This research examines the influence of social environments on trial court decision making. More specifically, this study explores the impact of local public opinion, along with other environmental characteristics, on the sentencing behavior of criminal courts in Florida's twenty judicial circuits. This study focuses on broad variations in aggregate sentencing patterns by circuit courts in several distinct types of criminal cases and their links to variations in public attitudes toward crime and sentencing as well as other social, economic and political features of the circuit. In addition, this research focuses on routine criminal cases in order to determine if there are links between local environments, public opinion and the bulk of judicial decisions. / The thesis of this study is that variations in trial court sentencing patterns are associated with variations in their social environments. While all courts are linked to and influenced by the environment in which they operate, the linkage is particularly clear with respect to local trial courts. In addition to the close ties between trial courts and their local environment, sentencing decisions are subject to many influences, including environmental forces. Therefore, trial court sentencing behavior offers a fruitful area of research for those interested in exploring the environmental determinants of judicial behavior. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-12, Section: A, page: 3797. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75251 |
| Contributors | PRUET, GEORGE WENDELL, JR., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 171 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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