Handbook on Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century

Cover
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of contents
List of Contributors
Sentencing Policies and Practices in the 21st Century: An Introduction
	Chapters
	Conclusion
	References
Part I The Evolution of Sentencing Policies and Practices
	1 The Transformation of Sentencing in the 21st Century
		Implementing the Rehabilitation Model
		Catalyst for Change
		The Victims’ Rights Movement
			Politicization of Crime Movement
		From Rehabilitation to Retribution: The New Face of Sentencing
			Mandatory Sentencing and Three Strikes Laws: The Conservative Influence
			The Evolution of Sentencing Reforms and Sentencing Commissions: The Liberal Influence
		Sentencing at the Turn of the Century: The Aftermath of the Get Tough Movement
			Mass Incarceration
		The Unanticipated International Crime Decline
			Disparities in Outcomes
		Four Signs of an Emerging Policy Shift
			Repealing Mandatory Sentencing Laws
			Support from the Supreme Court
			The Rebirth of Rehabilitation
			The Promise of the Treatment Court
			Justice Reinvestment
		Cause for Pause: Countervailing Forces and the Current Administration
		Sentencing in the New Era
		Conclusions and Directions
		Notes
		References
	2 Sentencing Guidelines in the UNITED STATES
		Introduction
		What Are Sentencing Guidelines, and Where Have They Been Adopted?
		Purposes of Guidelines Reforms
			Disparity Reduction
			Improved Sentencing Policy Development and Implementation
			Improved Management of Correctional Resources
			Effecting Changes in Particular Sentencing Policies
			Encouraging More Frequent Use of Intermediate Sanctions
			Truth in Sentencing
			Summary
		Varieties of Guidelines
			Scope: Cases and Sentencing Issues Covered by the Guidelines
			Recommended Sentences for the “Typical” Case
			Grids and Other Guidelines Formats
			Nature and Weighting of Factors Determining Recommended Sentences
			How Guidelines Sentence Recommendations Relate to Statutory Sentencing Ranges
			Degree of Binding Force of Guidelines Recommendations
		Differences Between Federal and State Guidelines
		Sentencing Guidelines Research
			Research Implications of the Various Guidelines Structures and Rules
			Examples of Recent Sentencing Guidelines Research
				Theoretical Perspectives
					I Focal Concerns
					II Court Community Perspective
					III Racial or Minority Threat
					IV Liberation Hypothesis
		Priority Issues and Areas for Further Research
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	3 Sentencing Guidelines Outside the United States
		Chapter Overview
		Sentencing in Common Law Countries
			Sentencing Structures: Commissions and Councils
			Guideline Structures
			Sentencing in Other Jurisdictions: Guidance by “Words Alone”
		Sentencing Guidelines in England and Wales
			Structure and Functions of the Sentencing Council of England and Wales
		Descriptive or Prescriptive Guidelines?
			Consistency of Outcome versus Consistency of Approach
		Development of Guidelines: Concurrent or Consecutive?
			Structure of English Guidelines: Offense Specific vs a Single Grid
			Guideline Example: Street Robbery
			Greater Guidance, More Onerous Requirements
			Compliance Requirement
		Research on the Impact of the English Guidelines
		Guidelines in Other Jurisdictions
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
Part II Issues in Guideline and Non-Guideline Sentencing
	4 Inter-district Differences and Extra-legal Disparity in Federal Sentencing: The Trees Are “Substantially”...
		Discretion Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
		Sentencing Outcomes under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines
		The FSG and Federal Narcotics Offenders
		Substantial Assistance Departures
		Empirical Research on §5K1.1 Departures
		The Current Study
		Methodology
		Analytic Strategy
		Results
			Descriptive Statistics for Data Partitioned by District
			Disaggregated District Logistic Regression Results
			Disaggregated District Predicted Probability Results
		Discussion
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	5 Minimum Sentencing for Serious Offenses: Lessons from Australia
		Introduction
		The Turn Towards Minimum Sentence Schemes for Serious Offenses in Australia
		Standard Non-Parole Periods in New South Wales
			The Introduction of the Standard Non-Parole Period Sentencing Scheme
			Initial Responses and the Operation of the Scheme in NSW
				The High Court of Australia’s Intervention
		Baseline Sentencing in Victoria
			The Origins of Baseline Sentencing
			The Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council
			The Creation of a Baseline Sentencing Scheme
			How Was It Applied in Practice?
