Attitudes toward the criminal legal system: Scale development and predictors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess attitudes toward the criminal legal system and determine how they are related to rule-violating behaviors and experiences with the criminal legal system. To this end, the Attitudes Toward the Criminal Legal System Scale (ATCLS) was developed and five studies were conducted with participants from New England, including college students, high school students, and the community. Studies 1 and 2 found support for the reliability and validity of the ATCLS, and a relation between the ATCLS and authoritarianism and belief in a just world. Study 3 examined the test Á/retest reliability of the ATCLS. Studies 4 and 5 were conducted primarily to uncover the relation between the ATCLS and law-or rule-related behaviors with a community and high school sample, respectively. Generally, results suggested that there were no sex differences on the ATCLS, but attitudes toward the criminal legal system might function differently for men and women with regards to authoritarianism and behavior.

An Empirical Comparison of the Old and Revised Jury Instructions of California: Do Jurors Comprehend Legal Ease Better or Does Bias Still Exist?

“…We chose the Attitudes Toward the Criminal Legal System (ATCLS; [28]), the Scale of Attitudes Toward the Legal System (SATLS; [29]), and the Revised Legal Attitudes Questionnaire (RLAQ; [30]) because of the consistent research findings demonstrating the reliability and validity of using these scales to examine juror attitudes. Though we found no significant differences based on juror instruction group and the ATCLS, we did find significant differences for the SATLS and the RLAQ.…”

“…Specifically, we expected jurors who were high in bias on the attitudinal measures (Attitudes Toward the Criminal Legal System, ATCLS, [28]; Scale of Attitudes Toward the Legal System, SATLS,…”

“…The purpose of including these instruments was to better examine if juror decisions were most affected by the combined effects of juror instructions and views towards the legal system. The first attitude scale was the Attitudes Toward the Criminal Legal System (ATCLS), which consisted of 38 items that assess integrity, competency, and fairness of the legal system [28]. The second measure of attitudes was the Scale of Attitudes Toward the Legal System (SATLS), which consisted of 36 items that assess general beliefs towards the legal system on two different perspectives: 1) the belief that the system works and 2) cynical beliefs that the system is too lenient [29].…”

Comportamento social na adolescência: as normas e a rotina na regulação da conduta delituosa

“…Algumas pesquisas tendo por base a Teoria do Vínculo Social da , sugerem que os indivíduos são menos propensos a violar as leis quando foram socializados no sentido de desenvolverem crenças incompatíveis com comportamentos de auto satisfação imediata em detrimento do interesse social geral (Levy, 2001;Martin e Cohn, 2004;Matsueda, 1989 anos, e os resultados indicaram que para aqueles que estavam no início de uma trajetória de comportamento delituoso, eram as atitudes frente ao sistema legal que influenciariam o comportamento, ao passo que para adolescentes que já estavam há mais tempo envolvidos em uma trajetória delituosa, seria o próprio comportamento que teria efeito sobre as atitudes.…”

“…Um estudo mostrou que esta medida de atitude em relação ao sistema legal está relacionada às experiências dos indivíduos neste sistema (Martin & Cohn, 2004). De todo modo, quando os adolescentes visualizam autoridades legais sob um prisma negativo, torna-se mais improvável que eles aceitem ajuda devido a uma falta de confiança e respeito para com essas (Tyler, 1994 Dessa forma, os pesquisadores concluem que a conduta não se relaciona com a idade, mas com a atitude frente à autoridade, que deve, assim, ser considerado como um importante elemento regulador do comportamento.…”