In the United States, sentencing varies from place to place and jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Each state has established their own set guidelines and even those can be different from the Federal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing Guidelines are rules that a judge is supposed to follow to determine sentences for individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious misdemeanors. These Guidelines do not apply to less serious misdemeanor crimes. The United States Sentencing Commission was created by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 and created these guidelines. In the beginning they were mandatory and very strict. People kept calling for longer, harsher sentences (Marvell 1995 p. 696). Congress enacted the Sentence Reform Act to satisfy
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11). The United States Sentencing Committee wanted to make sentences equally fair for everyone while attempting to limit and remove any biases and opinions that a judge may have out of the courtroom. This system, like many others, has its share of pros and cons. The change to sentencing guidelines may have shifted power from the judge to the prosecutor. With the guidelines in place, prosecutors can determine which charges had the most weight regarding the offense and choose what to charge the criminal with. Once they chose which crime they were punishing them with they had a rough estimate of how much prison or jail time a defendant could be facing (Gazal-Ayal p. 132). This has shifted the power of sentencing from the judge to the …show more content…
"Sentencing Guidelines and Prison Population Growth." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), vol. 85, no. 3, 1995, pp. 696-709.
-Oberdorfer, L. F. (2003). Mandatory sentencing: One judge's perspective-2002(1). The American Criminal Law Review, 40(1), 11-18.
-Richman, Daniel. "Federal White-Collar Sentencing in the United States: A Work in Progress." Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 76, no. 1, 2013, pp. 53.
-Rozen, Matthew S. "Abandoning the Victim Requirement: Clarifying the Position of Trust Enhancement in Federal Sentencing." The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 78, no. 4, 2011, pp. 1543-1583.
-Siegfried, Daniel I. ""Based on" the Guidelines? Applying Retroactive Sentencing Amendments to Binding Plea Agreements." The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 77, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1801-1839.
-STARR, SONJA B., and M. M. REHAVI. "Mandatory Sentencing and Racial Disparity: Assessing the Role of Prosecutors and the Effects of Booker." The Yale Law Journal, vol. 123, no. 1, 2013, pp. 2-80.
-Steiker, Carol S. "Lessons from Two Failures: Sentencing for Cocaine and Child Pornography Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the United States." Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 76, no. 1, 2013, pp.
11). The United States Sentencing Committee wanted to make sentences equally fair for everyone while attempting to limit and remove any biases and opinions that a judge may have out of the courtroom. This system, like many others, has its share of pros and cons. The change to sentencing guidelines may have shifted power from the judge to the prosecutor. With the guidelines in place, prosecutors can determine which charges had the most weight regarding the offense and choose what to charge the criminal with. Once they chose which crime they were punishing them with they had a rough estimate of how much prison or jail time a defendant could be facing (Gazal-Ayal p. 132). This has shifted the power of sentencing from the judge to the …show more content…
"Sentencing Guidelines and Prison Population Growth." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1973-), vol. 85, no. 3, 1995, pp. 696-709.
-Oberdorfer, L. F. (2003). Mandatory sentencing: One judge's perspective-2002(1). The American Criminal Law Review, 40(1), 11-18.
-Richman, Daniel. "Federal White-Collar Sentencing in the United States: A Work in Progress." Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 76, no. 1, 2013, pp. 53.
-Rozen, Matthew S. "Abandoning the Victim Requirement: Clarifying the Position of Trust Enhancement in Federal Sentencing." The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 78, no. 4, 2011, pp. 1543-1583.
-Siegfried, Daniel I. ""Based on" the Guidelines? Applying Retroactive Sentencing Amendments to Binding Plea Agreements." The University of Chicago Law Review, vol. 77, no. 4, 2010, pp. 1801-1839.
-STARR, SONJA B., and M. M. REHAVI. "Mandatory Sentencing and Racial Disparity: Assessing the Role of Prosecutors and the Effects of Booker." The Yale Law Journal, vol. 123, no. 1, 2013, pp. 2-80.
-Steiker, Carol S. "Lessons from Two Failures: Sentencing for Cocaine and Child Pornography Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in the United States." Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 76, no. 1, 2013, pp.