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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Effect Of Blakely V. Washington On Upward Departures In A Sentencing Guideline State, Brian Iannacchione, Jeremy Ball
The Effect Of Blakely V. Washington On Upward Departures In A Sentencing Guideline State, Brian Iannacchione, Jeremy Ball
Criminal Justice Faculty Publications and Presentations
One of the problems facing the criminal justice system is unwarranted disparity as a result of unbridled discretion. Although disparity, by itself, does not necessarily indicate a problem in the criminal justice system, disparity unwarranted does present a problem. Disparity becomes unwarranted when, controlling for legal factors, extralegal factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, and age influence court processing decisions. The greater the discretion one possesses, the higher the likelihood of unwarranted disparity in one’s decisions (Albonetti, 1991; Meeker, Jesilow, & Aranda, 1992; Bushway & Piehl, 2001). Within the criminal court system, judicial discretion in sentencing has received the most scrutiny.