U.S. Territorial Exclusion in Federal Sentencing Research: Can it be Justified?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2014.03.10Keywords:
American territories, sentencing, U.S. mainlandAbstract
There is a dearth of knowledge on sentencing process and outcomes in Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. It is not uncommon for researchers conducting national studies to intentionally exclude data from these American territories. Their actions have been justified on the grounds that territories have "distinctive" characteristics that warrant exclusion. Using federal sentencing data, this study explores whether the sentencing patterns observed in the territories are as "unique" as scholars assume and if so, in what ways and to what extent. Descriptive analysis reveals that attributes of offenders and case processing strategies are similar across the U.S. mainland and its territories. Although multivariate analysis revealed some notable differences (e.g., territories are more punitive than states) the larger finding is that there are more similarities than differences with regards to the processing of cases and outcomes. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed.
References
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011128707309997
Court Cases
Ballentine v. United States, Civ. No. 1999-130 (2001).
Ballentine v. United States, 486F.3d 806 (2007).
Dorr v. United States, 195 U.S. 138 (1904).
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3053987
Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2010. Territories. Retrieved June 20, 2010 from http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?tv=tp&tid=144
Demuth, S. 2002. “The effect of citizenship status on sentencing outcomes in drug cases.”14 Federal Sentencing Reporter, 14(5):271-275.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/fsr.2002.14.5.271
Dixon, J. 1995. “The organizational context of criminal sentencing.” American Journal of Sociology, 100:1157-1198.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/230635
Eisenstein, J., Flemming, R., and Nardulli. 1988. The contours of justice: Communities and their courts. Boston: Little Brown.
Farrell, A., Ward, G., and Rousseau, D. 2009. “Race effects of representation among federal court workers: Does black workforce representation reduce sentencing disparity.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science; Race, Crime and Justice: Contexts And Complexities, 623:121-133.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716208331128
General Accounting Office 1991. “U.S. insular areas: Applicability of relevant provision of the U.S. Constitution.” Report to the ranking minority member, committee on Interior and insular affairs, house of representatives. Available at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/220/214357.pdf Retrieved 2/5/14
Hagan, H. and Palloni, A. 1998.“Immigration and crime in the United states.” Pp. 367-387 in The immigration debate: Studies on the economic, demographics, and fiscal effects of immigration. James P. Smith and Barry Edmonston (eds). Washington: DC. National Academy Press.
Iles, G. 2009. “The effects of race/ethnicity and national origin on length of sentence in the United states Virgin Islands.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science; Race, Crime and Justice: Contexts And Complexities, 623:64-76.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002716208330705
Johnson, B. 2005.“Contextual disparities in guidelines departures: courtroom social contexts, guideline compliance, and extralegal disparities in criminal sentencing.” Criminology, 43(3): 761-796.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.0011-1348.2005.00023.x
Johnson, B., Ulmer, J., and Kramer, J. 2008. “The social context of guidelines circumvention: The case of federal district courts.” Criminology, 46(3):737-783.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2008.00125.x
Kautt, P. 2002. “Location, location, location Interdistrict and intercircuit variations in sentencing outcomes for federal drug-trafficking offenses.” Justice Quarterly, 19(4):633-671.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07418820200095381
Mustard, D. 2001.“Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in sentencing: Evidence from the U.S. federal courts.” Journal of Law and Economics, 44:285-314.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/320276
Steffensmeier, D. and Demuth, S. 2000. “Ethnicity and sentencing outcomes in U.S. federal courts: Who is punished more harshly.” America Sociological Review, 65(5):705-729.
http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2657543
Steffensmeier, D., Ulmer, J. and Kramer, J. 1998. “The interaction of race, gender and age in criminal sentencing: The punishment cost of being young, black, and male.” Criminology, 36(4):763-797.
Ulmer, J. 2005. “The localized uses of federal sentencing guidelines in four U.S. district courts: Evidence of processual order.” Symbolic Interaction, 28(2):255-279.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/si.2005.28.2.255
Ulmer, J. 1997. Social worlds of sentencing court communities under sentencing Guidelines. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Ulmer, J., Eisenstein, J. and Johnson, B. 2010.“Trial penalties in federal sentencing: Extra-guidelines factors and district variation. “Justice Quarterly, 27(4):560-592.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07418820902998063
Ulmer, J., Light, M., and Kramer, J. 2011.“The ‘liberation’ of federal judges’ discretion in the wake of the booker/fanfan decision: Is there increased disparity and divergence between courts?” Justice Quarterly, 39(1):1-39.
United States Census Bureau.2000a.“Population and housing profile: Guam.” Retrieved February 5, 2014, from https://www. census.gov/prod/cen2000/island/GUAMprofile.pdf
United States Census Bureau.2000b. “Population and housing profile: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.” Retrieved February 5, 2014, from https://www.census.gov/ prod/cen2000/island/CNMIprofile.pdf
United States Census Bureau.2000c. “Population and housing profile: U.S. Virgin Islands.” Retrieved February 5, 2014, from https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/island/VIprofile.pdf
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 2000d. “Summary population and housing characteristics: Puerto Rico.” Retrieved February 5, 2014, from https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/phc-1-53-ENG.pdf
United States Department of Interior: Office of Insular Affairs. “Definitions of insular area political organizations.” Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.doi.gov/oia/islands/ politicatypes.cfm#
Wu, J. and Spohn, C. 2010. “Interdistrict disparity in sentencing in three U.S. district courts.” Crime and Delinquency, 56(2):290-322.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011128707309997
Court Cases
Ballentine v. United States, Civ. No. 1999-130 (2001).
Ballentine v. United States, 486F.3d 806 (2007).
Dorr v. United States, 195 U.S. 138 (1904).
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Published
2014-03-20
How to Cite
Iles, G., Bumphus, V., & McGuffee, K. (2014). U.S. Territorial Exclusion in Federal Sentencing Research: Can it be Justified?. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 3, 113–124. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2014.03.10
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