Judges' Reactions to Sentencing Reform in Ohio

Abstract

Sentencing reforms are often presumed to be negatively received by the judiciary, although there is little research directly examining why this is the case. In this article, results from a survey of Ohio judges who recently experienced a major sentencing reform (Ohio's Senate Bill 2) are examined. A number of important findings emerge, including that a slight majority of judges favors the reform overall, despite opposition to specific features of the legislation. There is also evidence that judges who are personally unfavorable toward Senate Bill 2 assume that the majority of judges share their disfavor, whereas judges who favor the bill are more realistic in their perceptions of others' assessments. Chi-square analysis and principal components analysis show that general disfavor of Senate Bill 2 is associated with concerns about loss of judicial authority but that many judges who favor the bill believe it can promote greater equity in sentencing.

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