Sentences with phrase «from mandatory sentencing»

Judge Richard Scherer, Judge Susan Robiner, Judge Mark Wernick, Judge Joseph Klein and Judge Daniel Moreno downward depart from mandatory sentencing in felony gun cases in more than two thirds of the cases they oversee.

From mandatory sentences of imprisonment to asset forfeiture legislation, the ramifications of a criminal conviction have never been more serious.

Not exact matches

Obama's first attorney general, Eric Holder, set aside a criminal justice memo from his Republican predecessor, John Ashcroft, to charge people with the most serious, provable offenses and replaced it with his own policy of discouraging harsh mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent crime.

But Americans are curiously unwilling to learn from Europe, even though almost all member - states of the European Union have better policies and lower rates of addiction than the U.S.. On other points, Massing is in agreement with the harm - reduction approach: he favors free needles, methadone treatment, decriminalization of marijuana and repeal of mandatory sentencing.

I am thankful for the progress that has been made in reforming the health care system, securing nuclear weapons, repealing «Don't Ask Don't Tell, ending the practice of torture, reforming mandatory minimum prison sentences, withdrawing from Iraq, and creating green jobs and incentives.

In the op - ed for USA Today, Moore pushed for fixing mandatory minimum sentences, focusing on treatment instead of incarceration for drug offenders and those suffering from mental illnesses, and better awareness of why people are jailed.

I also await answers to my other questions: when did Labour agree to oppose any review of mandatory life sentences for murder, and when did we decide that children should have lessons on «responsible gambling», part - funded by GamCare, which in turn gets its money from the gambling industry?

[42][43] The changes to the Rockefeller laws were largely focused on inmates» ability to appeal for an early release from sentences that were passed on them under mandatory minimum sentencing statutes.

Cuomo also said from day one he expected state lawmakers would be making technical changes to the law which also ensures background checks for gun buyers, tougher criminal penalties for illegal gun use and a mandatory life without parole sentence for killing a first responder.

Based loosely on a true story that was prominently featured in the PBS series «Frontline», Dwayne Johnson (Fast Five, Get Smart) stars as John Matthews, a construction business - owning father who desperately is trying to save his 18 - year - old son, Jason (Gavron, Breaking and Entering), from going to prison for a huge chunk of his life due to the rigidity of the Federal mandatory sentence drug charges in place.

The StatsCan report, Mandatory minimum penalties: An analysis of criminal justice system outcomes for selected offences, written by Mary Allen and released on Tuesday, notes that for charges of selected sexual violations of children, the proportion of summary cases resulting in guilty findings increased from 72 per cent to 77 per cent, while the increase in custody sentences for guilty cases jumped from 37 per cent to 85 per cent.

Not content to set out a maximum sentence as exists for most offences, the Bill follows the now standard approach of tacking on mandatory minimum sentences for repeat high - volume offenders ranging from 90 days to two - years - less - a-day imprisonment.

I believe the Conservative crackdown on crime is misguided, with more mandatory minimums and longer sentences, but you need to be cautious about what you infer from the crime severity index.

A new report from Statistics Canada shows that, since the introduction of mandatory minimum penalties (MMPs) in 2005, there has been a small increase in the proportion of summary cases of certain violent crimes resulting in a guilty finding but a significant increase in custody sentences, and that cases can take longer to work their way through the courts.

[73] A final cost of constitutional exemptions from mandatory minimum sentence laws is to the institutional value of effective law making and the proper roles of Parliament and the courts.

Wrong as the court's order may be under Montana law (and it seems from the press coverage and statements by attorneys involved that the sentence is unlawful as it is far below the mandatory minimum), the judge can not just change his ruling.

The article is headlined «Rulings from Canada's top court strike down mandatory minimum sentences for drugs and bail conditions,» and here are the basics:

Many of those with pending applications for clemency were convicted long ago of garden - variety crimes and have fully served their time; many others are still serving lengthy mandatory prison terms from which there is no hope of parole (parole having been eliminated from federal sentencing).

Drug cases in particular need to be examined from every angle, in many cases are subject to mandatory minimum sentences, and aggressive representation can protect your future.

Forty four of the charges resulting from a grand jury indictment carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison as a sex offender had the client been convicted.

Passmore suggests that as a general rule one might have thought that a contested process in which the tribunal controlling the proceedings is empowered to make some sort of ruling that has mandatory consequences for a participant that are either penal in nature (such as a prison sentence, a fine or other form of sanction such as a suspension from practice) or otherwise require the participant to do something he or she does not wish to do (such as pay damages, obey an injunction or give an undertaking not to do something) are ones in which the privilege should be available.

«Mandatory minimum sentences, by their very nature, have the potential to depart from the principle of proportionality in sentencing.

Yolanda also mentioned the many injustices that continue, including the imposition of extraordinarily high bails that keep accused people locked up and the persistence of minimum mandatory sentences that prevent the client's life story from being considered by the sentencing judge.

Third does the imposition of the mandatory minimum sentence for second degree murder constitute «cruel and unusual punishment» in this case, so that Mr. Latimer («the appellant») should receive a constitutional exemption from the minimum sentence?»

That prompted this lament from the majority, at paras. 11 - 2: «For reasons that were not explained, the Crown did not issue the mandatory notice to invoke the two year minimum provision in this case... A sentence harsher than that proposed by the Crown would have been fit.»

Drug charges, including methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, or prescription drugs, need to be examined from every angle, and in many cases are subject to mandatory minimum sentences.

Perhaps the answer will come from the ghost of Irwin Cotler, who in one of his last acts as a member of Parliament introduced a private member's bill that would allow judges to consider particular circumstances at sentencing, notwithstanding mandatory minimums.

