Criminology & Criminal Justice Theses and Dissertations

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2758

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    THE USUAL SUSPECTS: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF OFFENSE-SPECIFIC TYPESCRIPTS IN PROSECUTORIAL DECISION-MAKING
    (2021) Houlihan, Sean; Johnson, Brian; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    Prior research has demonstrated that the relationship between defendant characteristics and prosecutorial decision-making is nuanced and often difficult to detect. A complete understanding of this relationship requires a holistic approach examining multiple decision points and a sound theoretical foundation. Using data from the New York County District Attorney’s Office, this study investigates disparities in case outcomes across several decision-making stages. Informed by a theoretical perspective that combines focal concerns and typescripts theories, I argue that during the course of their work, prosecutors develop impressions of archetypal offenders for individual offense types. Decisions made throughout case processing are subsequently influenced by the degree to which the defendant matches the description of the archetypal offender associated with the charged offense. Findings provide mixed support for the hypotheses put forth in the study. Results are discussed as they relate to theories of courtroom dynamics, prosecutorial decision-making, and biases in case processing.
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    PROSECUTION AND SENTENCING OF WHITE COLLAR CRIME IN FEDERAL COURT: UNDERSTANDING PATHS AND PROCESSES
    (2018) Galvin, Miranda A; Simpson, Sally S; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    The question of whether ‘white collar’ crimes are treated more leniently by society dates to the first use of the phrase by Edwin Sutherland in 1939. One of the most important ways in which this leniency may manifest is in the criminal prosecution and sentencing of violations of law. And yet, the question of whether and how white collar cases are treated differently than other types of crimes has not received sufficient attention. Prior research findings have been clouded by inconsistent effects and inconsistent definitions of white collar crime and may have limited generalizability under modern sentencing regimes. This dissertation reconsiders the question of white collar leniency for a sample of white collar and comparable crimes referred for federal criminal prosecution between 2009-2011 and followed through 2013 using the Federal Justice Statistics Program. Specifically, this research considers how case complexity affects the likelihood of plea bargains, and how these bargains in turn affect sentencing outcomes. Additionally, this dissertation explores whether white collar cases receive more lenient sentencing outcomes, and the effect that different definitions have on substantive conclusions.
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    Using Procedural Justice to Explore the Relationship betweeen Victim Satisfaction with Police and Victim Participation in Prosecution
    (2010) Greenman, Sarah; Dugan, Laura; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
    This thesis uses procedural justice to explore the relationship between victim satisfaction with the police and victim participation in prosecution. Prior procedural justice research has focused either on offenders or on limited sections of the criminal justice process. Expanding upon prior research by using victims and the entire criminal justice process, this thesis hypothesizes that increased victim satisfaction with the police leads to increased victim participation in prosecution and that this effect weakens throughout the prosecution process. Conversely, this thesis hypothesizes that increased victim satisfaction with the prosecutor leads to increased participation in prosecution and that this effect strengthens throughout the prosecution process. Using logistic and Tobit regressions this thesis finds some support for the hypotheses of this thesis: procedural fairness, police, and prosecutors all have an impact on victim participation. Future research can further delineate the questions that remain: when, how, and for whom satisfaction has the largest impact.