When good intentions lead to bad results
Article Abstract:
The federal sentencing guidelines have been such a failure because they have failed to take plea bargaining into consideration. Most criminal cases are resolved through plea bargaining and major offenders are the ones who can bargain their sentences down because they have the most valuable information to offer the prosecutor. Minor offenders have little information to offer, are stuck with being sentenced under the harsher federal guidelines, and end up overcrowding the jails to such an extent that in some states violent offenders have been let out of jail early to clear the jails for minor drug offenders. Some judges will no longer handle criminal cases to which these guidelines apply.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1996
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Guidelines have led to longer sentences
Article Abstract:
The shortness of the 30-month sentence given Officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell for violating the civil right of Rodney King seems an insufficient deterrent to future incidents of police brutality and contravenes the federal sentencing guidelines' goal of uniformity. The federal sentencing guidelines were promulgated to address the problem of disparity in sentencing and have often been perceived as too harsh, but this does not excuse Judge Davies' significant departure from them.
Publication Name: The National Law Journal
Subject: Law
ISSN: 0162-7325
Year: 1993
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