			Sentencing in Victoria after the Baseline Scheme
		Where to Next for Minimum Sentences in Australian Jurisdictions?
		Notes
		References
	6 Discretionary Release Practices for Juveniles Facing Life: A Review of State Parole and Resentencing Procedures
		The Status of Juvenile Lifers
			The Supreme Court Recognizes Adolescence
		Parole in Context
			Instrumental Assessments
			Attributional Assessments
		Populations of Juvenile Lifers
			Juvenile LWOPs and State Waiver Policies
		“Virtual” lifers
			Determining Eligibility for Early Release
		Resentencing versus Parole
		Providing a Meaningful Review
			Discretionary State Release Practices
			An Opportunity to Be Heard
			Right to Counsel
			Burden of Proof and Right to a Written Decision
			Appeals
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
Part III Plea Bargaining
	7 Plea Negotiations: An Australian Perspective
		Introduction
		The Legal Context
		Sentencing and Plea Negotiations
		Forms of Negotiation
		Negotiation Outcomes
		The Rule of Law or of Men and Women?
		Unrepresented Defendants
		Constraints on Plea Negotiations and Reform
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	8 Plea Bargaining in the Shadow of the Trial
		Macro-Level Approaches to Understanding Plea Decision-Making
		Institutional Approaches in Plea Bargaining Research
			Empirical Tests of the Focal Concerns Model
		The Shadow of the Trial Model
			Empirical Tests of the Shadow Model
			Criticisms of the Shadow of the Trial Model
		Additional Factors Related to Plea Decision-Making
			Prosecutorial Discretion in Plea Bargaining
			The Role of Evidence in Guilty Pleas
		Direct Versus Circumstantial Evidence
			Concerns with Measurement of Evidentiary Factors
		New Data Exploring Shadow Model Factors
		Data and Methods
		Analysis and Findings
			Strength of the Evidence
			Defendant Interview Responses
		Strengthening the Shadow Model Paradigm
		Improving Methodologies to Test the Shadow Model
		Better Understanding of the Impact of Evidence
		Developing a Fuller Version of the Shadow Model
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	9 Estimating the Size of Plea Discounts: Why Does It Matter?
		Theories Explaining Plea Bargaining
		Norm-based Theories on Pleas: From the Courtroom Workgroup to Focal Concerns
		The Rational Choice Model: “The Shadow of Trial”
		The Significance of the Size of Plea Discounts
		The Empirical Estimates: What We Have Known So Far
			The Variation in Plea Discounts Across Jurisdictions
			Sentencing Guidelines and Plea Bargaining
			Plea Discounts and Case-level Factors
			Plea Offers and the Decision to Plead
		Overall Summary of Findings
		Regression-based Strategies of Estimating the Plea Discounts
			The Regression Coefficient Approach
			The Counterfactual Approach
			Comparison of the Two Approaches
		Moving Forward
			Alternative Sanctions in Plea Bargaining
			Personal Traits and Other Understudied Characteristics
			The “Bargaining” Component in Plea Bargaining
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
	10 To Plead or Not to Plead? “Guilt” is the Question1: Rethinking Sentencing and Plea Decision-Making in Anglo-American...
		Does the Plea-Dependent Sentence Differential Undermine Rule of Law Values?
			Does the Sentence Differential Encourage Innocent Defendants to Plead Guilty?
			Do Plea-Dependent Sentence Differentials Violate Legal Equality?
		How is the Sentence Differential Justified?
			The Remorse Rationale
		The Enduring Appeal of Remorse: Affective and Legitimacy Explanations
			The Victim Rationale
			The Efficiency Rationale
			Is There Another Reason for the Sentence Differential?
