THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF CRIMINAL SENTENCING

This article examines sentencing outcomes in 73 counties in Minnesota to appraise three theoretical approaches to sentencing: the formal legal theory of sentencing, which predicts that legal variables are the primary determinants of sentencing, the substantive political theory, which predicts that legal and social status variables determine sentencing, and the organizational maintenance theory, which predicts that legal and processing variables determine sentencing. The findings demonstrate that the effects of legal variables are important determinants of sentencing irrespective of the organizational context whereas the effects of plea are conditioned by the level of bureaucratization in courts. The results also suggest that racial effects on sentencing are curtailed in the context of sentencing guidelines.