Felony Sentencing in Rural and Urban Courts: Comparing Formal Legal and Substantive Political Models in the West

34 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2009

See all articles by Victoria A. Springer

Victoria A. Springer

University of Nevada, Reno

Janice Russell

University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies

Matthew C Leone

University of Nevada, Reno; University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies

James T. Richardson

University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies

Date Written: July 3, 2009

Abstract

This study explored two models of sentencing in urban and rural districts in Nevada (2007 felony sentencing data, N=10,873). It was hypothesized that sentence lengths and dispositions would differ between rural and urban districts. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that urban districts would follow a formal legal model – in which only legal variables (crime features, criminal history) act as predictors of sentencing outcomes, whereas rural districts would follow a substantive political model – in which extralegal factors (age, sex, race / ethnicity, etc.) also predict sentencing outcomes. The authors found that urban and rural districts in Nevada conformed to a substantive political model of sentencing (including both legal and extralegal factors), though legal factors were often the strongest predictors of sentencing outcomes.

Keywords: sentencing, rural, urban, formal legal model, substantive political model

JEL Classification: K1, K14

Suggested Citation

Springer, Victoria A. and Russell, Janice and Leone, Matthew C and Richardson, James T., Felony Sentencing in Rural and Urban Courts: Comparing Formal Legal and Substantive Political Models in the West (July 3, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1441593 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1441593

Victoria A. Springer (Contact Author)

University of Nevada, Reno ( email )

1664 N. Virginia St
Reno, NV 89557
United States

Janice Russell

University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies ( email )

University of Nevada, Reno
Mailstop 313
Reno, NV 89557
United States

Matthew C Leone

University of Nevada, Reno ( email )

1664 N. Virginia St
Reno, NV 89557
United States

University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies ( email )

University of Nevada, Reno
Mailstop 313
Reno, NV 89557
United States

James T. Richardson

University of Nevada, Reno - The Grant Sawyer Center for Justice Studies ( email )

University of Nevada, Reno
Mailstop 313
Reno, NV 89557
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
127
Abstract Views
1,260
Rank
402,244
PlumX Metrics