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The Most Fundamental Change In The Criminal Justice System: The Role Of The Prosecutor In Sentence Reduction, Bennett L. Gershman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

As every lawyer knows, the prosecutor is the most powerful figure in the American criminal justice system. The prosecutor decides whom to charge, what charges to bring, whether to permit a defendant to plead guilty, and whether to confer immunity. In carrying out this broad decision-making power, the prosecutor enjoys considerable independence. Indeed, one of the most elusive and vexing subjects in criminal justice has been to define the limits of the prosecutor’s discretion.

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 7, No. 1 (Spring 1990) , Marenin N/A, N/A Bureau Of Justice Statistics, N/A Uaa Justice Center

Vols 01-10 (1977-1994)

The Spring 1990 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum reviews evidence that charge bargaining in Alaska occurs — despite the formal ban on plea bargaining in Alaska in 1975 — and analyzes the impact of charge bargaining on sentencing practices. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports findings of the National Judicial Reporting Program, which found that, of the estimated 583,000 persons convicted of a felony in 1986, eight percent were found guilty by a jury, three percent were found guilty by a judge, and 89 percent pled guilty. Preliminary Uniform Crime Report (UCR) figures show a 2.5 percent drop in …

Relevant Conduct: The Cornerstone Of The Federal Sentencing Guidelines, William W. Wilkins Jr, John R. Steer

South Carolina Law Review

No abstract provided.

Time Changes: Growing Complexity In Texas Sentencing Law, John M. Schmolesky

Faculty Articles

The Seventieth Legislature made criminal sentencing guidelines more onerous, but a number of factors combined to undercut its impact. These changes made the relationships between the legislative, judicial, and administrative components of the criminal justice system become increasingly complex, often resulting in one agency undercutting the decisions of another. Because of the complex web of agencies that have a role in determining the disposition of a convicted defendant, changes in the rules of sentencing must be analyzed at several different levels to determine their true impact.

Despite the apparently more punitive thrust of the new legislation, no clear policy direction …

Note, The Death Penalty In Late Imperial, Modern, And Post-Tiananmen China, Alan W. Lepp

Michigan Journal of International Law

This paper seeks to explore the crucial determinants that shape the Chinese legal system's use of the death penalty. Why have the Chinese relied so heavily on execution as a form of sentencing? What factors and conditions account for the major changes in the frequency of China's use of the death penalty? What indigenous traditions are reflected in China's implementation of the death penalty? In order to inquire into the role and function of the legal system in affecting the severity of criminal punishment in China, this study will focus on only those death sentences carried out by the state …

Use Of The "Zola Plea" In New Jersey Capital Prosecutions, J Thomas Sullivan

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Going To The Penitentiary: A Study Of Disparate Sentencing In South Dakota (With Steve Wise), Frank Pommersheim, Steve Wise

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

"I Fought The Law And The Law Won": A Report On Women And Disparate Sentencing In South Dakota, Frank Pommersheim, Christine Hutton, Steve Feimer

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pain And Suffering Guidelines: A Cure For Damages Measurement "Anomie", Frederick S. Levin

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that adapting the criminal sentencing guidelines systems in use in several states to the personal injury context would provide appropriate standards for measuring pain and suffering damages. Part I explores why present methods for measuring pain and suffering are objectionable. A description of the proposed method for developing guidelines is provided in Part II. Part II explores the use of guidelines in criminal sentencing and the analogy between sentencing decisions and assessment of damages for nonpecuniary loss. Part II also describes how to develop and implement guidelines for assessing pain and suffering damages. Part III examines why …

The Subjective Nature Of Decision-Makers In The Domain Of Objective Sentence Processing, William Bud Brown

UNLV Retrospective Theses & Dissertations

Selective incapacitation has been defined as an objective process whereby violent and/or chronic offenders are isolated and given longer prison terms. The purpose of this process is to keep these offenders out of society for longer periods of time resulting in a safer society. Couched within this utilitarian perspective is the assumption that the social sciences have developed a reputable formula from which future criminal behavior can be accurately predicted. This research, a case study of a Nevada presentence investigation unit, found that all convicted offenders are dealt with using the same criteria applied to violent and/or chronic offenders. This …

Pretrial Intervention And Chronic Offenders, Schafer E. N/A

Conference papers

The Alaska Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program of the Alaska Department of Law operated in 13 locations throughout the state from 1983 to 1986, when economic pressures resulted in the program's termination. The program was intended to provide an alternative to full prosecution in cases where the offense behavior did not appear to warrant it. This paper analyzes recidivism in the PTI program through examination of chronic offenders, defined as PTI clients who were rearrested for the same charge as that for which they had initially been referred to the program.

Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 5, No. 3 (Fall 1988), Schafer E. N/A, Stephen Conn, N/A Bureau Of Justice Statistics

Vols 01-10 (1977-1994)

The Fall 1988 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum reports the results of study of the Alaska Pretrial Intervention (PTI) of the Alaska Department of Law, which operated from 1983 to 1986. The PTI program was intended to provide an alternative to full prosecution in cases where the nature of the offense did not appear to warrant such prosecution; the study concludes that the program succeeded according to a number of factors. An article on the policy for Native self-determination in Alaska developed by Congress and the state has sought to replace a tribal model of governance with a body …

