Date of Award
1-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
College/School
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department/Program
Psychology
Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair
Tina M. Zottoli
Committee Member
Tarika Daftary-Kapur
Committee Member
Adele Quigley McBride
Committee Member
Jessica Henry
Abstract
Prosecutors occupy one of the most powerful positions in the criminal justice system, and their control over cases is nearly unfettered. Some scholars argue that prosecutors need wide latitude in their decision making, and that their ability to exercise discretion is necessary and beneficial (Fairfax Jr, 2011; S. Miller, 2019). Others, however, contend that discretion should be restricted, for a variety of reasons. For instance, psycholegal research has found bias in prosecutor’s decision-making when it is fully discretionary (Burke, 2006; Pfaff, 2017b); and it is easily abused to create undue leverage in plea bargaining (i.e., overcharging; Bennett, 1979). Prosecutorial guidelines have been suggested as one potential solution to these problems (Pfaff, 2017b), though to date, there have been no empirical studies of their effects on sentence recommendations (Pfaff, 2017). To address this gap, I conducted a study wherein participants read through fake cases and mock-prosecuted them, by using guidelines that allowed for more or less discretion. Findings from the present study could inform this debate, and thus assist state legislatures and legal scholars in determining whether to pursue the restriction of discretion through prosecutorial guidelines.
File Format
Recommended Citation
Schneider, Ryan A., "Discretion in Prosecutorial Decision-Making and its Effect on Sentencing Recommendations" (2025). Theses, Dissertations and Culminating Projects. 1505.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/etd/1505
