Legal financial obligations: a focal concerns perspective

Using State Court Processing Statistics (SCPS) data from 2009, I examine the effects of personal characteristics on the amount of legal financial obligations (LFOs) imposed on defendants and the monetary amount of these LFOs. Drawing on focal concerns theory, first developed by Steffensmeier (1980), which identifies three factors used by court actors in criminal sentencing: blameworthiness of the offender, protection of community, and practical constraints and consequences. Adjusting to these practical constraints causes court actors to employ "perceptual shorthand", utilizing defendant's characteristics in sentencing decisions. Applying focal concerns perspective is a novel approach to evaluating the effect of race/ethnicity, age, and gender on LFO imposition and LFO amounts.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Sociology

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Authors dc:creator

• Parks, Megan, author
• Nowacki, Jeffrey, advisor
• Unnithan, Prabha, committee member
• Hughes, Shannon, committee member

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018924

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/195318