Replication Data for How Judges' Professional Experience Impacts Case Outcomes: An Examination of Public Defenders and Criminal Sentencing

Do judges' professional backgrounds affect their rulings? We investigate this question by looking at the impact of judges’ public defender experience on sentencing. Leveraging thousands of sentences, we find that defendants assigned to a former public defender are, on average, less likely to be incarcerated. Their sentences are also sometimes shorter, which we show is partially due to former public defenders being less likely to give extreme punishments. Taken together, this means that even small increases in the number of former public defenders can result in thousands fewer people incarcerated. The findings make two key contributions. First, our findings provide crucial insight into disparities in the criminal legal system and how judge characteristics can play a significant role. Second, we showcase the potential impact of judges’ professional experience on decision-making. Both illustrate a new strategy through which politicians can influence policy---by choosing judges based on their previous jobs.

法官的职业背景是否会影响其司法裁判？我们以法官的公设辩护人（public defender）从业经历对量刑的影响为切入点，对这一问题展开研究。
本研究依托数千份刑罚判决样本，发现被分配至曾担任公设辩护人的法官审理的被告人，平均而言被判处监禁的概率更低。其判处的刑期也普遍更短，我们的分析显示，这一现象部分源于前公设辩护人法官更不易作出极端刑罚判决。综合来看，即便前公设辩护人法官的占比小幅提升，也可使全国监禁人数减少数千人。
本研究主要有两项核心贡献。其一，本研究为刑事司法体系中的量刑差异问题，以及法官特征如何对司法决策发挥显著作用提供了关键洞见。其二，本研究揭示了法官职业经历对决策过程的潜在影响。上述两点共同指明了一条政客可借此影响政策的新路径——即根据法官此前的职业履历遴选法官。