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Crime & Delinquency
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Modeling Prosecutors' Charging Decisions in Domestic Violence Cases

John L. Worrall

Jay W. Ross

Department of Criminal Justice at California State University, San Bernardino

Eric S. McCord

Relatively little research explaining prosecutors'charging decisions in criminal cases is available. Even less has focused on charging decisions in domestic violence cases. Past studies have also relied on restrictive definitions of domestic violence, notablycases with male offenders and female victims, and they have not considered prosecutors'decisions to pursue misdemeanor instead of felony charges—or vice versa. In response to these limitations, the authors collected data on prosecutors'charging decisions in 245 domestic violence cases filed by police officers in a Southern California city. They then examined the effects of victim, offender, and case characteristics on prosecutors' charging decisions. The authors found that (a) arrest and serious victim injuries were associated with prosecutors'charging decisions, (b) criminal charges were more likely in cases with male suspects, and (c) victim preference for prosecution was likely to result in felony rather than misdemeanor charges.

Key Words: domestic violence • prosecution • charging • victims • evidence

Crime & Delinquency, Vol. 52, No. 3, 472-503 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/0011128705282496
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