FAMILY STRUCTURE AND DELINQUENCY: GENERAL PATTERNS AND GENDER DIFFERENCES

In a sample of over 700 high-school sophomores, a jive-category measure of family structure is found to be not related to either frequency or seriousness of self-reported illegal behavior, except for unusually high delinquent behavior by boys from mother/stepfather homes. On the other hand, family structure does show an overall association with self-reported trouble with police, school, and juvenile court officials. Specifically, while boys (not girls) with stepfathers admit the most delinquent acts, controlling for the amount of admitted delinquency shows that officials are more likely to respond to the misbehavior of children (especially girls) from mother-only families. None of these findings are accounted for by race, social class, the quality of parent-child relationships, or the quality of school experiences.     

Potential of Inmate Self-Government

Inmate self-government is one of the strategies for moving correctional institutions away from the crime control establishment model and toward the community subsystem model Authentic participation in government of these institutions, however, awaits resolution of basic questions. With the prison organization provide the prerequisite conditions?. Will the inmates be prepared for effective participation. since the suicide processes of criminal justice administration heavily from those segments of the American population king expunge and incentives for significant political participation? Penal dorm depends on sociocultural changes in the society of which formations is a creature. Whether or not inmate self-government is o via reform strategy pivots ultimately on the revision of social attitudes toward deviants generally and the capacity of the prison to reduce significantly its social psychological isolation from the larger community system.     

PUNISHING THE “MODEL MINORITY”: ASIAN‐AMERICAN CRIMINAL SENTENCING OUTCOMES IN FEDERAL DISTRICT COURTS*

Research on racial and ethnic disparities in criminal punishment is expansive but remains focused almost exclusively on the treatment of black and Hispanic offenders. The current study extends contemporary research on the racial patterning of punishments by incorporating Asian‐American offenders. Using data from the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) for FY1997–FY2000, we examine sentencing disparities in federal district courts for several outcomes. The results of this study indicate that Asian Americans are punished more similarly to white offenders compared with black and Hispanic offenders. These findings raise questions for traditional racial conflict perspectives and lend support to more recent theoretical perspectives grounded in attribution processes of the courtroom workgroup. The article concludes with a discussion of future directions for research on understudied racial and ethnic minority groups.     

MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: RISKS AND POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR COMMUNITIES LARGE AND SMALL

Communities of all sizes are investing in minor league stadiums to attract or retain a minor league baseball team. The promise of economic development benefits is often put forward to justify these multimillion dollar investments. Local officials should be aware of the risks that accompany hosting professional sports teams and understand that minor league teams will not be economic growth engines. The decision to invest in a minor league stadium is a public policy decision and can be “worth it” if accompanied by a development logic. This article identifies three approaches that have been successful in making stadiums a community asset.     

Citations to Authority in Supreme Court Opinions

This article analyzes citations used by the U.S. Supreme Court in its majority opinions. The research explores variations in citations and evaluates various explanations for these variations, including the potential impact of individual judicial style, legal factors, and group interaction in the formation of opinions. The article suggests that systematic analysis of citations holds potential for contributing to our understanding of the judicial process.