xvii, 232 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Beginning in the 1970s, states adopted sentencing reforms as a response to a growing number of concerns in the criminal justice system. These reforms included sentencing guidelines, statutory presumptive sentencing, determinate sentencing, truth in sentencing, and three strikes laws. Each reform has become an important part of the judicial system. These "fixed" reforms shifted sentencing from the indeterminate-rehabilitation sentencing model to a more predetermined-deterrence model. The reforms' main purpose is to limit judicial discretion by insuring convicted felons receive a reasonably standard sentence depending on the crime they committed. Few studies have attempted to systematically answer the question of whether these reforms produced the outcomes stated by their supporters. This analysis utilizes a social chain theory, which suggests the socio-political context of the law and order movement interacted with structural-procedural changes in the justice system that led to unintended consequences. The study assesses the effects of sentencing reforms on shifts in year-to-year changes in general incarceration rates, changes in the racial/ethnic composition of imprisonment, and changes in the gender composition of imprisonment. It also assesses the social, political, and demographic characteristics of states that change the rate of adoption of sentencing reforms across all 50 states from the years 1965 to 2008 on the aggregate state level. This study finds, counter to most previous findings, that sentencing reforms are associated with higher rates of imprisonment. The results further suggest mechanisms are at work that unintentionally "target" historically disadvantaged groups, perpetuating inequalities within the criminal justice system instead of easing them. This result is counter to some of the policies' stated goals. Conversely, the results suggest that drug arrest rates and not sentencing reforms are associated with the narrowing gender gap in imprisonment. Finally, the results indicate that state-level characteristics are important in predicting which states will adopt sentencing reforms. From a policy perspective, rapid changes in the composition of imprisonment can be a logistical and financial burden, and these results shed light onto the specific mechanisms causing a portion of the change. This dissertation includes previously unpublished co-authored material. / Committee in charge: Robert O Brien, Chairperson, Sociology; Jean Stockard, Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt; James Elliott, Member, Sociology; Hill Walker, Outside Member, Special Education and Clinical Sciences

abstract: Contemporary research has examined the relationship between determinate sentencing reforms and unwarranted punishment disparities in states and the federal criminal justice system. Recent investigations suggest that legal developments in federal sentencing—namely, the High Court’s rulings in U.S. v. Booker (2005) and Gall/Kimbrough v. U.S. (2007) which rendered and subsequently reaffirmed the federal guidelines as advisory—have not altered disparities associated with imprisonment outcomes. Punishment disparities following Booker and Gall, particularly racial and ethnic disparities, have been linked to Assistant U.S. Attorneys’ (AUSAs) use of substantial assistance departures. What remains unanswered in the literature is whether the changes in AUSAs’ decision making following the landmark cases has enduring effects and whether the effects are conditioned by defendants’ race/ethnicity and the type of case (guidelines cases or mandatory minimum cases), and whether the use of substantial assistance varies across U.S. District Courts. Accordingly, these questions are examined using sentencing data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission, coupled with data from the National Judicial Center, U.S. Census Bureau, Uniform Crime Reports, and Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research. This study looks at 465,476 defendants convicted from fiscal year 2001 to fiscal year 2010 across 89 federal districts. A series of multilevel discontinuity regression models are estimated to assess the short-term and long-term effects of the Booker and Gall/Kimbrough decisions on AUSAs’ use of substantial assistance departures, accounting for contextual differences between federal district courts. The results show that AUSAs are less likely to seek motions for substantial assistance immediately and in the long term in the post-Booker period but are more likely to seek substantial assistance in the long term in the post-Gall/Kimbrough period. These effects, however, are restricted to the models that include all cases and guidelines cases. The interaction models show that Hispanic defendants facing a mandatory minimum sentence are less likely to receive a substantial assistance departure immediately and in the long term following the Court’s Booker decision. Moreover, the use of substantial assistance varies across federal districts. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for theory, courts and sentencing policy, and future research on punishment outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2015

