several decades. Empirically validated risk measures are commonly implemented in parole, bail, civil commitment, and presentence proceedings. Despite their growing popularity, both policy-makers and legal scholars question their moral and legal acceptability, particularly in presentence proceedings. The purpose of this paper is to assess the current role of risk assessment in sentencing through an examination of the instrument currently under construction in the state of Pennsylvania. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the current state of the literature, this paper evaluates the current use of risk assessment in criminal sentencing and discusses its consequences, both positive and negative. Findings Four areas for improvement in the use of risk assessment in sentencing were identified. Recommendations for change are proposed. Practical implications While the use of risk assessment within the legal system has significantly increased over the past several decades, the incorporation of risk assessment in presentence proceedings is a relatively new practice. This paper provides readers with insight on the appropriateness of using risk assessment in this context and provides suggestions for reducing ethical concerns. Recommendations for increasing the validity and clinical utility of these instruments are also discussed. Originality/value Although the literature on the use of risk assessment in legal proceedings is dense, relatively little is written about their use in criminal sentencing. This paper introduces readers to this concept by examining a risk measure proposed for use in the state of Pennsylvania’s presentence proceedings. The authors discuss concerns and propose recommendations for the future use of risk assessment in this setting.

scholarly journals When in Rome... on Local Norms and Sentencing Decisions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David S. Abrams ◽  
Roberto Galbiati ◽  
Emeric Henry ◽  
Arnaud Philippe
Keyword(s):  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Local Norms

Marriage and Marriageability

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chigusa Yamaura
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Women ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Japanese Men ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
Transnational Marriage ◽  
Visa Application ◽  
Local Norms ◽  
Language Schools ◽  
Gendered Migration

How do the Japanese men and Chinese women who participate in cross-border matchmaking—individuals whose only interaction is often just one brief meeting—come to see one another as potential marriage partners? This book traces the practices of Sino-Japanese matchmaking from transnational marriage agencies in Tokyo to branch offices and language schools in China, from initial meetings to marriage, the visa application processes, and beyond to marital life in Japan. Engaging issues of colonial history, local norms, and the very ability to conceive of another or oneself as marriageable, the book rethinks cross-border marriage not only as a form of gendered migration, but also as a set of practices that constructs marriageable partners and imaginable marriages. The book shows that instead of desiring different others, these transnational marital relations are based on the tactical deployment of socially and historically created conceptions of proximity between Japan and northeast China. Far from seeking to escape local practices, participants in these marriages actively seek to avoid transgressing local norms. By doing so on a transnational scale, they paradoxically reaffirm and attempt to remain within the boundaries of local marital ideologies.

scholarly journals Preferences and Incentives of Appointed and Elected Public Officials: Evidence from State Trial Court Judges

2013 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 1360-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire S. H Lim
Keyword(s):  
Human Capital ◽  
State Court ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Criminal Sentencing ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Trial Court ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
Selection Systems

We study how two selection systems for public officials, appointment and election, affect policy outcomes, focusing on state court judges and their criminal sentencing decisions. First, under appointment, policy congruence with voter preferences is attained through selecting judges with homogeneous preferences. In contrast, under election, judges face strong reelection incentives, while selection on preferences is weak. Second, the effectiveness of election in attaining policy congruence critically depends on payoffs from the job, which implies that the effectiveness of election may vary substantially across public offices. Third, reelection incentives may discourage judges with significant human capital from holding office. (JEL D72, K41)

scholarly journals The Judge, the Politician, and the Press: Newspaper Coverage and Criminal Sentencing across Electoral Systems

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 103-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire S. H. Lim ◽  
James M. Snyder ◽  
David Strömberg
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Sentence Length ◽  
Newspaper Coverage ◽  
State Court ◽  
Criminal Sentencing ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Trial Court ◽  
Sentencing Decisions ◽  
The Press ◽  
Media Environments

We study how media environments interact with political institutions that structure the accountability of public officials. Specifically, we quantify media influence on the behavior of US state court judges. We analyze around 1.5 million criminal sentencing decisions from 1986 to 2006 and new data on the newspaper coverage of 9,828 trial court judges. Since newspaper coverage is endogenous, we use the match between newspaper markets and judicial districts to identify effects. We find that newspaper coverage significantly increases sentence length by nonpartisan elected judges for violent crimes. For partisan elected and appointed judges, there are no significant effects. (JEL D72, H76, K41, L82)

Forecasting criminal sentencing decisions

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Duncan I. Simester ◽  
Roderick J. Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Sentencing ◽  
Sentencing Decisions

Between ‘Savage Man’ and ‘Most Faithful Englishman’ Manteo and the Early Anglo-Indian Exchange, 1584–1590

Itinerario ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Leroy Oberg
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Chesapeake Bay ◽  
One Year ◽  
Anglo Indian

In August of 1587 Manteo, an Indian from Croatoan Island, joined a group of English settlers in an attack on the native village of Dasemunkepeuc, located on the coast of present-day North Carolina. These colonists, amongst whom Manteo lived, had landed on Roanoke Island less than a month before, dumped there by a pilot more interested in hunting Spanish prize ships than in carrying colonists to their intended place of settlement along the Chesapeake Bay. The colonists had hoped to re-establish peaceful relations with area natives, and for that reason they relied upon Manteo to act as an interpreter, broker, and intercultural diplomat. The legacy of Anglo-Indian bitterness remaining from Ralph Lane's military settlement, however, which had hastily abandoned the island one year before, was too great for Manteo to overcome. The settlers found themselves that summer in the midst of hostile Indians.

Supervision: Supervision and Clinical Practicum in Telepractice

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sena Crutchley
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
First Year ◽  
University Of North Carolina ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
Support Personnel ◽  
Clinical Practicum ◽  
Training Support ◽  
Language Pathology ◽  
The University

This article describes how a telepractice pilot project was used as a vehicle to train first-year graduate clinicians in speech-language pathology. To date, six graduate clinicians have been trained in the delivery of telepractice at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Components of telepractice training are described and the benefits and limitations of telepractice as part of clinical practicum are discussed. In addition, aspects of training support personnel involved in telepractice are outlined.

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