Public Judgement on Sentencing: Final Results from the Tasmanian Jury Sentencing Study

Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 407, February 2011

6 Pages Posted: 6 Dec 2013

See all articles by Kate Warner

Kate Warner

University of Tasmania

Julia Davis

University of South Australia - School of Law

Maggie Walter

University of Tasmania - School of Sociology

Rebecca Bradfield

University of Tasmania

Rachel Vermey

University of Tasmania

Date Written: February 3, 2011

Abstract

This seminal study, which was funded by the Criminology Research Council, is the first reported study to use jurors in real trials to gauge public opinion about sentences and sentencing.

Using jurors is a way of investigating the views of members of the public who are as fully informed of the facts of the case and the background of the offender as the judge. Based upon jurors’ responses from 138 trials, the study found that more than half of the jurors surveyed suggested a more lenient sentence than the trial judge imposed. Moreover, when informed of the sentence, 90 percent of jurors said that the judge’s sentence was (very or fairly) appropriate. In contrast, responses to abstract questions about sentencing levels mirrored the results of representative surveys. The results of the study also suggest that providing information to jurors about crime and sentencing may be helpful in addressing misconceptions in these areas.

Replication of this study may be of assistance to policymakers and judges who wish to know what informed members of the public think about sentencing. Portrayals of a punitive public are misleading and calls for harsher punishment largely uninformed.

Keywords: public opinion, Jury, sentencing

Suggested Citation

Warner, Kate and Davis, Julia and Walter, Maggie and Bradfield, Rebecca and Vermey, Rachel, Public Judgement on Sentencing: Final Results from the Tasmanian Jury Sentencing Study (February 3, 2011). Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 407, February 2011, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2362709

Kate Warner (Contact Author)

University of Tasmania ( email )

French Street
Sandy Bay
Tasmania, 7250
Australia

Julia Davis

University of South Australia - School of Law ( email )

GPO Box 2471
Adelaide SA 5001
Australia
83027209 (Phone)
83027128 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://people.unisa.edu.au/Julia.Davis

Maggie Walter

University of Tasmania - School of Sociology ( email )

French Street
Sandy Bay
Tasmania, 7250
Australia

Rebecca Bradfield

University of Tasmania ( email )

French Street
Sandy Bay
Tasmania, 7250
Australia

Rachel Vermey

University of Tasmania ( email )

French Street
Sandy Bay
Tasmania, 7250
Australia

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
148
Abstract Views
837
Rank
356,750
PlumX Metrics