RT Article
T1 Gender in the Courtroom Workgroup: Understanding the Relationship Between the Composition of Workgroups and the Gender Gap in Punishment
JF Criminal justice and behavior
VO 50
IS 3
SP 410
OP 428
A1 Bowman, Rachel 1988-
A2 Oramas Mora, Daniela
A2 Mitchell, Ojmarrh
A2 Spohn, Cassia
LA English
YR 2023
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1833891244
AB For decades, research has revealed a gender disparity in criminal case outcomes. This phenomenon was traditionally explained as a product of male court actors’ protectiveness of women and the minimization of female threat. In the current study, we capitalize on the increasing gender diversity of courts to examine if the gender gap in punishment is explained by the gender composition of the decision-making body in criminal courts: the courtroom workgroup. Using a sample of felony cases from Florida’s circuit courts in 2017 (N = 10,605), we measure workgroups as judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys assigned to the same division. We find that the gender diversity of the workgroup does not explain variations in court outcomes, nor does it explain the presence of gender disparities we observed in all but one of our case outcomes. As such, male protectionism is insufficient to explain the more lenient treatment of women in Florida’s criminal courts.
K1 Female offenders
K1 Criminal Justice
K1 Decision-making
K1 Sentencing
K1 Gender
DO 10.1177/00938548221140362