Susette M. Talarico

Bio: Susette M. Talarico is an academic researcher from University of Georgia. The author has contributed to research in topics: Tort & Tort reform. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 27 publications receiving 504 citations.

The Social Contexts of Criminal Sentencing

Abstract: 1 Criminal Punishment and Society.- What Do Judges Prefer to Do?.- What Should Judges Do?.- What Are Judges Able to Do?.- Conclusion.- 2 Methods.- Study Site.- Sample.- Sentencing Outcomes.- Case Characteristics.- The Community Context.- The Court.- The Context of Time.- Analytic Procedures.- Analytic Strategy.- Conclusion.- 3 The Community and Sentencing.- The Community and Sentencing.- Case Characteristics and Sentencing.- The Community as Context.- Summary.- Conclusion.- 4 The Court and Sentencing.- Court Variables and Sentencing.- Case Characteristics and Sentencing.- The Court as Context.- Summary.- Conclusion.- 5 The Context of Time.- Sentencing Trends Over Time.- Trends in the Characteristics of Offenders.- The Effect of Time on Sentences.- The Context of Time.- Summary.- Conclusion.- 6 Summary and Conclusions.- Summary.- Theoretical Significance.- Practical Significance.- Appendix A: The Consequences of Aggregating Judicial Information.- Appendix Tables.- References and Court Cases.- Author Index.

The social contexts of racial discrimination in sentencing

Abstract: This paper seeks to determine whether race differences in sentencing are contingent on who is being sentenced and where that sentencing occurs. Using data from Georgia, we find that certain legally-relevant factors and the racial composition of the county condition the influence of race. However, there is no evidence that blacks are punished more harshly than whites in contexts where their criminality may appear more threatening. Indeed, certain white offenders are treated more harshly than their black counterparts. We conclude with a discussion of the importance of both structural and cultural contexts for understanding the relationship between race and sentencing. For over 50 years, observers of the criminal justice system have pondered a troubling question: Is the law color-blind, or, does it contravene the principle of equal treatment and punish persons differently depending on their race? This query is important because it raises fundamental moral, social, and legal issues. For example, both the Fourteenth Amendment and Supreme Court interpretation of the inclusive equal protection clause demonstrate the legal significance of race. Specifically, race is the only status regarded as constitutionally suspect in virtually every instance. Social theories (e.g., conflict or Marxian perspectives) that allege repressive application of criminal law contend that the race of defendants and, in some instances, their victims, affects punishment in a way that betrays constitutional injunctions. However, the results of research on this issue are mixed. Many studies have found little or no evidence of racial discrimination in sentencing, while a number of others have concluded that differences do indeed exist.' The inability to resolve this issue empirically has compelled researchers to reconceptualize the relationship between race and sentencing. Rather than determine whether racial discrimination exists, researchers have begun to address a more complex question: Precisely where and for which offenders are we likely to find evidence of race differences in sentencing (Gibson, 1978; Miethe and Moore, 1986; Peterson and Hagan, 1984; Pruitt and Wilson, 1983; Unnever and Hembroff, 1986; Zatz, 1984)? Implicit within this question is the assumption that the significance of race is not constant, but rather varies as a function of time and social space (Peterson and Hagan, 1984). The research reported here continues this line of questioning. We ask whether race differences in treatment vary as a function of who is being sentenced and where that sentencing occurs.

Urban justice, rural injustice? urbanization and its effect on sentencing

Abstract: Using a sample of felons convicted in Georgia between 1976 and June 1982, this study examines rural-urban diyerences in sentencing. Consistent with previous research, it is found that ostensibly similar oflenders are punished diflerently, depending on whether they were convicted in urban rather than rural counties. Diyerences in outcomes are based both on social background and on factors of explicit legal relevance. They occur for decisions about the type and duration of punishment. Finally, they persist even when selected correlates and consequences of urbanization are controlled. Unlike earlier research, however, this study finds that urbanization usually intensijes rather than reduces differential treatment. The paper concludes with possible explanations for the particularism that appears to characterize urban rather than rural courts. Also considered are the theoretical and empirical implications of the findings.

