Does Jurisdiction Matter? A Multi-Level Analysis of LFOs Across Pennsylvania

• In Event: The Social Context of Sentencing

Abstract

The United States has a decentralized criminal justice system. States, cities, and localities often have their own set of rules, laws and policies that govern defendants’ sentencing outcomes. Several factors related to these outcomes can vary across and even within jurisdictions, including how and whether fines, fees or other legal debt are imposed upon defendants in court. These costs are commonly referred to as legal financial obligations (LFOs) and are imposed on individuals convicted of a crime. The variability in LFO impositions across context and the scarcity of data available has contributed to the limited quantitative analysis of the impact of these monetary sanctions. This analysis aims to bridge this gap using data from the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (PCS) from 2009 through 2016. Hierarchical-linear modeling (HLM) is used to explore LFO outcomes for defendants at the county-level to understand how jurisdictional context impacts sentencing outcomes in the state of Pennsylvania. Implications for research and practice are also discussed.

Author

• Jazmine Talley, American University