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Criminal Prosecution

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Cyberstalking: A Growing Challenge for the U.S. Legal System
As online platforms have multiplied, cyberstalking has become more prevalent. What are the most common or contrasting characteristics of federal cyberstalking cases? And what are the main challenges to prosecuting such cases?
Jun 29, 2023
Report
Prosecutor Priorities, Challenges, and Solutions
What are the most pressing challenges that prosecutors face today? What solutions could help mitigate some of these challenges? An expert panel identified priority needs and solutions for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the prosecutorial component of the criminal justice system.
Apr 18, 2019

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Countering Drug-Impaired Driving: Addressing the Complexities of Gathering and Presenting Evidence in Drug-Impaired Driving Cases
Driving under the influence of drugs is a serious and growing threat to public safety. Addressing these cases involves identifying impairment and presenting complex evidence in court. A panel of experts identified ways to address this challenge.
May 7, 2020
Journal Article
Prosecutor-Led Pretrial Diversion: Case Studies in Eleven Jurisdictions
The primary focus of this study is to provide a national portrait of prosecutor-led diversion through case studies of the goals, history, policies, and practices of diversion programs implemented in 11 prosecutors' offices.
May 17, 2018
Report
The Changing Role of Criminal Law in Controlling Corporate Behavior
What should be the role of criminal law in controlling corporate behavior? Researchers measure the current use of criminal sanctions in controlling corporate behavior and offer suggestions about how doing so might be improved.
Dec 9, 2014
Commentary
First Steps Toward Addressing DR Congo's Rape Crisis
An effort to address atrocities against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo has fallen short of advocates' hopes for justice. With its focus on criminal prosecution, the strategy failed to consider the weak infrastructure of the judicial system, left victims' needs unmet, and did little to address prevention.
Jun 11, 2014
News Release
RAND Study Finds No Evidence of Racial Bias in Federal Prosecutors' Decisions to Seek Death Penalty from 1995–2000
A statistical analysis of federal prosecutors' decisions about whether to seek the death penalty has found no evidence of racial bias.
Jul 17, 2006
Report
Federal Death Penalty Cases Are Not Racially Biased
Federal prosecutors' decisions about whether to seek the death penalty are not racially biased but instead can be very accurately predicted based on the characteristics of the crime, according to an analysis of data from 1995 to 2000.
Jul 11, 2006
News Release
Imprisoned Low-Level Drug Offenders in Arizona and California Typically Could Have Faced More Serious Charges
Most people imprisoned for low-level drug convictions in California and Arizona made plea bargains to avoid tougher charges, have criminal records, were involved with hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin, or were arrested possessing substantial quantities of drugs.
Jun 22, 2005
Report
“Low-Level” Drug Offenders Often Had Serious Criminal History
Voter-approved initiatives in Arizona and California have diverted low-level drug offenders from prison and jail. However, many of those imprisoned before the initiatives were approved were more serious criminal offenders than the “low-level” label implies.
Jun 7, 2005
Journal Article
Making the Crime Fit the Penalty: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion Under Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
This paper empirically documents one way in which prosecutorial discretion may be used to dampen the effects of mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
Dec 31, 2004
Report
Juvenile Record Use in Adult Court Proceedings: A Survey of Prosecutors
Data from a national survey establishes that various constraints normally keep prosecutors from receiving or seeking much juvenile-record information. Although research indicates that juvenile records provide the best indicators and predictors of ea...
Dec 31, 1979
Report
Career Criminal Prosecution: Potential Objectives
Describes three long-term objectives that career criminal prosecution units (CCPs) might fulfill: crime reduction through incapacitation and deterrence; symbolic justice; and innovation in general prosecution procedures.
Dec 31, 1978
Report
Focusing Attention on Career Criminals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come
Discusses major programs being developed to deal selectively with career criminals, such as LEAA's Career Criminal Prosecution Program. The author reviews studies conducted at RAND to identify characteristics of career criminals.
Dec 31, 1977
Report
Research on Criminal Justice Organizations: The Sentencing Process
Addresses the key problems and issues in conducting research on criminal justice organizations.
Dec 31, 1975
Report
Prosecution of Adult Felony Defendants in Los Angeles County: A Policy Perspective
Statistical performance measures, such as complaint rejection rates, dismissal rates, and jury conviction rates, are calculated to show the basic pattern of dispositions county-wide, including relationships among methods of disposition, ...
Dec 31, 1972

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