TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluating the impact of prior record on judges' sentencing decisions
T2 - A seven-city comparison
AU - Welch, Susan
AU - Spohn, Cassia
PY - 1986/12
Y1 - 1986/12
N2 - There is much agreement among social scientists that the prior criminal records of defendants are important in explaining the sentences given by judges. That being so, it is crucial to control for prior record when examining sentence discrepancies, such as between black and white defendants. However, when examining sentencing patterns, a remarkable variety of indicators has been used to measure prior record. It is very likely that different measures of prior record have different relationships to sentencing. Only fragmentary evidence of these differential relationships has been offered, however. We will add to our knowledge about the efficacy of different measures of prior record by examining numerous measures and analyzing their relationship to sentences levied on black and white defendants. Data from seven cities will be used in the analysis in order to try to understand the variation that might exist in these relationships.
AB - There is much agreement among social scientists that the prior criminal records of defendants are important in explaining the sentences given by judges. That being so, it is crucial to control for prior record when examining sentence discrepancies, such as between black and white defendants. However, when examining sentencing patterns, a remarkable variety of indicators has been used to measure prior record. It is very likely that different measures of prior record have different relationships to sentencing. Only fragmentary evidence of these differential relationships has been offered, however. We will add to our knowledge about the efficacy of different measures of prior record by examining numerous measures and analyzing their relationship to sentences levied on black and white defendants. Data from seven cities will be used in the analysis in order to try to understand the variation that might exist in these relationships.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0011516539&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1080/07418828600089031
DO - 10.1080/07418828600089031
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0011516539
SN - 0741-8825
VL - 3
SP - 389
EP - 407
JO - Justice Quarterly
JF - Justice Quarterly
IS - 4
ER -