Bail and Sentencing

Date01 January 2014
Published date01 January 2014
DOI10.1177/0887403412461501
Subject MatterArticles
Criminal Justice Policy Review
2014, Vol 25(1) 59 –77
© 2012 SAGE Publications
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DOI: 10.1177/0887403412461501
cjp.sagepub.com
461501CJP25110.1177/0887403412461501Crimi
nal Justice Policy ReviewSacks and Ackerman
1Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ, USA
2University of Washington, Tacoma, WA, USA
Corresponding Author:
Meghan Sacks, Department of Social Sciences and History, Fairleigh Dickinson University,
285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ 97940, USA.
Email: megsacks@yahoo.com
Bail and Sentencing: Does
Pretrial Detention Lead
to Harsher Punishment?
Meghan Sacks1 and Alissa R. Ackerman2
Abstract
Previous research on judicial decision making has shown that legal factors, such
as offense severity and prior criminal record, exert a strong impact on sentencing
decisions. In addition, studies have demonstrated that demographic factors, such as
race and gender, also influence sentencing decisions. This study utilized a sample of
(n = 975) cases collected by New Jersey's Criminal Disposition Commission, tracked
from arrest through disposition, to assess the factors that influence sentencing
decisions, with a specific focus on the role of pretrial release status. The authors
found that pretrial detention does not influence the decision to incarcerate; however,
pretrial detention does significantly and negatively affects the length of the sentence
in cases that involve a sentence of incarceration.
Keywords
pretrial detention, incarceration, sentencing, case processing, judicial decision making
A substantial body of research has examined structural flaws in the American criminal
justice system. Some scholars concentrate on bail decisions and outcomes (Demuth &
Steffensmeier, 2004; Schlesinger, 2005; Turner & Johnson, 2005), and others address
plea bargaining practices (Albonetti, 1990; Frenzel & Ball, 2007; Kellough & Wortley,
2002). However, the majority of research to date has focused on inequities in sentenc-
ing practices and the possible racial disparities that occur at this phase of the legal
process (Demuth & Steffensmeier, 2004; Spohn & Holleran, 2000; Western, 2006).
Article
60 Criminal Justice Policy Review 25(1)
For several reasons, some obvious, sentencing is usually the focal point of the crim-
inal case process for scholars. As Demuth (2003) points out, sentencing marks the end
point of the criminal case and the point when the “real” punishment is pronounced. In
her study of factors affecting guilty pleas, Albonetti (1990) also highlights the impor-
tance of the finality of the conviction. Demuth notes that the sentencing phase receives
more attention than bail in the literature just as sentencing garners more attention from
both the legislature and the media. Finally, as Demuth explains, sentencing data are
collected, monitored, and made available to researchers.
Studies on this topic have concluded that a variety of factors, both legal and extra-
legal, affect sentencing decisions. Most notably, several researchers have found that
criminal history and the seriousness of the offense are the strongest predictors of sen-
tencing decisions (Gottfredson & Gottfredson, 1988; Neubauer, 2002), whereas other
research has demonstrated the strong role that the extralegal variables race and gender
play (Albonetti, 1997; Spohn & Holleran, 2000). However, studies on sentencing sel-
dom examine the role of pretrial outcomes on sentencing decisions.
The current study focuses on the potential effects of bail operations on sentencing.
Some researchers (Free, 2004; Phillips, 2008; Williams, 2003) have also examined the
potential impact of pretrial decisions on conviction and sentencing. However, this
body of research is not extensive and more is needed to measure the full extent of
pretrial operations on sentencing, particularly given some of the well-known detri-
mental effects of incarceration on offenders, their family members, and the commu-
nity. These concerns are intensified because some research has argued that the court's
decision to detain a defendant pretrial may be, in effect, a decision to convict. Decisions
at the beginning of the criminal case process, such as bail decisions, can affect the
entire course of the case and the ultimate punishment handed down in sentencing. That
is why it is essential to start from the beginning of a case. The current study provides
evidence of the powerful role that bail practices play at each step of criminal case
processing and, in particular, sentencing.
Judicial Decision Making
Scholars have found that legal factors such as seriousness of the offense and prior
criminal history play a significant role in incarceration decisions (Gottfredson &
Gottfredson, 1988; Neubauer, 2002; Spohn & Holleran, 2000; Steffensmeier &
Demuth, 2006). Other research has documented the impact of the extralegal factor
race on sentencing decisions, demonstrating that black offenders often receive harsher
punishments than their white counterparts (Spohn, Gruhl, & Welch, 1981; Spohn &
Holleran, 2000; Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2001; Steffensmeier, Ulmer, & Kramer,
1998). Though a substantial body of research has demonstrated the effect of race,
recent research has also begun to focus more specifically on the influence of ethnicity
in judicial decision making (Albonetti, 1997; Steffensmeier & Demuth, 2000, 2001;
Tartaro & Sedelmaier, 2009).

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