Jeremy D. Ball

Disentangling the Relationship Between Child Maltreatment and Violent Delinquency: Using a Nationally Representative Sample

This study uses the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescents (Add Health) data, a nationally representative sample of adolescents, to disentangle the relationship between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Also examined are potential moderating effects of gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and religiosity on the association between child maltreatment and violent delinquency. Contrary to prior research findings, the current analyses reveal that physical abuse is not associated with future violent delinquency, whereas sexual abuse and neglect predict violent delinquency significantly. The current study also did not reveal any moderating effects of gender, SES, and religiosity on the association between maltreatment and violent delinquency. Interpretations of these findings are presented, drawing on the properties of the national probability sample compared to the findings of most prior studies that used localized samples.

Effects of Individual Characteristics on Plea Negotiations Under Sentencing Guidelines

ABSTRACT Research conducted on the decision points between arrest and sentencing is scarce. There is a need for research to examine processing decisions. This research attempts to fill in the gap of knowledge about case processing decisions by focusing on plea negotiations; specifically, the examination of the effect of individual characteristics on the prosecutors plea bargaining decisions in a sentencing guideline state by using two dependent variables (negotiated plea vs. a non-negotiated plea and a three category dependent variable simultaneously analyzing negotiated pleas, non-negotiated pleas, and bench or jury trials). The results indicate that race/ethnicity, sex, and age of the offender did not predict the likelihood of receiving a negotiated guilty plea. Using multinomial logistic regression, it was discovered that demographic characteristics were predictors of the decision to negotiate a guilty plea compared to the bench/jury trial conviction. Black offenders were more likely than white offenders to have their case go to trial rather than straight pleading or negotiating a guilty plea.

Is It a Prosecutor's World? Determinants of Count Bargaining Decisions

Prosecutors have virtually unfettered discretion in their plea negotiations with defendants. Where discretion is unrestricted, unwarranted disparity is likely to follow. The current study examines the relationship between offender characteristics and count bargaining. From an integrated theory approach (integrating concession and consensus models, liberation hypothesis, and focal concerns theory), the current study hypothesizes that race and ethnicity, sex, age, and employment status of the offender has an effect on count bargaining decisions in only the borderline serious cases. Data were collected on 2,578 guilty pleas in Chicago, Illinois, in 1993 and analyzed using a backwards selection logistic regression analysis partitioning cases by severity of the most serious charge. The results from these analyses indicate that offender characteristics do not have a statistically significant effect on count bargaining. However, there may be important differences masked by straight pleas, symbolic bargaining, and overcharging practices.

Predicting Public Opinion About Juvenile Waivers

The accountability movement of the juvenile justice system in the late 1980s and early 1990s encouraged more punitive practices. Public opinion was strong during this time. The attitudes about the juvenile justice system are a product of individual demographic, cultural, and political characteristics. This study addresses opinions about juvenile waivers—a punitive sanction—examining data from the National Opinion Survey of Crime and Justice in the 1990s. This study analyzes attitudes about juvenile waivers, using multivariate quantitative methods. The results indicate a consistent relationship between the perception of the sentencing goals of the juvenile court (punishment versus rehabilitation) and ones attitudes toward the use of juvenile waivers. Contrary to the generated hypotheses, though, attitudes about juvenile waivers were not consistently dependent on individual demographic, cultural, or political characteristics.

Intergenerational Transmission of Abuse of Incarcerated Fathers: A Study of the Measurement of Abuse

Research on the intergenerational transmission of abuse hypothesis often only examined the existence of abuse. The current study utilizes retrospective recalls of incarcerated male defendants (N = 414), using questions formulated from the modified Conflict Tactics Scales. Five logistic regression models are run, representing a different physical abuse measure, including incidence of physical abuse; severity of physical abuse; and three composite measures: total frequency, total severity, and total frequency/severity. Although social desirability is a limitation in any study relying on self-report data, the comparison of the chi-square values of each model may give indication that the simpler abuse measures (“incidence of physical abuse” and “severity of physical abuse”) are more predictive of later abusive behaviors than the more complex, composite measures.

He Versus She: A Gender Specific Analysis of Legal and Extralegal Effects on Pretrial Release for Felony Defendants

The current study sought to identify significant predictors of pretrial processing for both male and female defendants in an aggregate sample. The data used in this study were taken from the State Court Processing Statistics, 1990–2000: Felony Defendants in Large Urban Counties (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2004). The original sample included a total of 87,437 felony cases. The relationships between relevant independent variables and 5 separate dependent variables (denial of bail, non-financial release, amount of bail set, making bail, and pretrial incarceration) were analyzed using both multivariate regression and Z-score comparisons within gender-specific models. Findings suggest that the effects of certain independent variables on pretrial release decisions and outcomes are different between the gender-specific models.

The Effect of Blakely v. Washington on Upward Departures in a Sentencing Guideline State

The Supreme Courts decision in Blakely v. Washington was a landmark decision, ruling that juries must determine facts before judges can increase sentences above the sentencing guideline maximum—known as upward departures. Because one of the purposes of sentencing guidelines was to reduce discretion—and, thereby, unwarranted disparity—it is hypothesized extralegal factors will have less impact on upward departures after Blakely compared to before Blakely. Upward departures and their determinants were analyzed 27 months before and after Blakely, utilizing a disproportionate stratified random sample. Although the likelihood of upward departures was diminished after Blakely , extralegal factors did not incur differential effects. Both age and gender of the defendant were found to have statistically significant effects (p < .05) before and after Blakely. Although this study is only an explorative step, it is an important step to start addressing any potential effects of this landmark decision on sentencing reform efforts.