THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NEW YORK STATE 1980 GUN CONTROL LAW AND THE PROSECUTION OF GUN POSSESSION ARRESTS IN BRONX COUNTY.
Item
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Title
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE NEW YORK STATE 1980 GUN CONTROL LAW AND THE PROSECUTION OF GUN POSSESSION ARRESTS IN BRONX COUNTY.
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Identifier
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AAI8601685
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identifier
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8601685
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Creator
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PETE, LAUREN GRACE.
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Contributor
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Edward Sagarin
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Date
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1985
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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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Law
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Abstract
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In response to increased use of handguns in violent street crime, New York State amended the Penal Code to provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of one year for illegal handgun possession. The legislators had as their goal, the hope of reducing the chances that such handguns will be used in violent street crime.;The New York State Gun Control Law represents some acceptance of the view that there is a causal relationship between the mere possession of a handgun, the availability of handguns, and criminal violence. The expectations are clear: penalize handgun possession and a strong disincentive toward possession is created. In turn, fewer instances of handgun possession will reduce the gun-related criminal violence. But has the trend in fact occurred? To date, only about half of all defendents charged with illegal handgun possession receive the mandatory minimum sentence. Were the fifity percent who received jail or prison sentences, responsible for the violent street crime that has made targets of gun possessors?;Although lenient sentencing practices of judges have been made the culprits of increased use of handguns, it is the prosecutor's office which has received little or no attention by researchers, and it is to this failure that I focus my attention in this research.;A study of the relationship between the N.Y.S. Gun Control Law on the prosecution of handgun possession cases presents the opportunity to simultaneously study (1) an attempt to curtail illegal handgun possession by increasing the penalty for such possession and (2) an attempt at restricting plea-bargaining to increase the sentences given those who illegally possess handguns.;Questions answered by my research include: What happens when mandatory sentences are coupled with a policy that forbids plea-bargaining? Are prosecutors left with no option but to go to trial? Does this in turn lead to an over-burdened Prosecutor's Office? Do prosecutors adopt informal methods of plea-bargaining to adjust to the new restrictions? Are prosecutors declining to prosecute handgun possession cases where the one year penalty, although legally correct, would be a harsh sentence in light of the defendants background and other factors?;I used quantitative dispositional data of a random sample of defendants who were indicted for illegal handgun possession. I analyzed data from a one year period before the law took effect and compared that to data one year after the law took effect. The data was supplemented with interviews of assistant district attorneys, defense counsel and judges.
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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.
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Program
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Sociology
