How Do Judges Decide?

The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment

Häftad, Engelska, 2009

1 777 kr

Beställningsvara. Skickas inom 3-6 vardagar. Fri frakt över 249 kr.

Beskrivning

How are sentences for federal, state, and local crimes determined?
Is this process fairly and justly applied to all concerned?
How have reforms affected the process over the last 25 years?

Offering a comprehensive overview of the sentencing process in the United States, How Do Judges Decide? The Search for Fairness and Justice in Punishment explores these questions and more. Author Cassia Spohn first discusses the overall concept of punishment and then analyzes individual aspects of it, including the sentencing process, the responsibility of the judge, and disparity and discrimination in sentencing. This Second Edition offers new information on the impact of sentencing reforms, including recent research and case law, updated statistics in tables and figures, and new boxed highlights.

Key Features

Helps students understand patterns in the wide discretion and latitude given to judges when determining penalties within the framework of the U.S. judicial system
Engages the reader with "Focus on an Issue" sections, which analyze key issues such as gender and sentencing (Ch.4) and the impact of race on sentencing for drug offenses (Ch.5)
Examines sentencing reforms and their impact, providing students with up-to-date information on how punishment is meted out in U.S. courts.
Contains boxed excerpts in each chapter from books and articles, with a variety of case studies on topics such as the O.J. Simpson murder trial, judicial surveys, and comparison of sentences in different jurisdictions by gender
Offers new material on specialty courts and the prosecutor's role in sentencing
Concludes each chapter with discussion questions

How Do Judges Decide? is an ideal text for upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses on the judicial system, criminal law, and law and society.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2009-02-11
Mått:152 x 228 x 19 mm
Vikt:480 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:376
Upplaga:2
Förlag:SAGE Publications
ISBN:9781412961042

Utforska kategorier

Brottslighet och kriminologi inom Samhälle och politik

Mer om författaren

Cassia Spohn is School Director and Foundation Professor of Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. She is the author of several books, including The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (with Sam Walker and Miriam DeLone) and How Do Judges Decide? The Search for Fairness and Equity in Sentencing. She has published a number of articles examining prosecutors’ charging decisions in sexual assault cases and exploring the effect of race/ethnicity on charging and sentencing decisions. Her current research interests include the effect of race and gender on court processing decisions, victim characteristics and case outcomes in sexual assault cases, judicial decision making, sentencing of drug offenders, and the deterrent effect of imprisonment. In 1999, she was awarded the University of Nebraska Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award.

Recensioner i media

"It is the most comprehensive analysis of sentencing practices in the United States in general, and of how judges decide in particular. It provides ample statistics of the realities of punishment and provides readers with the conclusions from several decades of research investigating judicial discretion."

Innehållsförteckning

CHAPTER 1: THE GOALS OF SENTENCINGWhy Punish?How Much To Punish?Theories of Punishment and Judges′ Sentencing DecisionsConclusionCHAPTER TWO: THE SENTENCING PROCESSThe Judge′s Options at SentencingSentencing as a Collaborative ExerciseThe Sentencing ProcessCHAPTER 3: HOW DO JUDGES DECIDE?Modeling the Sentencing ProcessSentencing and Case AttributesSentencing and Characteristics of the JudgeHow do Judges Decide?CHAPTER 4: SENTENCING DISPARITY AND DISCRIMINATION: A FOCUS ON GENDERTypes of Sentencing DiscriminationGender Disparity in SentencingDisparity and Discrimination in SentencingCHAPTER 5: SENTENCING DISPARITY AND DISCRIMINATION: A FOCUS ON RACE/ETHNICITYRacial Disparity in SentencingRace and Judges′ Sentencing DecisionsRace and the Death Penalty: A Failed Experiment?Justice From the Bench?CHAPTER 6: THE SENTENCING REFORM MOVEMENTStructured Sentencing ReformsPresumptive Sentencing GuidelinesMandatory Minimum Sentencing StatutesThree-Strikes-and-You′re Out LawsTruth in Sentencing LawsThree Decades of ReformCHAPTER 7: THE IMPACT OF SENTENCING REFORMSHave Sentencing Reforms Led to More Punitive Sentences?Have Sentencing Reforms Led to a Reduction in Crime?Have Sentencing Reforms Reduced Disparity and Discrimination?Assessing the Impact of the Sentencing Reform Movement