NCJ Number
187932
Journal
Deviant Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Journal Volume: 22 Issue: 2 Dated: March-April 2001 Pages: 147-170
Date Published
March 2001
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study examined the legal definitions of sex offenses in Guam, using data from Uniform Crime Reports during 1980-92 and from 44 informal interviews conducted during 1994-96 and selected from 230 interviews with 118 individuals during 1993-96.
Abstract
The analysis focused on the legal definitions of crimes considered to be sexual misconduct and historically considered common in the islands. Results revealed that political intervention strongly influences the application of the laws in the Territory over the period studied, suggesting the informality of the Territorial legal system in its control of deviant behavior. First, such behaviors can be ignored, hidden by the police, or both, obviating further prosecutorial or judicial activity. Second, as in the case of family feuds, charges may be fabricated to harm someone the police officer does not like. Findings questioned the assumption of correspondence between law and behavior and illustrated the differences between the two bodies of literature concerning legal systems and legitimacy. The analysis concluded that the separate literatures on legal formalization and police discretion might usefully be combined to assess the ideological as well as the real formality of any justice system. Figures, footnotes, and 90 references (Author abstract modified)