NCJ Number
150400
Journal
Behavioral Sciences and the Law Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 299-312
Date Published
1994
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This analysis of 1987-1989 dockets examines the extent to which State court judges in Montana have implemented rape law reforms in their sentencing decisions.
Abstract
The dependent variable in the analysis was the length of sentence given to a convicted rapist; the independent variables included the judge's partisan affiliation, whether the judge was elected or appointed, the percentage of female county executive officials in the judge's county, whether the defendant pleaded guilty, and the per capita crime rate in the county. While the Montana Criminal Code provides for a minimum penalty of 2 years and a maximum penalty of 20 years, 41 percent of convicted rapists in this sample were sentenced to less than 2 years and 24 percent were released with a deferred or suspended sentence. Regression analysis showed that the only variables significantly related to court outcomes in these cases were whether the defendant faced multiple charges, the crime rate in the county in which the defendant was tried, and whether the defendant faced multiple charges. A guilty plea did not affect sentencing outcome. The State courts in Montana did not appear to be influenced by the political variables studied here. 2 tables and 92 references