The Grand jury in the administration of justice : the case of Harris County, Texas

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorCarp, Robert A.
dc.contributor.committeeMemberWalker, N. Darlene
dc.contributor.committeeMemberTannenbaum, Sol
dc.creatorRowland, Claude Keran
dc.date.accessioned2021-12-21T18:18:40Z
dc.date.available2021-12-21T18:18:40Z
dc.date.issued1976
dc.description.abstractThe composition and outputs of Harris County grand juries was examined to determine the extent to which minorities, females, the young and the poor participated between 1969-1975 and the impact of such participation on grand jury performance. Minorities, females, those under 35, and lower income individuals were excluded from participation over the six-year period to a statistically significant degree, with grand jurors reflecting the demographic characteristics of the grand jury commissioners who recruited them. The number of cases heard tended to increase dramatically over time, with grand juries returning significantly more cases during each successive month of the three month term. The composition of a grand jury was found to have an important influence on its propensity to return no bills. Those grand juries with high representation of low income individuals returned the lowest proportion of no bills, while those-with the most heterogeneous income representation returned the highest proportion of no bills. In sum, this thesis presents evidence that the demographic composition of Harris County grand juries does not represent a crosssection of the-adult population and that demographic composition does effect the performance of grand juries in the creation and administration of criminal justice policy.
dc.description.departmentPolitical Science, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginreformatted digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.other2752380
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10657/8391
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsThis item is protected by copyright but is made available here under a claim of fair use (17 U.S.C. §107) for non-profit research and educational purposes. Users of this work assume the responsibility for determining copyright status prior to reusing, publishing, or reproducing this item for purposes other than what is allowed by fair use or other copyright exemptions. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires express permission of the copyright holder.
dc.titleThe Grand jury in the administration of justice : the case of Harris County, Texas
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Social Sciences
thesis.degree.departmentPolitical Science, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePolitical Science
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Rowland_1976_2752380.pdf
Size:
4.56 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Legacy Theses and Dissertations (1940-2009)