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Justice by Other Means: Venue Sorting in Parole Revocation
Author(s) -
LIN JEFFREY,
GRATTET RYKEN,
PETERSILIA JOAN
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
law and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.534
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1467-9930
pISSN - 0265-8240
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9930.2012.00366.x
Subject(s) - revocation , seriousness , sorting , legitimacy , prison , criminology , law , economic justice , political science , sociology , computer science , politics , overhead (engineering) , programming language , operating system
We consider the factors that shape venue sorting , the process by which a legal case can be handled through different organizational arrangements with distinct procedures, institutional cultures, and sanctioning constraints. The empirical area for our investigation of venue sorting is California's parole revocation system, in which parolees accused of new crimes can be returned to prison by either criminal courts or the parole board. We find that seriousness of the alleged offense partially predicts the venue through which parolees are sanctioned. However, venue sorting is further explained by decision makers' perceptions of parolee threat, as well as concerns about organizational efficiency and legitimacy. We conclude by discussing how these findings may relate to the general phenomenon of venue sorting across a range of legal situations.