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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Gender Disparities In Sentencing Departures: An Examination Of U.S. Federal Courts, Jill K. Doerner
Gender Disparities In Sentencing Departures: An Examination Of U.S. Federal Courts, Jill K. Doerner
Jill K Doerner
Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission, the present study examines the role of guideline departures in the sentencing of male and female defendants in federal courts. Findings indicate that female defendants continue to have lower odds of incarceration and to receive shorter sentence length terms, even after legal, extralegal, and contextual factors are controlled. The largest gender difference in the odds of incarceration was found for defendants who received substantial assistance departures, while male and female defendants in this same category were given the most similar sentence lengths. When departure status was examined as a dependent variable, it …
Gender And Sentencing In The Federal Courts: Are Women Treated More Leniently?, Jill K. Doerner, Stephen Demuth
Gender And Sentencing In The Federal Courts: Are Women Treated More Leniently?, Jill K. Doerner, Stephen Demuth
Jill K Doerner
Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (2001-2003), we examine the role of gender in the sentencing of defendants in federal courts. We address two questions: First, can we explain the gender gap in sentencing by taking into account differences in legal and extralegal factors? And second, do legal and extralegal factors have the same impact for male and female defendants? Overall, we find that female defendants receive more lenient sentence outcomes than their male counterparts. Legal factors account for a large portion of the gender differences, but even after controlling for legal characteristics a substantial gap in sentencing …