NCJ Number
98114
Date Published
1985
Length
22 pages
Annotation
The attitudes of participants toward their felony court experience were examined through structured interviews with defandants, victims, and police officers involved in felony cases that were part of a random sample of 840 chosen in a field study of plea bargaining.
Abstract
Of the subjects who were available by telephone or in a correctional facility, 54 percent of the defendants, 78 percent of the victims, and 63 percent of the police completed interviews. Some of the victims and defendants had been part of an experiment in which they could be present at plea negotiations, which took place with the judge present. The study aimed to determine whether the fairness of the proceedings or the fairness of the outcome was more strongly reflected in the subjects' perceptions. The influence of the stakes, in terms of costs and benefits of potential outcomes, was also considered. Data were analyzed using multiple regression equations. The structure of the perceptions about court experience differed among the three groups. Outcome and procedural measures formed a single factor for the defendants and separate dimensions for victims and police. Inconsistent evidence was found regarding the preference for trials over plea negotiations. For all groups, perceptions that the procedures had been fair and that their views had been heard were related to satisfaction with the outcome, although the strength of the relationship dropped as the size of the stakes declined. The effects of the stakes were more important for the defendants and victims than they were for the police. Defendants were more satisfied with the outcome when the stakes were lowest, whereas victims and police were more satisfied when the stakes were higher. Data tables, 13 notes, and 25 references are included.