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Full-Text Articles in Law
Reassessing Prosecutorial Power Through The Lens Of Mass Incarceration, Jeffrey Bellin
Reassessing Prosecutorial Power Through The Lens Of Mass Incarceration, Jeffrey Bellin
Faculty Publications
No abstract provided.
An Informational Approach To The Mass Imprisonment Problem, Adam M. Gershowitz
An Informational Approach To The Mass Imprisonment Problem, Adam M. Gershowitz
Faculty Publications
The United States is plagued by the problem of mass imprisonment, with its prison population having risen by 500% in the last three decades. Because the overwhelming majority of criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining, there is room for prosecutors to reduce mass imprisonment by exercising their wide discretion. At present, prosecutors likely do not give much consideration to the overcrowding of America 's jails and prisons when making their plea bargain offers. However, if prosecutors were regularly advised of such overcrowding they might offer marginally lower sentences across the board. For instance, a prosecutor who typically offers a …
State Sentencing Policy And New Prison Admissions, Ben L. Trachtenberg
State Sentencing Policy And New Prison Admissions, Ben L. Trachtenberg
Faculty Publications
As the academy's focus has turned to sentencing in the wake of Blakely v. Washington and United States v. Booker, most commentators have continued their benign neglect of actual sentencing practices as they occur in state courts, not to mention whether and how such policies are effective in achieving the goals of criminal justice.This note examines trends in state sentencing policies and prison populations from the perspective of a would-be state reformer hoping to decrease her state's prison budget. Economic pressures, efficiency arguments, and social justice claims have combined to cause some states to desire lower prison populations, but few …