This thesis is about achieving local procedural legitimacy through fair, culturally relevant sentencing procedures. Its scope, is reconciling international due process guarantees and a traditional notion of rights, in sentencing procedures of the International Criminal Court. My interest in this topic arose from the 2003 Uganda Law Reform Commission study on sentencing legislation reforms. There, participants regarded clan courts as functional in rural areas, because they had more informal, conciliatory sentencing processes than the ‘alien’ national courts. I later became aware that incorporation of traditional restorative processes may also help solve problems of legitimacy at the international level, as manifested in the case of Joseph Kony, discussed in Chapter 1 of this thesis. I then investigate whether the international sentencing framework could accommodate features of traditional restorative process despite incongruent standards, and if so, how this could be achieved. I argue that procedural rights ought to underpin this reconciliation, harnessing aims of international criminal justice with traditional restorative justice. Through my translation model, I propose small structural changes to international sentencing practice, and doctrinal reforms based on precedent. Using critical legal analysis and a small empirical study, the thesis demonstrates how translation could achieve just, culturally apposite sentencing outcomes. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the Special Court for Sierra Leone provide insight into challenges to accommodating African normative standards. Nominal guidance from the African human rights mechanism and national courts, on an African notion of procedural fairness, further complicates this reconciliation. I conclude that we could translate laws across divergent legal systems, drawing from experiences of clan courts that assimilate legal structures and concepts from national courts. Major international instruments: Rome Statute 1998, United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights 1981, are evaluated against this model.

abstract: The study of non-U.S. citizens in criminal justice system outcomes has often been neglected in the sentencing literature. When citizenship is considered, there are generally no distinctions made within this group. The research fails to consider differences according to legal status, race/ethnicity, nationality and other distinctive markers that might play a role in sentencing outcomes. Using federal sentencing data collected by the United States Sentencing Commission for fiscal year 2006 through fiscal year 2008, this study examines the effect of offender citizenship status, legal status, and national origin on the likelihood of imprisonment and length of imprisonment for offenders convicted of drug offenses. The current study considers differences among foreign-born and Latino immigrant subgroups (e.g., Colombian, Cuban, Dominican, and Mexican nationals). The key findings in this dissertation include: (1) non-U.S. citizens have greater odds of imprisonment than U.S. citizens. However, non-U.S. citizen offenders receive significantly shorter prison terms relative to U.S. citizen offenders; (2) undocumented immigrants are more likely to be incarcerated compared to similarly situated authorized immigrants and U.S. citizens. However, legal status does not have an effect on sentence length; and (3) with respect to national origin, Mexican nationals are significantly more likely than Colombians to be incarcerated and are given significantly longer prison sentences than Dominican nationals. The implications of these findings and future research are addressed in the concluding chapter. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2013

