Prosecutorial Discretion in Context: Organizational, Interpersonal, and Situational Dimensions

Session Submission Type: Regular Session

Abstract/Description

Discretion is never exercised in a vacuum. Each paper highlights a distinct contextual layer: organizational, interpersonal, or situational. Qualitative interviews with chief prosecutors reveal how organizational structure shapes policy; a practitioner‑scholar collaborative charts the development of evidence‑based prosecution research; mixed‑methods work with U.S. game wardens examines how interactions with prosecutors affect frontline well‑being; and an exploratory domestic‑violence study demonstrates how physical size differentials influence charging decisions. Collectively, the papers illustrate how organizational cultures, working relationships, and situational factors intersect to shape, and sometimes limit, prosecutorial discretion.

Sub Unit

• Area VI. The Criminal Justice System / 44. Prosecutorial Discretion and Plea Bargaining

Individual Presentations

• Organizational dimensions of prosecutorial discretion - Nicholas Goldrosen, Pennsylvania State University / Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing; Noah Painter-Davis, Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing / Pennsylvania State University

• Guardians of the wild: The impact of judicial interactions on game wardens’ well-being - Kierston Viramontes, California State University, San Bernardino

• The role of size in domestic violence prosecution involving female defendants: A mixed-methods study - Sophia Shaiman, University of South Carolina; Christi Metcalfe, University of South Carolina; Barbara Koons-Witt, University of South Carolina

Chair

• Sophia Shaiman, University of South Carolina