The Effects of Seeking Punitive Damages on the Processing of Tort Claims

Abstract: Punitive damages are one of the most controversial aspects of tort litigation and have been the subject of various theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies. One criticism of punitive damages refers to the effect that they have on civil litigation processes. In particular, Polinsky (1997) argues that the uncertainty and unpredictability that punitive damage claims inject into a case may increase both the rate and amount of settlements, thus implying that punitive damages carry systemic consequences for the general processing of tort claims. This paper represents the first, empirical examination of this implication. With one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets of tort litigation (over 25,000 cases filed from 1994 through 1997 in several counties in Georgia), we analyze both cases that are likely to have caps on punitive damage awards and cases that are likely to be uncapped. We examine the effect of the decision to seek punitive damages on several major decision points in the tort litigation process in a series of logit regression models. With extensive control variables for type of case and plaintiff, defendant, and case characteristics, we find that seeking punitive damages has no statistically significant effect on most phases of the tort litigation process.

Police Perceptions and Job Satisfaction

Abstract: The literature includes analyses of the perceptions of the police regarding public, political, and institutional support, along with the consequences of such perceptions. Herein attention is focused on the perceptions of line officers assigned to field duty regarding supervisory and administrative support. Nine hundred questionnaires were distributed to 18 different-sized departments in 15 different states and a 72% return rate achieved. Using perceptions of supervisory and administrative support, separate multiple regression analyses were employed. It was found that sizable portions of police perceptions of the two kinds of support were accounted for by the independent individual and environmental level variables.

Regression Diagnostics: Identifying Influential Data and Sources of Collinearity

Abstract: 1. Introduction and Overview. 2. Detecting Influential Observations and Outliers. 3. Detecting and Assessing Collinearity. 4. Applications and Remedies. 5. Research Issues and Directions for Extensions. Bibliography. Author Index. Subject Index.

Ethnicity and Sentencing Outcomes in U.S. Federal Courts: Who is Punished More Harshly?

Abstract: Using federal court data collected by the U.S. Sentencing Commission for the years 1993-1996, this study examines racial/ethnic differences-white versus black versus white-Hispanic versus black-Hispanic-in sentencing outcomes and criteria under the federal sentencing guidelines. Regression analyses of incarceration and term-length decisions reveal considerable judicial consistency in the use of sentencing criteria for all defendants; however, important racial/ethnic disparities in sentencing emerge. Consistent with theoretical hypotheses, the authors find that ethnicity has a small to moderate effect on sentencing outcomes that favors white defendants and penalizes Hispanic defendants, black defendants are in an intermediate position. Hispanic drug offenders are most at risk of receiving the harshest penalties, and their harsher treatment is most pronounced in prosecutor-controlled guidelines departure cases. These findings highlight both a classic organizational tension noted by Weber and a fundamental dilemma in policy efforts to structure sentencing processes (formal rationality) while allowing for judicial and prosecutorial discretion (substantive rationality). The findings also broaden our view of the continuing significance of race in American society-as a matter confronting not only blacks but also Hispanics and perhaps other ethnic groups as well

Racial disparities in official assessments of juvenile offenders : Attributional stereotypes as mediating mechanisms

Abstract: Despite extensive sociological research, little evidence exists on how court officials' perceptions of offenders influence their classification, assessment, and final recommendations for punishment. The authors examine the links among these factors, focusing specifically on the race of the accused. The analysis combines information from probation officers' written accounts of juvenile offenders and their crimes and court records about the offenders. They find pronounced differences in officers' attributions about the causes of crime by white versus minority youths. Further, these differences contribute significantly to differential assessments of the risk of reoffending and to sentence recommendations, even after adjusting for legally relevant case and offender characteristics. These results suggest that differential attributions about the causes of crime act as a mediating factor between race and sentencing recommendations