NCJ Number
59518
Date Published
1979
Length
44 pages
Annotation
THIS VOLUME PRESENTS AND ANALYZES STATISTICAL DATA ON DISTRICT COURT DISPOSITIONS AND SENTENCING IN IOWA BETWEEN 1971 AND 1976.
Abstract
TOTAL DISTRICT COURT DISPOSITIONS GREW FROM 5,510 IN FISCAL YEAR 1958 TO 8,101 IN FISCAL YEAR 1971 AND 18,389 IN FISCAL YEAR 1978. DISPOSITIONS RESULTING IN DISMISSALS HAVE INCREASED STEADILY SINCE THE MID - 1960'S, FROM 1970 THROUGH 1976, 33 PERCENT OF DISPOSITIONS WERE DISMISSALS. IN CONTRAST, ACQUITTALS HAVE STAYED BETWEEN 1 AND 3 PERCENT DURING THE SAME PERIOD. SUSPENDED SENTENCES GREW FROM 34.9 PERCENT IN THE 1960'S TO 50.5 PERCENT IN THE 1970'S. BEFORE 1971, DEFERRED JUDGMENTS WERE ILLEGAL. BY 1975, 9.2 PERCENT OF DISPOSITIONS WERE DEFERRED JUDGMENTS. CONVICTION RATES WERE 20 PERCENT HIGHER FOR MISDEMEANORS THAN FOR FELONIES, BUT INCARCERATION RATES WERE 4 TO 6 TIMES HIGHER FOR FELONY CHARGES THAN FOR MISDEMEANOR CHARGES. IOWA'S RECENT MOVEMENT TOWARD COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS HAS BEEN CONCENTRATED ON OFFENDERS CONVICTED OF LESS SERIOUS FELONIES, MOSTLY PROPERTY CRIMES. COMPARISONS AMONG IOWA'S EIGHT JUDICIAL DISTRICTS INDICATED GEOGRAPHICAL DISPARITIES AMONG SENTENCING PRACTICES. VIOLENT CRIMES AND MISCELLANEOUS CRIMES HAD LOWER CONVICTIONS RATES WHILE DRUNK DRIVING CHARGES HAD HIGHER CONVICTION RATES. THE OFFENDER'S PRIOR COMMITMENT RECORD, EXPECIALLY THE ADULT RECORD, APPEARED TO BE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN THE FELONY SENTENCING PROCESS. ALTHOUGH SUPERFICIAL DATA EXAMINATION INDICATED THAT BLACK OFFENDERS RECEIVED MORE SEVERE SENTENCES THAN DID WHITES, FURTHER ANALYSIS SHOWED THAT COMPARABLE WHITES AND BLACKS WERE SENTENCED SIMILARLY. TABLES ARE INCLUDED. FOR RELATED VOLUMES IN THIS SERIES, SEE NCJ 59516, 59517, 59519 AND 59520. (CFW)