Sentences with phrase «sentencing outcomes»

I will need to take a little time to dig into some of the particular because providing my own assessment and spin, but I have always feared (and wrote an article a long time ago) that differences in the resources and abilities of defense counsel may create or enhance disparities in federal sentencing outcomes in ways that can not be easily measured or remedied.

In sketching out an agenda for future research and potential reforms, this Article closes with a call to action for all policy - makers and academics concerned with sentencing systems to focus needed attention on defense counsel's role and impact on sentencing outcomes.

«Notable Enron insider trading sentencing outcome and reasoning Main New NPR investigative series on private prisons»

According to a 2002 study by Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, private defense lawyers achieved better sentence outcomes than public defenders.

The human rights group says a structured sentencing framework would produce injustice, prevent optimum sentencing outcomes and could even result in an increase in rates of imprisonment: «These proposals go entirely against the prevailing trend of government criminal justice policy in recent years in relation to violent and sexual offences: that is, an emphasis on the individualised risk posed by the individual offender towards a member or members of the public.»

Rather than try to concoct an array of legal definitions for reasonableness review, I believe the Supreme Court should simply encourage circuit courts to determine and explain, on a case - by - case basis, whether and how a particular sentencing outcome serves the purposes that Congress set out in the statutory text of the Sentencing Reform Act.

The following chart (showing five years of data ending in September 2012) obtained from TRAC (for all sentence types) illustrates just how widely divergent sentence outcomes can be in the same district:

In my view, the most significant problems with TRAC reports are these: (1) one has to pay for the TRAC data and the cost is not insubstantial; (2) a user agreement must be signed that limits how the user may use the TRAC reports; (3) the TRAC reports do not separately address departure and variance motions that frequently drive sentencing outcomes.

As a result, from the very beginning of representation in a Guidelines world, the caliber and performance of defense counsel can have a dramatic impact on both the broad outline and detailed particulars of the ultimate sentencing outcome.

These important insights in turn suggests that poor defense representation or differences in the quality of defense counsel may create considerable risks of disparities and other unfair sentencing outcomes under the Guidelines.

Mandatory Sentencing This eliminates the judiciary's ability to consider appropriate mitigating factors so as to arrive at the most appropriate sentencing outcome; is an arbitrary contravention of the principles of proportionality and necessity; and has a discriminatory effect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offenders.

But still lacking in the legal literature has been assessments of defense counsel's effect on sentencing outcomes or explorations of whether differences in the quality of defense representation may be thwarting the goals of sentencing reform.

While commendable in their efforts in addressing the inadequacies of the criminal legal systems as experienced by Indigenous people, these models are somewhat limited in their current scope as they are predominantly aimed at delivering improved sentencing outcomes and do not extend to the hearing phrase of the court process.

* Why an analysis of the sentencing practices of judges in two courthouses no more than 60 miles apart reflects big differences in sentence outcomes is a grave cause for concern.

This data included the criminal history of the offender, the severity of the crime, the sentencing outcome and several demographic variables.

But this case provides still more evidence that sentencing outcomes, especially for high - profile figures, are often controversial no matter where in the world they take place.

At bottom, what's the difference between that and a trial judge being able to make factual resolutions that have the legal effect of increasing a sentencing outcome beyond what the jury verdict did?

Part I notes the lack of attention given to defense counsel's role and impact in sentencing, and explains the importance of exploring the effect differences in defense counsel may have on sentencing outcomes.

Part III maps out the challenges for sentencing reformers in trying to fully assess and remedy these concerns by noting the complex realities that will necessarily attend efforts to measure and minimize the potential for differences in defense counsel to impact federal sentencing outcomes.

As revealed throughout Part II, prosecutors, probation officers, and judges have many official and unofficial opportunities to make discretionary decisions that directly impact federal sentencing outcomes, and these decisions can be greatly influenced by the efforts of defense counsel at every stage of the federal sentencing process.

KEYWORDS: Sexual Assault, Emotionality, Psychopathic Traits, Rational Versus Experiential Processing, Veracity, Sentencing Outcomes