Design for the Phase 2 Testing of the Standard Case Set in Ten Jurisdictions (From Prosecutorial Decisionmaking - Selected Readings, P 45-66, 1980, Joan E Jacoby, ed. - See NCJ-79210)

• NCJ Number: 79213
• Author(s): J E Jacoby; L R Mellon; E C Ratledge; S H Turner
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 20 pages
• Grant Number(s): 79-NI-AX-0034
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice
• Corporate Author: Bureau of Social Science Research, Inc
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Research Methodology Report number 1. Available on microfiche as NCJ-79210.

Annotation

The design using the standard case set is presented for the second phase of research on prosecutorial decisionmaking.

Abstract

Phase 1 of the research indicated that the standard case set (the use of standard hypothetical cases) is a potentially powerful tool for research on criminal justice discretion and performance within and among offices. The first phase, however, did not analyze the importance of the factors that affect decisions. Phase two is designed (1) to measure the uniformity and consistency among decisionmakers in a prosecutor's office, (2) to determine the policy effects on expected dispositional outcomes and patterns, and (3) to identify the factors in prosecutorial decisionmaking and determine their order of importance. Because of time and funding constraints, this phase can involve no more than 10 test sites and no more than 30 cases can be tested by any one assistant prosecutor. The testing design requires that the objective of identifying the factors in prosecutorial decisionmaking and their relative importance be met by the analysis of the independent variables in the case set. The objective of determining the effects of policy on expected dispositional outcomes and patterns will be achieved by testing the same set of cases in all 10 sites, since a comparative analysis for policy and environmental effects, at this time, must control for the cases being evaluated. In order to overcome the conflicting design requirements of the objectives without losing the credibility of the test results, the 10 sites will be divided in half. Five sites will receive the same set of 30 cases, thereby permitting the comparative analysis of the policy effects and environment. The remaining 5 sites will receive different sets of 30, producing 150 additional cases. The design selected is a factorial design with each factor having the following levels: the seriousness of the offense, the seriousness of the defendant's record, and the legal and evidentiary strength of the case. Tables used in the research and the gapping analysis of the priority for prosecution variable are appended.