This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Kuo, S.-Y. Articles by Chang, K.-M. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kuo, S.-Y. Articles by Chang, K.-M. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Prosecutorial Decision Making in Taiwan: A Partial Test of Black’s Behavior of Law

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: stdsxk22{at}shsu.edu.

	Abstract

Most prior studies have examined prosecutorial decision making from cognitive, organizational, and legal perspectives, with few studies applying a broad sociological model. This study attempts to address the gap by using Black’s Behavior of Law as a theoretical framework to explicate prosecutorial behavior. With analysis of aggregate-level data from Taiwan for the period 1973 to 2005, the results partially support Black’s propositions. Organization (martial law) and culture (educational attainment) are significantly associated with the levels of change in prosecutors’ behavior in the directions hypothesized using Black’s model. The remaining aspects of social life, however, do not have an effect on the prosecutors’ decisions during the time frame. The findings suggest that mediating variables, such as the extent of governmental autocracy and control over legislative policy, need to be considered in explaining the behavior of law.

First published on October 19, 2009
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 2009, doi:10.1177/0306624X09348929


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?