Judicial Resilience: How Judges Manage Pressures in China’s Anti-crime Campaigns

Drawing on the analysis of 137,282 adjudication documents with 253,152 defendants, this article studies judicial decision-making during anti-crime campaigns in China. An emerging pattern of judicial resilience was found during the “Sweep Away Black and Eradicate Evil Force” campaign initiated by the Chinese Communist Party; these sentencing patterns illustrate judicial accommodation of extralegal pressure amid an effort to maintain a balance with legal standards in criminal adjudication. Instead of either challenging campaign policies or implementing “campaign-style law enforcement”, judges constantly adjust their judicial behaviors within the legal framework by refraining from imposing excessively severe custodial sentences, restraining the use of discretionary probation, and temporarily hearing cases expected to receive more severe sentencing when there is direct central supervision. The findings expand the understanding of judicial decision-making in developing countries.