This study focuses upon decision-making in criminal appeal cases by an intermediate appellate court. Criminal appeals from two trial courts, the Leon and Gadsden Counties Circuit Courts, in the state of Florida were analyzed. These cases were appealed to the First District Court of Appeal during 1979-1988. A total of 495 cases were appealed from the two trial courts during this period. The primary purpose of this study is to test the following hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference in the type of counsel who filed the appeal and the decision of the appellate court. In addition to testing the stated hypothesis, other hypotheses are tested. These include whether the race of the defendant, the mode of disposition at trial court, and the defendant's bond status at sentencing are predictors of the decision of the intermediate appellate court. / The major premise of this study is that courts can be viewed as political institutions. This study commences with a discussion of the political founding of the American judiciary system. Thereafter, a detailed discussion of the political nature of the access to judicial power, judicial decision-making, and judicial policy-making is given. It was found type of counsel is statistically insignificant in predicting the decision of this intermediate appellate court. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-03, Section: A, page: 0814. / Major Professor: Marc G. Gertz. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_78210 |
| Contributors | Williams, Jimmy John., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 431 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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