Abstract
The majority of research examining prosecutorial discretion has focused on legal factors such as the seriousness of the offense
or the extra-legal characteristics of the accused including race/ethnicity and gender. The amount of variance explained by
court researchers, however, remains quite low. The present study extends previous research examining the primary determinants
of prosecutor’s decision to dismiss or fully prosecute focusing on driving while intoxicated cases. We focus on the predictive
contribution of the strength of evidence relative to legal and extra-legal variables. The data consist of 2,358 driving while
intoxicated cases filed in Harris County, Texas during the first 8 months of 1999. The findings strongly support the inclusion
of strength of evidence variables in court research and further suggest their past omission may have attributed significance
to spurious relationships.
or the extra-legal characteristics of the accused including race/ethnicity and gender. The amount of variance explained by
court researchers, however, remains quite low. The present study extends previous research examining the primary determinants
of prosecutor’s decision to dismiss or fully prosecute focusing on driving while intoxicated cases. We focus on the predictive
contribution of the strength of evidence relative to legal and extra-legal variables. The data consist of 2,358 driving while
intoxicated cases filed in Harris County, Texas during the first 8 months of 1999. The findings strongly support the inclusion
of strength of evidence variables in court research and further suggest their past omission may have attributed significance
to spurious relationships.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-18
- DOI 10.1007/s12103-011-9141-3
- Authors
- Tana McCoy, Evelyn T. Stone College of Professional Studies, Roosevelt University, 18 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60605, USA
- Patti Ross Salinas, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Missouri State University, 901 S. National Ave., Springfield, MO 65897, USA
- Jeffrey T. Walker, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock, AR 72204, USA
- Lance Hignite, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Houston-Downtown, One Main Street, Houston, TX 77002, USA
- Journal American Journal of Criminal Justice
- Online ISSN 1936-1351
- Print ISSN 1066-2316