Sentencing Commissions and Their Guidelines

Sentencing Commissions and Their Guidelines

Sentencing commissions, administrative agencies charged to develop and promulgate standards for sentencing, were first proposed early in the 1970s and first established in 1978. Of four recent major sentencing reform approaches-the others being parole guidelines, voluntary sentencing guidelines, and statutory determinate sentences-only sentencing commission systems continue to be created. Despi...

How Sentencing Commissions Turned out to Be a Good Idea

To Boalt Hall Readers: This draft is clearly –in-progress, not yet fully footnoted and awaiting further development of some key sections. In that regard, it is not a ceremonial formality to say that I look forward to guidance and criticism.

Intermediate Sanctions in Sentencing Guidelines

Every American state has created new intermediate sanctions in recent years and nearly half have, have had, or are considering having sentencing guidelines. Guidelines can reduce sentencing disparities, including race, gender, and geographical disparities; effect changes in statewide sentencing patterns; and coordinate sentencing policies and corrections resources. Well-managed intermediate san...

Women Offenders and the Sentencing Guidelines

Sentencing guidelines, judicial discretion and plea bargaining

The United States Sentencing Commission was created to develop federal sentencing guidelines, which restrict judicial discretion and were found to increase the average sentence length while leaving unchanged the likelihood of resolution through plea bargaining. A game theoretic model is developed in which a sentencing commission may impose guidelines or defer to judicial discretion; then a defe...