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Abstract
This study seeks to measure the effects of jurisdiction on sentence and time served (from here on "incarceration outcomes") in Georgia. Specifically, I use multivariate regression models on a sample of 96,281 felony offenders in Georgia who 1) were released from Georgia prisons during the 2009-2022 time-span after serving time for a single primary offense and 2) had no convictions in Georgia prior to this offense, in order to estimate the effects of being convicted in each of Georgia's 49 judicial circuits on incarceration outcomes. Using regression models that control for a number of observable characteristics, I find that between the 49 judicial circuits in Georgia, there is a range of 8.97 years in sentencing effects, with a median effect of 2.98 years and a standard deviation of effect size of 1.81 years. Furthermore, I find that this effect persists when looking at actual time served, with a range of 2.29 years in time served effects, a median effect of 0.72 years, and a standard deviation of effect size of 0.54 years. To put these results in context, note that the median sentence in this sample is 9.86 years and the median time served in this sample is 3.00 years.The core finding of this paper is that, even when adjusting for a wide range of control variables, the effect of where an individual is prosecuted is both statistically and economically significant.