NCJ Number
99834
Date Published
1985
Length
384 pages
Annotation
After discussing the evolution of sentencing philosophies in criminal and juvenile justice as well as factors affecting sentencing decisions, this dissertation assesses the impact of Utah's guidelines for juvenile sentencing.
Abstract
Utah's juvenile sentencing guidelines, implemented in 1981, are both descriptive of past decisionmaking by the majority of judges and prescriptive of the calculus all judges are expected to use for future sentencing. The guidelines were expected to reduce sentencing disparity among judges, increase the use of legally relevant decision criteria in sentencing, enhance proportionality in sentencing, and decrease the use of severe confinement. To assess the impact of the guidelines, data were obtained for the 12,091 juvenile cases processed between April 15, 1980, and April 15, 1982, a period both before and after the implementation of the sentencing guidelines. Bivariate and multivariate analyses ranged from an examination of the relative frequencies of each disposition type before and after guidelines implementation to stepwise multiple regressions using a variety of conceptualizations of disposition choice as dependent variables. Judicial concurrence with the guidelines was 59 percent before implementation and 62 percent afterwards. A decrease in the rate of secure confinement occurred to a limited extent. The most important variable in sentencing both before and after the guidelines legislation was the most severe prior disposition given the juvenile. The guidelines' greatest weakness is their application of a single metric (juvenile's offense and prior record) to the entire spectrum of choices by the court and corrections systems. Tabular data, study instruments, and a 270-item bibliography are provided.