		Defendants’ Views and Perspectives
			Defendant Perceptions of the Sentence Differential and the Presumption of Innocence
			The Pains of Being a Defendant
		The Pains of Waiting
			Further Research into Defendants’ Views and Perspectives
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
Part IV Capital Punishment
	11 Evolving Attitudes toward Capital Punishment
		Trends in Support for Capital Punishment
		Subgroup Attitudes towards Capital Punishment
		Explanations for Death Penalty Support
		Crime
		Racial Animus
		Media
		Directions for Future Research
		Conclusion
		References
	12 Disparities in Death Penalty Prosecution and Punishment: A Review of Recent Research and an Expanded Agenda
		Key US Supreme Court Cases Regarding Disparity in the Death Penalty
		An Overview of Death Penalty Discretion Points
		Prior Research on Disparity in Death Penalty Case Processing
		Race of Defendant and Victim
		Prosecutorial Decisions
		Death Sentences
		Gender of Defendants and Victims
		Type of Legal Representation
		Local Variation
		Methodological Issues
		Theoretical Frameworks
		Court Communities: Local Court Norms and Socio-political Influences
		New Research Directions
		Prosecutorial Discretion
		Defendant and Victim Characteristics
		Defense Attorneys
		Court Socio-Political Contexts
		Beyond Statistical Analyses
		Conclusion
		Notes
		References
Part V Current Controversies
	13 Rethinking the Role of Criminal History in Sentencing
		Introduction
		Adverse Consequences, Variation, and Justifications
			Adverse Consequences
		Undercutting Prison Use Priorities and Increasing the Size of Prison
		Decreasing the Proportionality of Sentence Severity Relative to Offense Severity
		Increasing Racial Disproportionality in Prison Inmate Populations
			Jurisdictional Variation
			Justification Issues
		Retributive Rationales
			Utilitarian Theories
		The Need to Rethink Criminal History Enhancements
		Empirical Findings
			The Federal Guidelines
			The Federal Criminal History Score
			The 1992 and 2005 Offender Cohorts, Recidivism Measures, and Analytic Methods
			Major Findings
			Important Issues Not Yet Addressed
			Pennsylvania
			Minnesota
		Methodological and Normative Issues
		Unanswered Questions
		Prior Record Enhancements and Recidivism Risk
		Prior Record Enhancements and Offender Culpability
		The Adverse Impacts of Prior Record Enhancements
		Notes
		References
	14 AB109 in California: Realignment, Decarceration and Crime in Los Angeles County
		Realignment and Its Effect on Crime and Recidivism
		Crime Rates: Data and Methods
			Crime Trends in Los Angeles
			Program Completion and Recidivism
			Predictors of PSP Recidivism
		An Assessment of AB 109 by Law Enforcement and Probation Officials
		Los Angeles County Probation: Realignment as a Paradigm Shift
		AB 109 Case Management
			Risk Assessment: The LS/CSMI
		Specialized Caseloads
		Graduated Sanctions and Flash Incarceration
		AB 109 Moving Forward: Quality Assurance and Improvement
		Los Angeles County Law Enforcement Executives
			Initial Impressions
			Multi-agency Collaboration
			Street-Level Enforcement in the Era of AB 109 and Prop 47
		Quality Assurance and Improvement—the Law Enforcement Perspective
		Conclusion
		References
	15 The Problem with Problem-solving Courts: The Black Box Remains Unopened after Thirty Years
		The Problem-Solving Court Evolution
		Ideology behind Initial Problem-Solving Courts
		Expansion of Problem-Solving Courts
			How Problem-Solving Courts Operate
		Growth without Grounding
		Application of Theory
		Problem-Solving Court Framework and Its Components
			Therapeutic Jurisprudence
			Deterrence
			Rehabilitation
			Procedural Justice
			Restorative Justice
				Therapeutic jurisprudence
				Deterrence
				Rehabilitation
				Procedural justice
				Restorative Justice
		Opening the Black Box and Moving Forward with Data
		The Need for Data
		Notes
		References
	16 Restorative Justice Practices and Challenges in the United States
		History of Restorative Justice
		Defining Restorative Justice
			Key Components
				Stakeholders
				Voluntary Participation
				Victim-Centered Procedures
				Offender Accountability
			Misperceptions of Restorative Justice
		Criminal Harms Resolved with Restorative Justice
		Forms of Restorative Justice
			Victim-Offender Mediation
			Restorative Conferences
			Family Group Conferences
			Circle Processes
		Prior Research
			Victims
			Offenders
			Training and Quality Assurance
			Current State of Knowledge and Gaps in the Research
		Sustainability of Restorative Justice
		Discussion and Recommendations
		Notes
		References
Index