Abstract
A greater use of sentencing alternatives to incarceration may help to reduce problems related to prison crowding and high costs of incarceration. However, a judge's ability to use these alternatives more frequently may be hindered by state sentencing policies designed to reduce judicial sentencing discretion. A study of a national random sample of 181 chief trial court judges revealed that state sentencing policies, court size, and the degree of plea bargaining in a judge's court docket are significant predictors of a judge's estimated use of alternatives to incarceration. Also, these variables are significant predictors of a judge's willingness to use alternatives for specific groups of felons constituting significant proportions of state prison populations. Consistent with the latter finding, a descriptive analysis further revealed that judges who perceive less use of alternatives for felony offenders reside predominantly in states with more crowded prisons.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldrich, J., and Nelson, F. (1984).Linear Probability, Logit, and Probit Models, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Alschuler, A. (1983). Implementing the criminal defendant's right to trial: Alternatives to the plea bargaining system.Univ. Chicago Law Rev. 50: 931–1050.
Ball, R., and Lilly, J. (1985). Home incarceration with electronic monitoring. In Scott, J., and Hirschi, T. (eds.).Controversial Issues in Crime and Justice, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Blalock, H. (1978).Social Statistics, McGraw Hill, New York.
Byrne, J. (1990). The future of intensive probation supervision and the new intermediate sanctions.Crime Delinq. 36(1): 6–41.
Casper, J. (1972).Criminal Courts: The Defendant's Perspective, National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, Washington, DC.
Diroll, D. (1989).Use of Community Corrections and the Impact of Prison and Jail Crowding on Sentencing, Ohio Governor's Office of Justice Services, Columbus.
Eisenstein, J., and Jacob, H. (1977).Felony Justice: An Organizational Analysis of Criminal Courts, Little-Brown, Boston, MA.
Feeley, M. (1975). The effects of heavy caseloads. Paper presented at the 1975 Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
Frank, J., Cullen, F., and Cullen, J. (1987). Sources of judicial attitudes toward criminal sanctioning.Am. J. Crime Just. 11: 151–164.
Goldman, S. (1976).Federal Courts and a Political System, Harper and Row, New York.
Gottfredson, S. (1983). Institutional responses to prison crowding.Rev. Law Soc. Change 12: 259–273.
Hanushek, E., and Jackson, J. (1977).Statistical Methods for Social Scientists, Academic Press, New York.
Heumann, M. (1978).Plea Bargaining: The Experiences of Prosecutors, Judges and Defense Attorneys, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Heumann, M., and Loftin, C. (1979). Mandatory sentencing and the abolition of plea bargaining: The Michigan Felony Firearms Statute.Law Soc. Rev. 13: 393.
Hograth, J. (1971).Sentencing as a Human Process, University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada.
Holten, N., and Lamar, L. (1991).The Criminal Courts: Structures, Personnel, and Processes, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Jacobs, J. (1980). The prisoners' rights movement and its impact, 1960–1980. In Morris, N., and Tonry, M. (eds.),Crime and Justice, Vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 429–470.
Jackson, M. (1982).Judicial Attitudes Towards Community Sentencing Options, Ontario Ministry of Correctional Services Planning and Research Branch, Ontario, Canada.
Jankowski, L. (1992).Correctional Populations in the United States, 1990, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC.
Langan, P. (1991). America's soaring prison population.Science 251: 1568–1573.
Langbein, L., and Lichtman, C. (1978).Ecological Inference, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Levin, M. (1980). Urban politics and policy outcomes: The criminal courts. In Cole, G. (ed.),Criminal Justice: Law and Politics, 3rd ed., Duxbury Press, North Scituate, MA.
Mather, L. (1979).Plea Bargaining or Trial? The Process of Criminal Case Disposition, Lexington Books, Boston, MA.
McDonald, W. (1985).Plea Bargaining: Critical Issues and Common Practices, National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC.
Nagel, S. (1982). Discretion in the criminal justice system: Analyzing, channeling, reducing and controlling it.Emory Law J. 31: 603–633.
Nardulli, P., Eisenstein, J., and Flemming, R. (1988).The Tenor of Justice: Criminal Courts and the Guilty Plea Process, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
National Council on Crime and Delinquency (1982).California Summit Seminar on Prison Crowding, March 4, 5. and 6, 1982, Sacramento, California Final Report, Crocker National Bank Foundation, San Francisco.
Pearson, F. (1985). New Jersey's intensive supervision program: A progress report.Crime Delinq. 31: 393–410.
Pearson, W., and Castle, D. (1989). Alternative judicial selection devices: An analysis of Texas judges' attitudes.Judicature 73: 34–39.
Perkins, C. (1994).National Corrections Reporting Program, 1991, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC.
Petersilia, J. (1985). Probation reform. In Scott, J., and Hirschi, T. (eds.),Controversial Issues in Crime and Justice, Sage, Beverly Hills, CA.
Sherman, M., and Hawkins, G. (1981).Imprisonment in America: Choosing the Future, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Singer, R. (1983). Desert sentencing and prison overcrowding: Some doubts and tentative answers.Rev. Law Soc. Change 12: 85–108.
Snell, T. (1993).Correctional Populations in the United States, 1991, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC.
Tonry, M. (1990). Stated and latent functions of ISP.Crime Delinq. 36: 174–191.
Wooldredge, J. (1986).Structural and Cultural Sources of Variation in Guilty Plea Rates: A Study of Illinois Circuit Courts, Unpublished PhD dissertation. Department of Sociology, University of Illinois, Urbana.
Wooldredge, J. (1989). An aggregate-level examination of the caseload pressure hypothesis.J. Quant. Criminol. 5: 259–283.
Wooldredge, J. (1996). Research Note: A state-level analysis of sentencing policies and inmate crowding in state prisons.Crime Delinq. 42: 456–466.
Zimring, F., and Hawkins, G. (1991).The Scale of Imprisonment, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wooldredge, J., Gordon, J. Predicting the estimated use of alternatives to incarceration. J Quant Criminol 13, 121–142 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02221305
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02221305