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-19T17:08:48Z No. of bitstreams: 1 marciamathiasdemiranda.pdf: 1916793 bytes, checksum: 98fe6f4a8b9771ff4424cb17ed1935df (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-26T13:51:58Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marciamathiasdemiranda.pdf: 1916793 bytes, checksum: 98fe6f4a8b9771ff4424cb17ed1935df (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T13:51:58Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 marciamathiasdemiranda.pdf: 1916793 bytes, checksum: 98fe6f4a8b9771ff4424cb17ed1935df (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-13 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta tese apresenta uma análise do processo de reabilitação de criminosos condenados pelo crime de furto – qual é a ação política destinada ao indivíduo condenado por um crime não violento na cidade de Juiz de Fora, estado de Minas Gerais. Buscamos a compreensão da atuação da rede de execução penal para estabelecer uma descrição analítica acerca das lacunas encontradas entre o planejamento do Estado (tanto em nível federal quanto em nível estadual) para a política criminal e a implantação de suas propostas. Propomos uma análise da participação das três esferas do Poder Executivo, bem como da articulação entre as Secretarias, no processo de reabilitação do criminoso, formado por estratégias preventivas e estratégias corretivas. No decorrer do projeto de pesquisa, entretanto, sustentamos o nosso foco de análise nas ações corretivas, ou seja, no processo de execução penal em implementação enquanto política criminal voltada para a realibitação dos criminosos. Compreendemos que a reabilitação do criminoso não é um resultado, mas um processo a ser promovido, exclusivamente, pelo Estado. Tal processo envolve questões técnicas e questões políticas, ambas em discussão no decorrer desta tese. Referenciamos nossa discussão pelo criminoso não violento, condenado por um crime reconhecido pelos próprios entrevistados como “permeado por uma alta taxa de reincidência específica”, ou seja, reincidência no mesmo tipo de crime. Tomamos como parâmetro para as nossas análises o programa oferecido pelo estado de Minas Gerais para a prevenção da reincidência, bem como o impacto das estratégias punitivas oferecidas a tais indivíduos. Em nossa discussão, contrapomos a reabilitação não propriamente à incapacitação, mas à produção da delinquência e a identificamos como um processo localizado na ação dos governos, ou seja, no campo das Políticas Públicas. Compreendemos a reabilitação como um processo alternativo à pena, que interrompe a possível formação de carreiras criminosas. / This thesis sought a analysis of the rehabilitation process of criminals convicted of theft crime – what is the political action aimed at an individual convicted of a nonviolent crime in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. We seek the understanding of the role of criminal enforcement network to establish an analytical description about the gaps found between the State planning (both at federal level as at state level) for the criminal policy and the implementation of their proposals. We propose an analysis of the participation of the three spheres of executive power, as well as the articulation between the Secretaries, in the process of the criminal rehabilitation, consisting of preventative strategies and corrective strategies. During the research project, however, we maintain our focus of analysis on corrective actions, i.e., in the process of criminal enforcement in implementation while criminal policy towards criminals rehabilitation. We understand that the criminal rehabilitation is not a result, but a process to be promoted, exclusively, by the State. This process involves technical issues and political issues, both under discussion during this thesis. We refer to our discussion by non-violent criminal, convicted of a crime recognized by interviewees as "permeated by a high rate of specific recidivism", i.e., recurrence in the same type of crime. We take as a benchmark for our analysis the program offered by the State of Minas Gerais for the prevention of recurrence as well as the impact of punitive strategies offered to such individuals. In our discussion we oppose the rehabilitation not exactly at the incapacitation, but at the production of delinquency; and identified it as a localized process in the government‟s action, i.e., in the field of public policy. We understand the rehabilitation process as an alternative to the sentence, which interrupts the possible formation of criminal careers.

Esta dissertação discute três problemas dos estudos do judiciário: a discriminação de grupos sociais com impacto no tempo de sentença, nas condenações e no regime da pena; os incentivos ao recurso; e a influência de posições ideológicas dos juízes em suas decisões. Analisando os processos penais distribuídos na comarca de São Paulo em 2002, o trabalho conclui que não há padrões de discriminações por características sociais dos réus, mas sim variações decorrentes de possibilidades processuais, e uma das variáveis importantes para predizer o recurso é o regime da pena. Por fim, faz um estudo qualitativo com um pequeno grupo de juízes, que aponta uma pequena influência da posição ideológica no resultado dos processos e no incentivo ao recurso das sentenças. / This dissertation discusses three issues of judicial studies: the discrimination of social groups with an impact in the time of sentence, condemnations and disciplinary rules; stimulation to appeal; and the influence of the judge\'s ideological position on their decisions. Analyzing the penal processes of 2002 in the judicial districts of São Paulo, we conclude that defendants are not distinguished by their social backgrounds, but by variations resulting from processual possibilities, and one of the important variables for predicting appeals is the disciplinary rules. At last, we make a qualitative study with a small group of judges, indicating a tenuous influence of ideological position on the result of processes and the appealing of sentences.

