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sentence outcomes initiative.

The purpose of the Sentence Outcomes Initiative is to foster research on the sentencing process (including the charging and plea bargaining process), sentence outcomes, and sentencing reforms. Our overall goal is a better understanding of the way in which sentencing decisions are made, the consequences of those decisions, and the impact of reforms designed to structure discretion, minimize disparity, and reduce recidivism.

Projects currently underway include the following:

A study of charging and sentencing decisions under the federal sentencing guidelines. This project, which is funded by the National Science Foundation, involves the collection of qualitative and quantitative data in three U.S. District Courts.

A study of inter-judge disparity in sentence outcomes in Cook County (Chicago), Illinois.

An examination of sentencing decisions by male and female judges in Cook County (Chicago), Illinois (PhD Dissertation).

An analysis of effect of race and gender on the pretrial decision making process and an examination of the effect of these decisions on sentence outcomes (PhD Dissertation).

A study of charging decisions in sexual assault cases in Philadelphia and Kansas City (PhD Dissertation).

Examples of other research that might be conducted under this initiative are:

Analysis of the degree to which and the circumstances under which sentence outcomes depend upon the offender’s race/ethnicity, gender, or social class.

Analysis of the deterrent effect of imprisonment.

Evaluation of sentencing reforms (three-strikes-and-you’re out laws, mandatory minimum sentences, sentencing guidelines, and truth in sentencing statutes). Evaluation in terms of

Compliance of decision makers who implement the laws;

Degree of disparity/discrimination in sentences imposed in jurisdictions that adopted the reforms;

Harshness of penalties in the pre- and post-reform periods;

Crime rates in the pre- and post-reform periods.

Evaluation of juvenile and adult drug courts. Evaluation in terms of cost effectiveness and likelihood of recidivism.

Analysis of the factors that affect prosecutors’ decisions to charge or not.

Analysis of the factors that affect prosecutors’ plea bargaining decisions and examination of the relationship between these decisions and sentence outcomes