Court Sentencing Case Study

After a defendant is convicted or pleads guilty, a judge will then decide a suitable punishment (or sentence) during the sentencing phase of a criminal case. There are varying outcomes that can influence sentencing offenders, they can range from probation and community service to prison and even the death penalty. Minor infractions, misdemeanors, or offenders who plead guilty usually get sentenced almost immediately after ones convictions. In complex criminal cases such as serious felonies, the sentencing judge will usually receive input from the probation department which prepares a pre-sentence report with recommendations. Prosecutors and the defense will also speak to the judge regarding to ones convictions. There are several factors that a judge can choose from when determining a criminal sentence. These include: Does the offender have prior criminal history; Was the offender an accessory or the main offender; Was the offender under any personal stress or duress when the crime was committed; Was anyone injured; Was the offender cruel to a victim, or destructive in nature, did the offender display remorse or regret for crimes. However, not every conviction means a trip to prison. Judges in most cases have a great deal of discretion when determining a sentence. Some of these alternative sentences can include suspended sentences, community service, probation, deferred adjudication, and even fines or restitution. Furthermore, multiple sentences can be served

The United States is less the 5% of the world population but has almost 25% of the world’s prison population (Coates, 2015; Waldman, 2016). In the last 40 years, the number of American civilians imprisoned by the United States has increased 500%. (Mauer, 2011). However, this explosion in incarceration rates has not been evenly distributed throughout the American population (Waldman, 2016). While one in seventeen White men will be imprisoned in their lifetime, one in sixteen Latino men will face this fate and for Black men, the number is one in three (Mauer,2011). Neither the racial disparity in incarceration nor its scale was accidental (Coates, 2015). The mass incarceration of Black men in the United States was a direct result of the “War

This essay explains sentencing in the United States Criminal Justice system. The objectives of punishment in the United States corrections is to help deter crime and to ensure reoffenders don’t reoffend. Sentencing impacts the corrections system and society in a positive manor by eliminating offenders out of the community. Sentencing may include one of the following: probation, fines, prison, community service, probation and so forth depending on the state you reside and the type of offense you commit. Each crime committed doesn’t have a set sentence, therefore they are determined on a case to case basis. The main goal of the criminal justice system is to defend the community and serve justice. Sentencing plays a vital role in the Criminal Justice system.

After legal challenges began on behalf of defendants disputing the constitutionality of the Sentencing Reform Act and the Guidelines, the Commission was given the task of monitoring the effects of federal sentencing practices and revising amendments to the Guidelines if problems arose for congressional approval. In 1990, Congress directed the Commission to respond to a series of questions raised in regards to the Guidelines, the effects of mandatory minimums and options and options for Congress to exercise its legislative power in statutory directive and organization (1991 U.S.S.C. Report). The 1991 report was a “preliminary assessment of short-tem effects” of the Guidelines on federal sentencing practice (1991 U.S.S.C. Report). The report conducted empirical research study requested by Congress to “assess the effect of mandatory minimum sentencing provisions on the eliminating unwarranted sentencing disparity as well as description of the interaction between mandatory minimum sentencing provisions and plea agreements” (1991 U.S.S.C. Report).

The recording is based on research founded by Nazgol Ghandnoosh, who is a research analyst for the sentencing project. The sentencing project is a non-profit group that advocates for the criminal justice reform. She also, is an author of a report called “Race and Punishment: Racial Perceptions of Crime and Support for Punitive Policies, which is about her study of police shootings disproportionately affecting African American and how media coverage shows racial bias against African American. In addition, a 2002 survey found that people made an estimate that 40 percent of those that committed violent crimes were African American, but the real percentage was only 29 percent. According to Nazgol Ghandnoosh (2015), a research

I would like to take this time to explain my position on Plea Bargains and Mandatory Sentencing. I will show both pros and cons for each topic, as well as give you my personal brief on which one I support.

