Theory and research suggests that criminal courts operate as organized communities, where both bureaucratic influences and court actor action systems play an important role in case processing (Eisenstein & Jacob, 1977; Eisenstein, Flemming, & Nardulli, 1988; Flemming, Nardulli, & Eisenstein, 1992; Nardulli, Eisenstein, & Flemming, 1988; Ulmer, 1997). Specifically, these factors are expected to impact operational certainty within the courthouse and the efficient management of cases (Heumann, 1981; Pollitz Worden, 1990; Skolnick, 1967; Thompson, 197). While a significant amount of research focuses on the external and internal organizational influences placed on criminal courts, less attention has been devoted to the effect of workgroup interaction and influence (Hoskins Haynes, Ruback, & Cusick, 2010; Nardulli et al., 1988; Pollitz Worden, 1995). In order to address this issue, the current study uses a sample of felony plea and trial cases from a courthouse in the Southeast to assess the impact of courtroom actors on certainty and efficiency in case processing, operationalized as the decision to plea and time from arrest to case disposition. The study (1) determines the extent to which familiarity, similarity, and influence among the judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney impact certainty and efficiency, (2) assesses whether there is variation in certainty and efficiency of case processing across actors, and (3) evaluates the impact of individual court actor characteristics on variation in case processing. Attending to the limitations of prior research, the study quantifies court actor interaction and influence, focuses on an earlier phase of case processing, links court actors to their respective cases, and determines the contribution of court actors to the guilty plea system. The findings indicate that court actor familiarity and experience have important effects on certainty and efficiency in case processing. Additionally, variation in the decision to plea and time to disposition is detected across judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys, and court actor influence is able to explain some of this variation. Contrary to expectations, the findings reveal that familiarity and influence of defense attorneys can hinder certain and efficient case processing. The implications of these findings and potential avenues for future research are discussed. / A Dissertation submitted to the College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / April 28, 2014. / Court communities, Courtroom workgroup, Organization theory, Plea / Includes bibliographical references. / Marc G. Gertz, Professor Directing Dissertation; James S. Bowman, University Representative; Ted Chiricos, Committee Member; Carter Hay, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_254472 |
| Contributors | Metcalfe, Christi (authoraut), Gertz, Marc G. (professor directing dissertation), Bowman, James S. (university representative), Chiricos, Ted (committee member), Hay, Carter (committee member), College of Criminology and Criminal Justice (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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