Evaluation Of The Alaska Pre-Trial Intervention Program, N. E. Schafer

AJSAC reports

The statewide Pretrial Intervention (PTI) Program of the Alaska Department of Law, begun in 1981, received referrals of accused felons and misdemeanants charged with property crimes or misdemeanor personal crimes. Using data from 1983 to 1986, this study examines extralegal and legal characteristics of PTI clients; analyzies program conditions, compliance, and dispositions; and analyzes achievement of program goals. Criminal histories for 2 to 5 years after intake were used to assess recidivism and recidivist characteristics. Results indicate that PTI operated successfully on a variety of measures throughout its existence. It met intake goals, was available to a broad spectrum of …

In Search Of The Virtuous Prosecutor: A Conceptual Framework, Stanley Z. Fisher

Faculty Scholarship

Questions about the scope and content of the duty to "seek justice" pervade prosecutorial work. Prosecutors are required to serve in a dual role: they are both advocates seeking conviction and "ministers of justice." Observers have complained about a tendency on the part of prosecutors to prefer the former of these "schizophrenic" obligations to the latter. This is commonly described as a tendency to behave overzealously or according to a "conviction psychology. ' "

Postsentence Sentencing: Determining Probation Revocation Sanctions, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

Although procedural due process requirements govern the proof of a violation in a probation revocation hearing, judges exercise almost total discretion in deciding what sanctions to impose once a violation is established. These postsentence judgments can be as important as the initial sentencing. Sanctions for even minor probation violations can range from obligating a probationer to meet with his probation officer more frequently to executing a suspended prison sentence. The Supreme Court recognized in Morrissey v. Brewer that the choice of sanctions is often more complex than the proof of a violation. Principles must be developed to regulate postsentence sentencing. …

The Armed Career Criminal Act: Sentence Enhancement Statute Or New Offense?, Jill C. Rafaloff

Fordham Law Review

No abstract provided.

Punishment: Desert And Crime Control, Ernest Van Den Haag

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Past or Future Crimes: Deservedness and Dangerousness in the Sentencing of Criminals by Andrew von Hirsch

The Scope Of Criminal Restitution: Awarding Unliquidated Damages In Sentencing Hearings, Bradford Mank

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

During the past several years a variety of victim groups have forced the criminal justice system to pay more attention to the restitution needs of victims! Criminal courts, however, are still limited in the types of restitution they may award. Typically, sentencing judges can award restitution for the whole range of liquidated damages including the value of stolen or destroyed property, medical expenses, and lost past wages. In most jurisdictions, however, criminal courts cannot award restitution for unliquidated damages involving compensation for pain and suffering, or for lost future earning capacity. Crime victims must initiate a civil suit at their …

Dangerousness And Criminal Justice, Franklin E. Zimring, Gordon Hawkins

Michigan Law Review

The first section of this paper surveys some recent writings on the topic of dangerousness for major inconsistencies, which we regard as illuminating the special problem of dangerousness in the jurisprudence of criminal sentencing.

The second section describes the "special problem of dangerousness," for, we believe, the first time. The special problem is the fear that any admission of calculations of dangerousness into sentencing decisions will lead to an overuse of dangerousness, which may be worse than the inefficiencies and hypocrisies we confront when denying that future dangerousness is relevant to decisions about prisons.

The third section attempts to reorganize …

Griffin V. Wisconsin, Lewis F. Powell Jr.

Supreme Court Case Files

No abstract provided.

Dangerous Offenders: The Elusive Target Of Justice, Elizabeth T. Lear

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Dangerous Offenders: The Elusive Target of Justice by Mark H. Moore, Susan Estrich, Daniel McGillis, and William Spelman

Capital Punishment: For Or Against, Jan Gorecki

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Death Penalty -- A Debate by Ernest van den Haag and John Conrad

Black Innocence And The White Jury, Sheri Lynn Johnson

Michigan Law Review

Racial prejudice has come under increasingly close scrutiny during the past thirty years, yet its influence on the decisionmaking of criminal juries remains largely hidden from judicial and critical examination. In this Article, Professor Johnson takes a close look at this neglected area. She first sets forth a large body of social science research that reveals a widespread tendency among whites to convict black defendants in instances in which white defendants would be acquitted. Next, she argues that none of the existing techniques for eliminating the influence of racial bias on criminal trials adequately protects minority-race defendants. She contends that …

Evaluation Capacity Building In Pretrial Diversion Services: A Case Study, Serena Shores Partch, Steven M. Edwards, Knowlton W. Johnson

Conference papers

Despite increasing use of adult pretrial diversion programs in recent years, the limited capacity to produce, analyze, and translate evaluation data in pretrial diversion programs has frequently resulted in policy and programmatic decisions being made on the basis of little or no empirical information. This paper presents a case study of the development of an evaluation system for the Alaska Pretrial Intervention (PTI) program of the Alaska Department of Law which can generate timely results for policymaking as well as monitor staff productivity.

Court Reform From Bail To Jail, Wade H. Mccree Jr.

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Court Reform on Trial: Why Simple Solutions Fail by Malcolm M. Feeley

Equality, "Anisonomy," And Justice: A Review Of Madness And The Criminal Law, Andrew Von Hirsch

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Madness and the Criminal Law by Norval Morris

New Perspectives On Prisons And Imprisonment, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of New Perspectives on Prisons and Imprisonment by James B. Jacobs

Sentencing Discretion: Current Trial And Appellate Court Perspectives In Idaho, Donald L. Burnett Jr.

Articles

No abstract provided.

Recent Trends In American Criminal Sentencing Theory, Andrew Von Hirsch

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.

Sentencing In England , D. A. Thomas

Maryland Law Review

No abstract provided.