Prosecutorial decision making in a republican paradigm.
Item
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Title
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Prosecutorial decision making in a republican paradigm.
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Identifier
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AAI3213172
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identifier
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3213172
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Creator
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Gormley, Paula E.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Delores Jones-Brown
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Date
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2006
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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Braithwaite and Pettit's republican theory of criminal justice provides a framework for the criminal justice system that urges practitioners to make decisions in consideration of protecting individuals' dominion. According to the theory, promotion of dominion, the absence of arbitrary interference, is the proposed goal of the criminal justice system. The theory asserts that dominion can be maximized through adherence to four guiding principles: parsimony, checking of power, reprobation, and reintegration. Domestic violence provides a substantive context in which to study this theory since dominion may play a salient role when considering the safety and needs of the parties involved in a conflicted relationship. This study attempted to determine the extent to which prosecutors consider the four principles in their case processing decisions. To this end, all county and assistant county prosecutors in New Jersey, totaling 750, were surveyed to measure their attitudes toward the republican theory of criminal justice. Data from the surveys were analyzed using structural equation modeling. In addition to the surveys, four prosecutors and one police officer were interviewed in order to provide context for the results of the structural equation model. The results of this study suggest that prosecutors do generally agree with principles consistent with republican justice. However, prosecutors who prioritize domestic violence cases, are significantly more likely to agree with the idea of dominion promotion than prosecutors who prioritize cases not involving domestic violence.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
