Sentencing Disparity of White Collar Offenders

cases drawn from seven federal courts, each of which was arrested for the commission of one of eight white collar crimes.

Based on labelling theory, it was noted that one explanation for why high socioeconomic status white collar offenders receive harsher sentences than low socioeconomic status white collar offenders was because the only high socioeconomic status offenders convicted are those whose crimes are associated with large monetary damages and/or large numbers of victims. A review of the literature was provided to demonstrate that there is some empirical support for this claim. Based on the reviewed research, hypotheses were developed for testing.

Existing research has shown that white collar offenders of high socioeconomic status (SES), once convicted, receiver harsher sentences than do white collar offenders of lower socioeconomic status (Wheeler, Weisburd & Bode, 1982; Hagan & Palloni, 1986; Weisburd, Waring & Wheeler, 1990). The proposed research tests the notion that the explanation for this sentencing disparity may be related to conviction rates.

Specifically, the proposed study was designed to test the notion that

. . .
relationship favoring white-collar defendants receiving better explicit plea bargains than street defendants. The findings were said to contradict the theory of equality, one of the cornerstones of American democracy, as well as more specifically the theory of equal justice before the law. Recommendations to correct this situation included: controlling the amount of discretion prosecutors have in plea bargaining through adoption of formal rules and guidelines; reduced delay in the amount of time between arrest and trial, realistic setting of bail amounts; greater use of own recognizance, especially for poor defendants who may not be able to post bail no matter how small the amount; and more vigorous representation by public defenders of their clients when engaged in plea bargaining. Isaac's (1980) study clearly shows that there is a tendency for white collar criminals to have the resources necessary to avoid prison time for their offense. This supports the notion that they may also have the resources necessary to avoid conviction, especially if they are of fairly high socioeconomic status. However, what Isaacs did not do was examine for the effects of plea bargaining (whether it worked) for high socioeconomic status of
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4686
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page)

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