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Full-Text Articles in Jurisprudence
Rules, Standards, Sentencing, And The Nature Of Law, Russell D. Covey
Rules, Standards, Sentencing, And The Nature Of Law, Russell D. Covey
Faculty Publications By Year
Sentencing law and practice in the United States can be characterized as an argument about rules and standards. Whereas in the decades prior to the 1980s when sentencing was largely a discretionary activity governed only by broad sentencing standards, a sentencing reform movement in the 1980s transformed sentencing practice through the advent of sentencing guidelines and mandatory minimum provisions. As a result, sentencing became far less standard-like and far more rule-like. Although reform proponents believed that this "rulification" of sentencing would reduce unwarranted sentencing disparities and enhance justice, it is far from clear that these goals were achieved. Indeed, the …
Signaling And Plea Bargaining's Innocence Problem, Russell D. Covey
Signaling And Plea Bargaining's Innocence Problem, Russell D. Covey
Faculty Publications By Year
The dominant theoretical model of plea bargaining predicts that, under conditions of full information and rational choice, criminal cases should uniformly be settled through plea bargaining. That prediction holds for innocent and guilty defendants alike. Because it is perfectly rational for innocent defendants to plead guilty, plea bargaining might be said to have an "innocence problem." Plea bargaining's innocence problem is, at bottom, the result of a signaling defect. Innocent defendants lacking verifiable innocence claims are pooled together with guilty defendants who falsely proclaim innocence. As a result, both groups of defendants are treated similarly at trial and in plea …
Taking It To The Streets: Putting Discourse Analysis To The Service Of A Public Defender's Office, Clark D. Cunningham, Bonnie S. Mcelhinny
Taking It To The Streets: Putting Discourse Analysis To The Service Of A Public Defender's Office, Clark D. Cunningham, Bonnie S. Mcelhinny
Faculty Publications By Year
No abstract provided.