Citizenship Status, Race, Ethnicity, And Their Effects On Sentencing (criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship)

Wu examines the independent effect of citizenship status and its joint effect with race/ethnicity, national origin, and geographic locations on sentencing outcomes. He studies the between-group relationship in terms of citizenship status and conflict theory as well as the within-group relationship in terms of race/ethnicity and typification theory. Findings reveal mixed support for theoretical propositions and research hypotheses, with stronger support for conflict theory than for typification theory. The double-disadvantage hypothesis is not supported. The findings regarding federal judges' harshness in the incarceration decision while showing leniency in the probation length and prison sentence length decisions for non-citizen offenders reflect a balance between focal concerns and the enhanced social control of conflict theory. This study assesses the impact of citizenship status using multivariate analyses to explore main effects and key interaction effects (race/ethnicity of offender, country of origin, and geographic location of sentencing) on the likelihood of incarceration, sentence length, and probation lengths. Chapter 1 provides the introduction for citizenship status and sentencing. Chapter 2 discusses the history and constitutional conflict of Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Chapter 3 includes strengths and weaknesses of the theoretical foundations for sentencing disparity, as well as the proposed theoretical framework to explain the independent and joint effects of citizenship status and race/ethnicity on sentencing decision making. A review of the findings and limitations of empirical sentencing literature regarding citizenship status is also discussed. Chapter 4 provides the statement of research hypothesis that guides this study. Also presented is the research methodology used in this study, including descriptions of the data and variables, as well as analytic procedures. Chapter 5 presents the findings of this study. Chapter 6 discusses how the proposed theoretical framework explains the findings of this research, along with suggestions for future research. Chapter 7 provides conclusions and policy implications. Tables, appendixes, and bibliography "Wu examines the independent effect of citizenship status and its joint effect with race/ethnicity, national origin, and geographic locations on sentencing outcomes. He studies the between-group relationship in terms of citizenship status and conflict theory as well as the within-group relationship in terms of race/ethnicity and typification theory. Findings reveal mixed support for theoretical propositions and research hypotheses, with stronger support for conflict theory than for typification theory. The double-disadvantage hypothesis is not supported. The findings regarding federal judges' harshness in the incarceration decision while showing leniency in the probation length and prison sentence length decisions for non-citizen offenders reflect a balance between focal concerns and the enhanced social control of conflict theory"--Provided by publisher While unwarranted disparity in judicial decision making is a concern for researchers in the sentencing field, citizenship status has received relatively little attention in sentencing research. This study concentrates on how citizenship status affects criminal sentencing outcomes in federal courts and presents a theoretical framework regarding the relationship between citizenship status, race/ethnicity, and sentencing. Wu (criminal justice, Buffalo State College) uses multivariate analysis to explore the effects of factors such as race/ethnicity, country of origin, and geographic location of sentencing on the likelihood of incarceration, sentence length, and probation length. He concludes that conflict theory best explains the effects of citizenship status on sentencing. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Citizenship status and sentencing Federal sentencing guidelines Theoretical perspectives and review of research Data and research methodology Statistical analysis and findings Linking empirical findings to theories Conclusions and implications.