Carol Ann Traut

Expanding the integrated model of judicial decision making: The california justices and capital punishment

This study of the death penalty decisions made by justices of the California Supreme Court between 1979 and 1990 elaborates on the integrated model used to explain judicial behavior. Specifically, the interactive effects of judicial ideology, case characteristics, the political environment, the dynamic effects of legal issues, and the effects of retention elections are explored. The model does provide a useful explanation of judicial behavior. In addition, this study indicates that the effects of legal arguments and case facts are conditioned by judicial ideology, that the effects of legal issues change over time, and that electoral pressures do not have a uniform effect across judges.

Disadvantage, Disaffection, and Race as Divergent Bases for Citizen Fiscal Policy Preferences

Recent years have seen increased attention to citizen preferences for taxation and spending for public services. Yet, the sources of these attitudes, and of apparent inconsistencies among them, remain something of a mystery. This study integrates divergent disciplinary perspectives on citizen fiscal policy attitudes to develop a more comprehensive theoretical framework for explaining them. It tests the framework through a LISREL analysis of survey responses from about 1,300 citizens in three Florida cities. The results suggest important differences in the bases for attitudes toward services and attitudes about taxes. General satisfaction with local government and community is the primary determinant of service evaluations, although economic self-interest plays an important indirect role. For attitudes toward taxes, conversely, economic interest is the key predictor. Both community dissatisfaction and economic self-interest underlie tradeoffs between services and taxes. And behind all these evaluations lie racial differences in thinking. This evidence of divergent influences on tax and service attitudes helps to explain the apparently paradoxical views conveyed in opinion polls and referenda. More generally, this study shows the advantages of a multidisciplinary approach in understanding determinants of citizen attitudes about public services and taxes.

Law Enforcement Recruit Training at the State Level: An Evaluation

Statewide recruit training programs supplement agency training by providing equal access for all law enforcement personnel to the latest methods and technologies and by increasing the likelihood of uniform practices across diverse communities. This study is based on an assessment survey of local, county, and state law enforcement agency recruits who participated in the South Dakota Law Enforcement Training Basic Certification Course from 1996 to 1998. Recruit evaluations of training in the areas of criminal procedure, traffic control, and nontraditional police responsibilities were assessed. Evaluations of training in criminal procedure were highest, followed by assessments of training in traffic control. Recruits rated their training in nontraditional areas of police work lowest of all. A multivariate analysis of factors explaining their evaluations indicated that recruits from larger departments were less positive in evaluations of their training. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications of the findings for law enforcement training and training evaluation.

Citizen-Initiated Contacting A Multivariate Analysis

One major way citizens interact with local government is through individual contacts with public officials. Applying multivariate analysis to data from a 1985 study of three Florida cities, the authors find that need (defined as perceptions of government mis- or inaction) and awareness of whom to contact best explains contacting by people who clearly attach no larger social significance to their acts (particularized-referent contactors). On the other hand, social-referent contactors (those who see their contacts as affecting both themselves and others) are more likely to be people with both higher socioeconomic status and a greater sense of need.

Student Decisions to Attend Public Two-Year Community Colleges

This study examined reasons for student choice of a specific community college. The site of the study is a west Texas public, two-year institution with 4,674 students, full- and part-time, as of fall 2008. The top six reasons for selection were transferability of courses, available academic programs and quality, campus location, cost, available educational facilities and technology, and advice from family and friends. The next six reasons were financial aid, college reputation, campus safety, college web site, campus activities and recreational facilities, and athletic teams and sports. Improving the college product and addressing needs of various students regionally, nationally, and internationally must be priorities for community colleges.

Bans on Executing the Mentally Retarded: An Event History Analysis of State Policy Adoption

ON JUNE 20, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing mentally retarded murderers violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment (Lane 2002). The court reversed its 1989 decision in Penry v. Lynaugh in which it held that the Constitution did not per se prohibit execution of the mentally retarded. The justices noted at that time that only two states prohibited the execution of mentally retarded criminals. By 2002, however, a total of 18 death penalty states had enacted laws to ban the practice. The Atkins majority found that the clear direction of state policy change indicated the existence of a national consensus against executing mentally retarded offenders. In this study, we seek to explain state lawmakers’ decisions to adopt bans on execution of the mentally retarded, from Georgia’s initial adoption in 1988 to the court’s decision in the Atkins case. The findings shed light on both an important aspect of death penalty policy and the politics of state policy adoption. The death penalty has been defined as a morality policy. We discuss studies of policy enactment in this area and outline the two major theories of state policy adoption (e.g., Haider-Markel 2001; Haider-Markel and Meier 1996; Meier 1994; Mooney 2001; Bans on Executing the Mentally Retarded: An Event History Analysis of State Policy Adoption

Policy implementation in an international setting: a case study of China and the 1995 united nations conference on women

For successful implementation, policy goals should be clear, shared by affected parties, and linked to implementation efforts. Leadership, capable implementers, adequate resources, and an ability to control the external environment are also necessary for successful policy implementation. In the case of China hosting the 1995 Fourth United Nations Conference on Women, these factors were not present. This study describes the problems of implementation as they are illustrated by this case and makes suggestions on how policies can be carried out in an international setting. These suggestions include the recognition of cultural differences, the acceptance of the fact that politics shapes policy decisions and implementation, and the establishment of structures and processes to resolve any conflicts that arise.

China and the 1995 United Nations conference on women

This study looks at the ways in which Chinas hosting of the 1995 United Nations Conference on Women failed to improve Chinas international prestige. China made enormous commitments of resources to the meetings. However, China did not benefit because of its own internal policies, because of a series of political events that, in conjunction with media coverage, created a critical environment, and because of the deteriorating relationship between China and the US.