Clash of norms judicial leniency on defendant birthdays

Daniel L. Chen and Arnaud Philippe

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2023, vol. 211, issue C, 324-344

Abstract: We document judicial leniency on defendant birthdays across 4.8 million decisions. Our results are consistent with reference-dependent social preferences. First, French sentences are 1% fewer and around 5% shorter. Second, U.S. federal judges also round down sentences except when rounding up makes available sentencing reductions for good behavior. No leniency appears on the days before or after a defendant's birthday.

Keywords: Bias; Judicial decision-making; Criminal justice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:211:y:2023:i:c:p:324-344

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2023.05.002

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