The imposition of the mandatory minimum sentence at issue in this case would have disproportionately negative consequences for women because of the nature of their involvement with the drug trade, this impact of incarceration on child custody and motherhood, and the likelihood that BC women will be jailed far from their home communities.

Mandatory minimum sentences result in the insidious transfer of discretion from judges to the Crown prosecutors — who have the discretion to drop a minimum sentence in exchange for a plea to a lesser charge.

The American criminal justice system is far from being sufficiently enlightened, starting by too many presumed - innocent people caged without bond pending sentencing, moving to Virginia's crabbed criminal discovery system, continuing to Virginia's system that allows prosecutors to scare defendants to plead guilty by their refusal to waive a jury that in many instances and locations can mean more racist jurors than judges on top of the jurors often being more wild cards than judges for sentencing, continuing to the many judges who choose judicial efficiency over a fair trial, continuing to the brutal capital punishment system, cntinuing to excessive mandatory minimum and guideline sentencing, and continuing to the slew of innocent convicted people (many of whom plead gulilty rather than risking a worse fate), and continuing to frequently excessive sentences and excessive probation violation sentences.

Represented a dentist indicted for illegally issuing prescriptions for Schedule II narcotics, obtaining a reduction from a mandatory prison sentence to a sentence of probation.

West Coast LEAF will argue that the mandatory jail sentence at issue in this case has a disproportionate impact on women because of their role as primary caregivers and the potential for loss of child custody, and the likelihood that women will be jailed far from their home communities because of the lack of adequate facilities for incarcerated women in BC, among other issues.

It is likely it will be plead down from a C felony (with the mandatory 3 1/2) to a D felony, for which there is the possibility of an «alternate definite sentence» of no prison time.

As reported in this post from yesterday, and as explained a bit more via this write - up I provided to the fine folks at SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court yesterday in Dean v. United States, No. 15 - 9260 (April 3, 2017)(available here) ruled that the Eighth Circuit had been wrong to hold that, «in calculating the sentence for [a] predicate offense, a judge must ignore the fact that the defendant will serve the mandatory minimums imposed under § 924 (c).»

This interesting local investigative press report from Minnesota provides further evidence that mandatory minimum sentencing schemes are rarely applied consistently or evenly.

Focusing on the sentencing context, this Article demonstrates that judicial dilemmas can be systematically resolved, mitigated or avoided through a range of concrete strategies that on their own or in conjunction can constitute Satisficing Options: these strategies include seeking out legally permitted but morally preferable interpretations of the law, expressing condemnation of unjust laws in dicta, and seeking assistance or cooperation from other actors to help defendants facing substantively unjust mandatory sentences.

This recent post from the Supreme Court of Tennessee Blog reports on an interesting constitutional challenge to the severe mandatory sentence that goes with the application of Tennessee's «Drug Free School Zone» law.

Nothing in the safety valve prevents judges from sentencing prisoners at or above the mandatory minimum even if they are eligible for the safety valve, but simply allows judicial discretion to ensure that prison resources are being used where they can best protect public safety, and not wasted on nonviolent, low - level drug offenders.

Sessions has called for a return to the «war on drugs» menu — more law enforcement, mandatory minimums and long sentences, even the anti-drug D.A.R.E. program — plus a new focus on heavy immigration enforcement and a withdrawal from DOJ attention to police misconduct.

'' Supreme Court strikes down mandatory sentences for crack cocaine from The Left Coaster The Supreme Court, today, struck down mandatory sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine.

He has published a comprehensive study of current mandatory sentencing laws, that have taken away from the judiciary the discretion of setting sentences, and effectively given that power to prosecutors.

The consequent sentence of mandatory life imprisonment follows on from this basic principle; it is driven, not so much by legal logic, but by the public demand for retribution.

Thanks to efforts from civil rights and criminal - justice - reform organizations, the Obama administration signed onto the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced the drug quantity ratio between powder and crack cocaine that triggers the mandatory minimums from 100 - 1 to 18 - 1.

Two recent decisions from the Court of Queen's Bench in Manitoba have similarly challenged the constitutionality of the Criminal Code's mandatory minimum sentencing provisions in relation... [more]

Recent pronouncements from the Ontario Court of Appeal overturning some mandatory minimum sentences and extraordinarily frank outbursts from some trial judges on the madness of mandatory victim fine surcharges (often levied against the homeless, destitute and mentally ill) have set the stage for what is sure to be an interesting 2014 docket.

The investigation highlighted the injustices resulting from the Northern Territory's mandatory minimum sentencing provisions.

The Commonwealth Attorney - General, my ministerial colleague, has written to his counterparts in both Western Australia and the Northern Territory, asking them to review their laws, particularly as they impact upon young people... The Commonwealth is very conscious of looking for other ways through this issue, and we are seeking, from a committee of members of parliament, advice on further diversionary programs, and looking at the interpreter issue to see whether there are ways forward, progressively, to address these questions, which can help in alleviating some of the concerns about the mandatory sentencing question... [116]

Social Justice Report 2001 Contents Summary of the Social Justice Report 2001 Letter of submission Recommendations Chapter 1: Ten years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Chapter 2: Mutual obligation, welfare reform and Indigenous participation: a human rights perspective Chapter 3: Indigenous governance and community capacity - building Chapter 4: Laws mandating minimum terms of imprisonment («mandatory sentencing»)...

I was extremely interested in hearing from Ms Leon that $ A5 million per year are being devoted to diversionary programs, orders for the police to avoid bringing charges provided that somebody will comply with some other diversionary program or possibly the powers of the Magistrates, limited though they may be, to pass what I believe are conditional release orders instead of using the mandatory sentence.

Mandatory sentencing laws can be differentiated from other state and territory laws that a federal government may not like, as they involve fundamental issues of compliance - of Australia - with human rights obligations.