Law Commons^™

An Exploratory Study Of Domestic Violence Attitudes Among Virginia Magistrates, Elaine M. Phillips

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Currently, 43 states utilize magistrates in the criminal justice response to domestic violence. In Virginia, magistrates have the power to grant emergency protective orders and arrest warrants in domestic violence cases. In 1996, Virginia instituted a new mandatory arrest law. This study explores magistrates' attitudes toward the new law. It also examines their attitudes toward victims and offenders involved in domestic violence cases. The study utilizes data from Crossland's 1998 survey of Virginia magistrates (n=239). Hypotheses based on conflict theory and feminist theory lead to hypotheses that predict that magistrates' attitudes will vary depending on the race, educational level and …

Victimless Crime: A Comparison Of Public Offense Ratings Of Misdemeanor Offenses And Virginia Sentencing Guidelines, Theresa M. Dutton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study was designed to explore the hypothesized gap between what state guidelines on criminal sanctioning recommend for misdemeanor offenses, and what the public perceives· as just punishment for these offenses. The research also addresses the issue of victimless crime. In this regard it was additionally hypothesized that there exists a significant difference in public opinion towards sentencing those crimes that specifically do not have a victim, with those that do.

The design of this study is based on one conducted by Peter Rossi and Richard Berk (Rossi and Berk 1997). For this study, a sample of students attending college …

Factors That Affect Recidivism Of Offenders On Electronic Monitoring In Norfolk, Virginia, Michael P. O'Toole

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate which factors impact offenders' recidivism on electronic monitoring. Research on electronic monitoring has mainly concentrated on individual program completion rates. A review of the available literature on electronic monitoring reveals few evaluative studies focusing on offender recidivism. No long term recidivism studies are available for electronic monitoring. The present research reviews 277 offenders five years after completing their electronic monitoring sentence in Norfolk, Virginia. The following factors as they may relate to offenders' recidivism, while on electronic monitoring are measured: current offense, prior conviction, offenders' age, sentence length, and employment history. Analyses …

Racial Differences In Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Women, Lekeshia M. Washington

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

This study investigates the racial differences in rape myth acceptance among college women. There has been little research on the topic of rape which examines solely the opinions of women. Black and white college women {N=623) completed a survey which measured the degree of acceptance or rejection of false beliefs about rape, rape victims, or rapists. These false beliefs were termed rape myths. The myths demean the victim and support stereotypes about rape. Past research suggests that blacks accept rape myths more than whites, and that victims accept rape myths more than nonvictims. This study's analyses suggest that women as …

Gender, Race, And Court Location Effects On Exceptional Sentencing In The State Of Washington, Catherine L. Drezak

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Policy statements by the Sentencing Commission for the State of Washington emphasize that gender, race, and community ties are irrelevant to sentencing decisions. Based on prior sentencing practices, these policies carry the potential to incorporate unrecognized sentencing disparity practices into the proposed sentencing equality solution. Using Washington's sentencing data under current sentencing guideline structures, this research examined the sentencing outcomes with respect to sentences given outside the guidelines. This study was designed to address the research questions: What effect, if any, does gender have on exceptional sentence outcome? To what extent, if any, is race a factor in determining gender …

When The "Blues" Come To Call: Police Officers' Attitudes Toward And Responses To Domestic Violence, Christine Reneé Crossland

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

As a result of the growing popularity of arrest in domestic assault cases, many studies have focused on the relationship between police arrest policies and incidence rates of domestic violence. However, few actually assess direct input from police officers concerning their attitudes and perceptions of these policies, or how they feel about dealing with domestic violence. Since police officers are the first point at which domestic disputes are brought to the public's attention, the information provided by police officers concerning domestic violence can provide essential knowledge which could impact future policies and training on domestic violence. This study addresses the …

An Examination Of Factors Influencing The Definition Of Rape, Connie Sue Minton

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the concept of rape and factors which influence the definition of rape. A survey consisting of demographic and attitudinal questions and rape scenarios was administered to college students at two middle-sized universities in the southeast. The results indicate that as the level of intimacy between the victim and the rapist increases the likelihood of a situation being defined as a rape decreases. In this study religion and political attitudes were two independent variables which did not influence the definition of rape while race, gender, relationships with women, and attitudes toward women were …

Determinants Of Criminal Court Sentencing, Jennifer Rae Lovko

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

Legal Sanctions And The Consensus Of Crime Seriousness, William Dalton Cole

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

In Favor Of Capital Punishment: A Blending Of Philosophical Perspectives, James Charles Donnelly

Institute for the Humanities Theses

There has been little intellectual support for the average American's view of the proper relationship between L' crime and punishment. This text is an effort to philosophically define and defend this view. Chapters one and two deal with teleological theories and justification for systems and rules of practices. I first discuss the historical relationship of man to the state, showing the necessity of and providing a basis for civil authority and law and showing both to be based on social utility. This accomplished, a teleological justification of a system of punishment is presented. Chapter three discusses retribution as the deontological …

The Role Of Juvenile Court Structure In Pre-Adjudicatory Detention Decisions, Douglas Stuart Foister

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Prison Sentence Disparity In West Virginia, Deanna J. Shields

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The sentencing of individuals is a very important stage in the Criminal Justice System in the United States. The sentence is the basic decision which determines how, where, and for how long an offender should be dealt with by the state (LaBeff, 1978, p. 1). This study will focus on the question of whether or not sentence disparity exists in West Virginia.

Sentencing processes in our Criminal Justice System today are in keeping with the “Treatment Model” of Corrections . According to Fogel (1975) in We Are The Living Proof, the treatment model has three main goals: (1) diagnosis …

The Development Of Prisoner's Rights: A Study Of Judicial Opinions, Lynn Marie Greenwood

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

No abstract provided.