Routinization and Utilitarianism of Sentence Reduction in China: Judges’ Views of Commutation and Reforms

In China, courts review and determine commutation petitions proposed by prisons. However, the judicial process and procedures of commutation decisions tend to be rubber-stamping and symbolic, with more than 98% of petitions being approved. This study focuses on judges’ attitudes toward current trial practices and proposed commutation reforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 judges responsible for handling commutation cases in a northern Chinese province. Findings suggest that the dispositions of commutation cases are highly ceremonial and routinized, supporting the street-level bureaucratic and bounded rationality arguments in judicial behavior. Besides high workload, inadequate resources, legal and procedural constraints, the judicial culture of emphasizing inter-agency collaboration over adversary processes, and the concern about the management of inmates are instrumental in shaping judges’ decision-making. Moreover, judges have reservations about the recently proposed reforms of commutation practices because of the staffing shortage, waste of trial resources, and excessive interference of judicial power into administrative power. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.