The literature on sentencing has devoted ample consideration to how prosecutors and judges incorporate priorities such as retribution and public safety into their decision making, typically using legal and extralegal characteristics as analytic proxies. In contrast, the role of case processing efficiency in determining punishment outcomes has garnered little attention. Using recent data from a large Florida jurisdiction, we examine the influence of case screening and disposition timeliness on sentence outcomes in felony cases. We find that lengthier case processing time is highly and positively associated with punitive outcomes at sentencing. The more time prosecutors spend on a case post-filing, the more likely defendants are to receive custodial sentences and longer sentences. Case screening time, although not affecting the imposition of custodial sentences, is also positively associated with sentence length. These findings are discussed through the lens of instrumental and expressive functions of punishment.

有关量刑的文献充分考虑了检察官和法官如何将诸如报应和公共安全之类的优先事项纳入其决策过程，通常使用法律和法外特征作为分析代理。相反，案件处理效率在确定惩罚结果中的作用很少受到关注。使用佛罗里达州一个大司法管辖区的最新数据，我们检查了案件筛选和处理及时性对重罪案件判决结果的影响。我们发现，更长的案件处理时间与判刑时的惩罚性结果高度且正相关。检察官在案件提交后花在案子上的时间越多，被告越有可能被判处监禁和更长的刑期。病例筛选时间 尽管不影响保管判决的实施，但也与判决长度成正相关。这些发现是通过惩罚的工具性和表达性功能来讨论的。