NCJ Number
133938
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 19 Dated: (1991) Pages: 421-438
Date Published
1991
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Data from the county district court in Harris County (Texas) for each year from 1978 to 1988 did not support earlier research findings suggesting that courts adapt to prison overcrowding through the increased use of charge reduction and felony probation.
Abstract
The analysis of Harris County, in which Houston is located, showed that during a period of unprecedented prison and court overloads, the use of charge reductions and the probability of probation both decreased, while sentences to State prisons increased. The average prison terms decreased in length, however. Results indicated that court strategies for coping with prison overcrowding vary in the United States, because the Texas results did not parallel those previously described for California, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. Findings also suggested that public attitudes and expectations that increased law enforcement will produce general deterrence are false hopes. In Harris County, the limited capacity of courts to punish, which results from the large caseloads and limited prison space, has led to longer delays in felony court processing; less severe punishment, in the form of shorter prison terms; and a decreasing certainty of any but token imprisonment for most felony offenses. Tables, notes, 2 case citations, and 47 references. (Author abstract modified)