Longer prison sentences along with stronger gun and drug laws can be traced back to the lobbying of private prison corporations. Private prisons only house inmates who are considered to be low risk. To be considered low risk inmates’ crimes either had to be non-violent or they have had to display exceptional behavior over the time of their sentence. The largest private prison corporation is Corrections Corporation of America known as CCA. CCA has spent $17.4 million on lobbying in the past 10 years as well as an additional $1.9 million in political contributions in that last 9 years. (Lee, 2012) Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona, which requires police to determine the immigration status of a person who is lawfully stopped if there is a reason

We believe that our judicial system does not support the rights guaranteed in Canadian charter rights and freedom and focus on legal guilt over factual guilt. The Canadian court system sentencing procedure see’ over both sides of the story carefully but court focus on proving suspect guilt rather then innocence. Our judicial systems currently have many flaws and it’s clearly noticeable in some situations. There have been a lot of cases where our judicial system failed to provide justice to the victim or guaranteed rights to society. Our main law that has been compromised in years is the privacy law. Fifteen years ago privacy was not as important as it today, the main reason for that is technology. As science advance it came up with all these new gadgets such as cell, computer and tables and with all technology came the rise social media. We now have Facebook, Twitter, Istagram, and many more online social media sites that people uses. Our law says that all of our private information cannot be disclosed to government unless someone is a threat but these rights have been violated multiple times. The first time it was an issue was in G20 summit, June 2010. Lately is have also been an issue in Canadian spy companies. Also government recently passed the bill c-150, which clearly violates our charter rights.

There are many factors that influence or have a bearing on the sentencing of an individual after the acknowledgement or conviction related to one’s guilt. Factors such as, prior criminal history and severity of the crime, but the factors that should not determine the sentence imposed are ones of race or ethnicity, gender, among others. It is clear to anyone associated with the criminal justice system, from law enforcement personnel, to the judicial system, that sentencing of some individuals has shown a disparity regarding gender, and ethnicity. Now this is not to say that there is an intentional outright decision to sentence these groups to a more extensive sentence or sentence at all, just based on their race or ethnicity.

June 25th 2012, The Supreme Court ruled that juveniles who commit murder could not be sentenced to life in prison or in other words juveniles could not be sentenced as an adult would be. The Supreme Court brought forth that sentencing juveniles to life in prison transgresses the eighth amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. How is a 17 year old criminal different from an 18 year old criminal who both commit a murder crime? Apparently the age creates a significant difference according to the Supreme Court. Maturity and Development of people under 18 are clear incentives that support the decision made by the Supreme Court. A murder is a murder, it will always be the action of taking away someone's life. How is “The Criminal didn’t know

Brandon M: Client reported that he did not go to jail this week for his 5 days again; this time because his public defender did not bring the paperwork they needed to process him to court on Friday as she was supposed to. Therefore, he should be going next week. This delay with going to prison has created more anxiety, than his usual, and the anticipation has him stressed about gaining employment then having to tell them he must take off a week. Being that he went to the job fair at the Double Tree, he has been active with that pursuit and hopes something happens for him soon since he does not have the rent money. The priorities he listed are to remain sober, get a job, obtain shelter, get through Treatment Court, and find happiness.

We jail a grand amount of the population most times, who don’t necessarily produce any harm or those who have not committed violent crimes. Most arrest, convictions, and sentencing are a product of drug related issues. “Sentencing policies of the War on Drugs era resulted in dramatic growth in incarceration for drug offenses” (The Sentencing Project, 2016, p.3).

Defendant Smith has been arrested for possession of enough ecstasy for two hits and has admitted to using alcohol, cocaine, and marijuana in the past. Clearly this indicates that he has a drug problem. However, he has no prior criminal record, has held down a job in construction for the past two years, and has a child for whom he must pay child support. He has fallen behind as of late and may be tied to his drug abuse, for which he has never received counseling or treatment. Give that he has never received treatment, has a job, and a child to support, I would recommend that he be placed into a Drug Court Program.

The author would have to say that the statistics coupled with the creation of the United States Sentencing Committee reveal that judicial discretion was at a much higher level prior to 1984, and has been on a decline as legislature has begun to regulate the discretion in which judges having in regard to sentencing in criminal cases. “Anderson, Kling, and Smith (1999) investigated 77,201 criminal cases decided between

Be sure to address the four types of sentencing models and the issues surrounding them (equity, truth-in-sentencing and proportionality).