NCJ Number
243540
Journal
Law & Policy Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Dated: October 2012 Pages: 349-372
Date Published
October 2012
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This study considered the factors that shape venue sorting, the process by which a legal case can be handled through different organizational arrangements with distinct procedures, institutional cultures, and sanctioning constraints.
Abstract
The authors consider the factors that shape venue sorting, the process by which a legal case can be handled through different organizational arrangements with distinct procedures, institutional cultures, and sanctioning constraints. The empirical area for this investigation of venue sorting is California's parole revocation system, in which parolees accused of new crimes can be returned to prison by either criminal courts or the parole board. The authors found that seriousness of the alleged offense partially predicted the venue through which parolees were sanctioned. However, venue sorting was further explained by decisionmakers' perceptions of parolee threat, as well as concerns about organizational efficiency and legitimacy. The authors conclude by discussing how these findings might relate to the general phenomenon of venue sorting across a range of legal situations. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.