HOW THE U.S. PRISON BOOM HAS CHANGED THE AGE DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRISON POPULATION

This article provides a demographic exposition of the changes in the U.S prison population during the period of mass incarceration that began in the late twentieth century. By drawing on data from the Survey of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (1974–2004) for inmates 17–72 years of age (N = 336), we show that the age distribution shifted upward dramatically: Only 16 percent of the state prison population was 40 years old or older in 1974; by 2004, this percentage had doubled to 33 percent with the median age of prisoners rising from 27 to 34 years old. By using an estimable function approach, we find that the change in the age distribution of the prison population is primarily a cohort effect that is driven by the “enhanced” penal careers of the cohorts who hit young adulthood—the prime age of both crime and incarceration—when substance use was at its peak. Period‐specific factors (e.g., proclivity for punishment and incidence of offense) do matter, but they seem to play out more across the life cycles of persons most affected in young adulthood (cohort effects) than across all age groups at one point in time (period effects).     

THE U.S. CIRCUIT JUDGE NOMINATING COMMISSION

This article examines the institution of the U.S. Circuit Judge Nominating Commission as a new actor in the recruitment process to the federal judiciary. The mandate and operation of the commission are examined and, through the utilization of mailed questionnaires, the research attempts to tap the decisional criteria employed by commission members. Criticisms of the commission and its operation are developed utilizing questionnaire responses as well as documents comprising the commission mandate. The implications of "merit" recruitment for both the district and appeals courts are examined.     

GENDER BIAS IN THE U. S. BANKRUPTCY CODE

This article explores gender bias in the U. S. Bankruptcy Code and demonstrates how it is often used in family law by fathers seeking to escape their financial obligations. Also discussed is both statutory and case law pertinent to this issue.