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A STRUCTURAL EXAMINATION OF MISDEMEANOR COURT DISPOSITION PATTERNS *
Author(s) -
JAMIESON KATHERINE M.,
BLOWERS ANITA NEUBERGER
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
criminology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.467
H-Index - 139
eISSN - 1745-9125
pISSN - 0011-1384
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-9125.1993.tb01129.x
Subject(s) - misdemeanor , disposition , jurisdiction , context (archaeology) , psychology , criminology , logistic regression , variety (cybernetics) , social psychology , class (philosophy) , law , political science , computer science , geography , machine learning , artificial intelligence , archaeology
The utility of structural criminology in explaining societal reaction to criminal events is examined in an analysis of misdemeanor court cases processed in an urban southern jurisdiction. The analysis employs a relational measure of class to discern distinctions in disposition patterns for misdemeanors classified by type of complaining party. Logistic regression is used to consider the influence of a variety of procedural/legal and extralegal variables in predicting case dispositions for individual, corporate, and victimless cases. Results indicate partial support for the premises of structural theory, and the discussion focuses on how the context of criminal court processing may be conditioned by varying degrees of control between victim and offender.