NCJ Number
194990
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 19 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 69-96
Date Published
March 2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This article explores the Chinese criminal justice system and investigates the effect of offenders’ status on pretrial detention and sentencing.
Abstract
The Chinese criminal justice system has been deeply influenced by the ancient Confucian philosophy. This legacy of social control and punishment has three major aspects: a hierarchical and communitarian view on human relations, a belief in the malleability of human thoughts and behaviors, and recognition of the limitation of legal sanctions. The following questions are addressed: (1) do offenders with different status characteristics receive differential treatment in the criminal justice process; and (2) are transients more likely to be detained before trial and sentenced to prison, and for longer periods of time, than their local counterparts. Data were used from 237 theft cases handled by a district court in a mid-sized city in China in 1999. A total sample of 212 nonviolent, completed thefts committed by male offenders was used. Results showed that although transients received longer pretrial detention than did residents, their sentencing dispositions did not appear to be harsher. Separate models for transients and residents revealed that the process of legal decisionmaking depends on residency status. With regard to sentencing dispositions, pretrial detention appears to affect only transients, not residents. Residency status also conditions detention and sentences in different ways. Extra-legal factors are weighed more heavily in detention decisions for transients. Detention, in return, influences sentencing outcomes, but only for transients. The net effect of age on both detention and sentences is positive, but curvilinear. Education and employment status significantly affect detention decisions, but not sentencing outcomes. Legal factors seem to have a major impact on criminal justice decisions. The severity of the offense, prior criminal record, and confession all have significant and consistent effects on pretrial detention and sentencing. Defendants with defense attorneys are detained longer, on average, than are those without legal representation. This finding is the same for both transients and residents. Legal representation does not affect sentencing outcomes. 5 tables, 6 footnotes, 74 references