HOUSE ARREST, ITS EXECUTION AND CONROL The thesis gives a comprehensive overview of the institute of home detention as a new sanction incorporated into the penal system with effect from 1 January 2010. It considers certain theoretical issues regarding alternative punishments, investigates the phenomenon of alternative punishments and places home detention in its context. It aims to clarify the function of home detention as an alternative punishment, to analyse its legal status, to asses critically its practical application and to put forward some ways of addressing the problematic aspects de lege ferenda. The thesis also explains the specifics of the imposition of this sanction on young offenders. The author analyses the role of the Probation and Mediation Service in relation to home detention and cites examples of foreign experiences with this punishment from the Netherlands, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom, which constitute a source of inspiration. Special attention is paid to very topical questions regarding electronic monitoring during home detention, the introduction of electronic monitoring in the Czech Republic, its setbacks and current developments. The thesis answers the question whether the imposition of home detention is likely to reduce the numbers of people in prisons. In...

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / L. Susan Williams / Building upon macrostructural “social threat” (Blalock, 1967) research, the current study develops a theoretical model of judicial decision-making processes that focuses upon racial threats perceived within individual court contexts and the corresponding effects on individual sentencing outcomes. This model recognizes that in the absence of a true-measure of a defendant’s threat to the community (likelihood to re-offend) judicial decision makers often rely upon stereotypical generalizations regarding offender populations to render decisions. Although actors develop biases and stereotypes through interactions with society in general, the most relevant knowledge affecting sentencing decisions is perceptions gained through the course of work. Similar to the influential “Pygmalion in the Classroom” study, biases and stereotypes regarding the criminality of groups of criminal defendants are pervasive in contemporary society, undoubtedly influencing sentencing outcomes. Therefore, the most meaningful measurement of threat, as it pertains to sentencing, is the contextual composition of court caseloads. Using data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics-State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) program, this study examines court-contextual or caseload level threats and the interaction between courtroom context and individual offense/offender characteristics and the corresponding impact on sentencing outcomes. Findings demonstrate that courts of high minority defendant volume apply more punitive sanctions to (increased sentence length and odds of incarceration) to all defendants within this context, while black defendants receive the greatest sanctions. These findings support assertions regarding the impact of threatening populations within courtroom contexts.

In Canada, we regularly incarcerate accused persons while they are still legally innocent. By the turn of the century, the growing number of accused held in pre-sentence custody had become a concern for provincial/territorial governments, and, by extension, the federal government. In an effort to address the problem, Bill C-25 - ‘The Truth in Sentencing Act’ - was passed into law. Adopting a quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, this study uses a randomly selected sample of 110 cases to examine the implementation of Bill C-25 as a case study of how Canadian judges respond to legislation which likely created friction between the political and judicial social spheres. Analyses suggest that there is strong evidence to support the notion that judges did not fully implement the legislation as intended by the federal government. Instead, it appears that judges may have been motivated to resist the implementation of Bill C-25 in order to protect fundamental principles of justice that were ignored in the drafting of the new law.

The cognitive and/or behavioural problems associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) place this population at increased risk of involvement in the justice system. Although FASD poses challenges at each stage of the justice system, legal discussion and commentary have pinpointed the sentencing stage as the phase in which the issue of FASD is most commonly raised and considered. The purpose of this study is to examine if (and how) FASD is being taking into consideration at sentencing. To this end, a comparative analysis of 87 sentencing judgments (42 FASD offenders and 45 non-FASD offenders) reported in Quicklaw was conducted. Cases were matched on most serious offence (assault, robbery and sexual assault) and jurisdiction (Yukon, British Columbia and Ontario). Descriptions of FASD and non-FASD offenders as reported by judges were found to differ in a number of significant ways. Similarly, sentencing purposes applied to each offender group emerged as distinct. Despite these distinctions, no differences were found in the type and length of sentence handed down (even after controlling for criminal record and breaches). These findings indicate a need for further research and possible policy changes.