THE STUDY CONSIDERS AGE, RACE, SEX, AND CRIMINAL HISTORY AS FACTORS IN DISPOSITIONS AT THE MUNICIPAL AND SUPERIOR COURT LEVELS IN CALIFORNIA. PREDICTIVE ATTRIBUTE ANALYSIS -- A METHOD OF PREDICTING OUTCOMES FOR SELECTED VARIABLES BY DIVIDING DATA INTO HIERARCHICAL GROUPINGS -INDICATES THAT LEGAL VARIABLES (CRIMINAL RECORD AND CRIMINAL STATUS) ARE IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF SENTENCE OUTCOME. BURGLARY OFFENDERS TENDED TO FARE WORSE THAN ASSAULT OFFENDERS IN THE JUDICIAL PROCESS, BUT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO OFFENSE GROUPS WERE NOT SUBSTANTIAL. REGARDLESS OF OFFENSE, DISPOSITIONS AT THE SUPERIOR COURT LEVEL TENDED TO BE MORE SEVERE THAN THOSE AT THE LOWER COURT LEVEL. FEMALES CONSISTENTLY RECEIVED MORE LENIENT TREATMENT THAN MALES. BLACKS GENERALLY RECEIVED MORE SEVERE DISPOSITIONS THAN WHITES, BUT RACE DID NOT PLAY AS PREDOMINANT A ROLE AS OTHER SOCIAL VARIABLES AND LEGAL VARIABLES. THE ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES THE POTENTIAL OF TRANSACTIONAL DATA AND PREDICTIVE ATTRIBUTE ANALYSIS IN EXPLORING THE SENTENCING PROCESS FOR SELECTED OFFENDER GROUPS. SUPPORTING DATA, FLOWCHARTS DEPICTING THE RESULTS OF THE ANALYSIS, AND A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)