The Effect of Extralegal Factors in Decision-Making About Juvenile Offenders in Chile: A Quasi-Experimental Study

• Author: Pablo Carvacho,Catalina Droppelmann,Mariel Mateo
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211066839
• Published date: 01 March 2023
• Date: 01 March 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X211066839

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2023, Vol. 67(4) 398 –419

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X211066839

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Article

The Effect of Extralegal

Factors in Decision-Making

About Juvenile Offenders in

Chile: A Quasi-Experimental

Study

Pablo Carvacho1, Catalina Droppelmann1,

and Mariel Mateo1

Abstract

This study seeks to identify the underlying factors related to the sentencing process

for juvenile justice cases in Chile. To this end, a factorial survey method or quasi-

experimental vignette method was used. This method allows us to understand with

greater clarity the complex cognitive process involved in judicial decision-making.

The results confirm that legal factors carry the critical weight for judicial decisions,

though extralegal factors also play a role. Among these, factors associated with the

offender (such as drug use and school attendance) and characteristics of the judges

themselves (such as judicial attitudes and their previous experience) all influenced the

decision-making process. These findings allow us to provide evidence about decision-

making in the Latin American contexts and add to existing evidence in order to

understand the moderating effect of certain class and gender stereotypes.

Keywords

judicial decision-making, juvenile justice, courts, legal factors, factorial survey

1Center for Studies on Justice and Society, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile

Corresponding Author:

Catalina Droppelmann, Center for Studies on Justice and Society, Pontificia Universidad Católica de

Chile, Avenue. Vicuña Mackena 4860, Macul, Santiago, Chile.

Email: cadroppelmann@uc.cl

1066839IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X211066839International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyCarvacho et al.

research-article2021

Carvacho et al. 399

Introduction

The experience of incarceration has a decisive impact on the lives of adolescents, rep-

resenting a turning point in their development (Lambie & Randell, 2013). A custodial

sentence certifies them as delinquents and forces them to confront the social stigma

associated with it, contributing to the progress of criminal trajectories (Lemert, 1951;

McAra & McVie, 2007). In addition, it causes other detrimental effects, such as pos-

sible victimization, interruption of normative experiences and loss of opportunities in

terms of learning and developing human and social capital (Mulvey & Schubert,

2012).

Evidence shows that, despite the great impact of judicial decisions on individuals’

lives, the decision-making processes within the justice system are not unbiased

(Rachlinski & Wistrich, 2017). This gets more complex in the context of the juvenile

justice system, because—unlike adult justice—it avoids a logic based only on retribu-

tion, and leans instead toward rehabilitation (Applegate et al., 2000; Bishop et al.,

2010). Under this logic, extralegal factors—namely, those variables that consider the

past, present and future of the offender—should be more important when considering

a suitable sentence for a young offender than they are in the adult justice system.

Nevertheless, this can grant the decision-maker an opportunity for using their discre-

tion, increasing the chances of arbitrary and discriminatory decisions (Applegate et al.,

2000; Caudill et al., 2013; Sieverdes et al., 1979; Smith & Rosier, 2015).

Different theoretical models have sought to explain the legal and extralegal factors

that could affect the judicial decision-making process (Koublitskaia, 2012; Posner,

2008; Tamanaha, 2008): many of them focus on diverse legal factors, such as the seri-

ousness of the offense, while others have analyzed the role played by extralegal fac-

tors, such as the characteristics of young offenders (i.e., gender and race) and judges

(i.e., political ideology, gender, race, and experience). There is, however, only a rela-

tively small—if growing—body of literature which comprehensively explores how

the combination of legal and extralegal factors may inform the judicial decision-mak-

ing process (Applegate et al., 2000; Cochran et al., 2003; Fine et al., 2017; Leiber &

Peck, 2015).

Furthermore, most of this evidence comes from Anglophone countries (mainly the

United States), and there is lack of information regarding judicial decision-making in

the youth justice system in Latin America. Considering recent youth justice reforms in

the region, it is crucial to provide evidence for the above to shed light on the role that

legal and extralegal factors play in the judicial processes. This information would

influence criminal justice policies, aiding the development of progressive reforms that

promote young offenders’ rehabilitation and—crucially—avoiding the irrational and

extensive use of custodial measures that have characterized Latin American criminal

justice systems.

Therefore, this article – based on data drawn from a factorial survey conducted with

246 Chilean judges—seeks to provide new evidence regarding the role played by legal

and extralegal factors in the judicial decision-making process within the Chilean Youth

Justice System.