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

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 b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of offender therapy and comparative criminology 2010-12, Vol.54 (6), p.1023-1046
Main Authors: Kuo, Shih-Ya, Longmire, Dennis, Cuvelier, Steven J., Chang, Kuang-Ming
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
Achievement
Autocracy
Behavior change
Behavior Modification
Cognition
Crime - psychology
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Cultural change
Decision Making
Educational Attainment
Humans
Judicial Role
Law
Organizational culture
Prisoners - psychology
Prisoners - statistics & numerical data
Prosecutions
Public prosecutors
Social Change
Social Control, Formal
Social Control, Informal
Social Distance
Social life & customs
Social Values
Socioeconomic Factors
Taiwan
Urbanization
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Summary: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.
ISSN:0306-624X
1552-6933
DOI:10.1177/0306624X09348929