Sentences and prosecutors’ demands for aggravated drunk driving in Finland

ABSTRACT

Sentences and prosecutors’ demands for aggravated drunk driving are categorised into three classes: The sentence is more lenient than, is compatible with, or is harsher than the prosecutor’s demand. The probability of a sentence falling into one of the three ordered categories is explained by a cumulative logit model. The following circumstances affect the probability of a more lenient or harsher sentence, in decreasing order of importance: driving a truck, facing at least four counts, having a legal assistant, and being present in the trial. The hypothesis that factors known by the prosecutor, at the time of writing the demand, should not systematically affect sentences is refuted. The judges assess circumstances differently than the prosecutors. The prosecutors’ role is nevertheless prominent in the sense that the sentences follow, to a great extent, their demands. Notable gender effects of the actors in the courtroom are found.     

Reviews

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The Folklore of Finland's Eastern Trade

Until the end of 1990, Finland was the only developed market economy to trade with the USSR on a bilateral clearing basis. It was also, so it is widely believed in Finland, the only one among the neighbours of the Soviet Union to benefit greatly economically from this trade. This article does not aim to clarify whether such beliefs are well grounded in fact, but rather to look at the beliefs themselves. To do that, we examine a large amount of so-called grey literature: memoirs, biographies and fiction, but not research proper in economics or economic history. Belief in the benefits of Eastern Trade has been widely held in Finland, but there have always been sceptics as well. The materials used offer many insights, for instance, into the character of Eastern Trade, negotiations procedures, pricing and quality issues, relations between the counterparts, as well as the implications of COCOM restrictions of trade by a neutral country.