The judge must choose a sentence from within the guideline range unless the court identifies an aggravating or mitigating circumstance that was not adequately considered by the Sentencing Commission. In mandatory minimum drug cases, judges can depar Continue Reading...
Henderson notes that "minimal violence is involved with crack cocaine cases -- far less than half of the crack cocaine cases involved a weapon, while most actual violence is associated with the drug trade and not the drug itself." With this knowledg Continue Reading...
"African-Americans now serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months)" (Compendium 2004, 112).The Commission reported in 2004 that "[r]evising the crack cocaine thresholds wou Continue Reading...
" (Mustard, 2001) I. Drug Sentencing Policy and the New Washington Administration It is stated in the work entitled: "Aspirations and Realism about Drug Sentencing Reform" that disparities in sentencing "continue to plague [the] Criminal Justice Sy Continue Reading...
It is a matter of opinion as to whether this is actually accurate, but it does appear to be logical (Payne, 1997). This is an important analogy because of the fact that many individuals who are targeted for a particular reason will often attempt to Continue Reading...
Racial Discrimination and the Death Penalty The United States Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics reported that at the end of the year 2000 that there was 1,381,892 total number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal or state Continue Reading...
Spending more on prisons means spending less on other public purposes" (2008, p. 120). The area most affected by the ex post facto application of the revised sentencing guidelines would be northern Virginia where almost 900 inmates (fully twice as m Continue Reading...
Presidential Power Do our Presidents have too much or not enough power? Why or why not? The President of the United States has the primary duty of ensuring that all U.S. laws are carried out properly and that the federal government runs effectively Continue Reading...
4%, among whites, it was 7.2%, and was 6.4% among Hispanics, yet African-Americans represent more than 57% of those incarcerated for drug offenses in state prisons (Coker pp). Police officers are more likely to stop African-Americans for traffic sto Continue Reading...
Mandatory Sentencing Public policy, crime, and criminal justice Mandatory Sentencing: Case Study Critique The prime grounds of mandatory sentencing laws are utilitarian. The laws come with long prison sentences for recidivists, drug dealers and is Continue Reading...
Judicial discretion enables judges to make sentencing decisions within specific statutory limits. As with prosecutorial discretion, judicial discretion is built into the system as a means of enabling flexibility, accounting for special circumstances Continue Reading...
race plays a role in the different sentencing ranges applicable to different crimes. Race and Sentencing Guidelines Race has been a consideration in sentencing guidelines for quite some time. Many individuals believe that those who are not Caucasi Continue Reading...
Gould, judicial systems have to address the concerns about disparate treatment and its affect on sentencing outcomes (pg.1 paragraph 1). In 1989 the National Consortium of Task Forces and Commissions of Racial and Ethnic Bias in the Courts (the Con Continue Reading...
Marion Barry on Political Perceptions in D.C. This paper examines the political life of Marion Barry, former mayor of Washington D.C. And current member of Washington's city council. Barry was arrested and convicted of possession of crack. He has a Continue Reading...
Four years later, the average federal drug sentence for African-Americans was 49% higher." (Vagins and McCurdy, 2006) Additionally stated by Vagins and McCurdy is: "In 2000 there were more African-American men in prison and jails than there were in Continue Reading...
This suggests that where racial characteristics are invoked during the process of administering criminal justice, it has been done in order to intentionally subject the minority race to some form of unequal treatment based on his or her race. It is Continue Reading...
Criminal Justice Policy Practice Determine Morality Higher Than Utilitarianism The passing and reformation of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, also known as the so-called "crack law," is one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to be considered Continue Reading...
This can have adverse effects on the child's mental and emotional state and could make it more likely that the child will follow the same path. Also, incarcerating an individual who has a minor child is another way of creating a single parent home. Continue Reading...
A judge's discretion can mean the difference between a young African-American person going to jail and having his or her life irreparably damaged or being placed in a program that might have a chance to save a human being. While judges cannot be ca Continue Reading...
Selling in public obviously can result in an arrest far easier than selling in a dorm, or a bar, or a workplace, as whites tend to do. Police can stop a black man on the street and frisk him without a warrant. And so if African-Americans are far mor Continue Reading...
representative system of government has motivated a vital chain of discussions in the literature about police workers administration and representation of women and racial minorities. The serious questions in this study are: (a.) Does the under oath Continue Reading...
"As a case in point we may take the known fact of the prevalence of reefer and dope addiction in Negro areas. This is essentially explained in terms of poverty, slum living, and broken families, yet it would be easy to show the lack of drug addicti Continue Reading...
Research also showed that offenders tend to be part of or return to communities with high concentrations of offenders. The concentration of offenders in these neighborhoods affects the community negatively by increasing the stigma associated with th Continue Reading...
Race, Class & Crime The confluence of race, class and crime is a hot topic nowadays. This is especially true when discussing events or topics of various types. Very or fairly specific examples of this would include the recent shooting of Mike Br Continue Reading...
224). The strongest case in the criminal law annals for race-based affirmative action occurs in "drug possession offenses," Heffernan writes. The drug busts show "compelling evidence of discrimination against blacks," the author insists; moreover, Continue Reading...
American Corrections The statistics about imprisoned Americans in jails of local, state, and federal prisons and juvenile detention centers reveals a growth from 1,319,000 numbers in 2002 to 2,166,260 in 2002. During the year 2003 has seen the faste Continue Reading...
Ethics Criminal justice is an inherently ethical profession. The judiciary ostensibly crafts laws that reflect the ethical sensibilities and social norms of the society, which are often embedded in the American Constitution. The role of the criminal Continue Reading...
Policing Strategies in the U.S. Directed patrol Directive police patrols predict crimes that might occur by offering locations that are at a great risk of crimes during each patrol, shift day and night. This policing strategy has various advantages Continue Reading...
Hernandez vs. Texas and its Importance to Latinos in the U.S. Studies conducted in the past have clearly indicated that some racial groups are overrepresented in the U.S. criminal justice system. There have been claims that some stages of the crimin Continue Reading...
Title: Transforming the Future: The Need for Prison Reform Prison reform has become an increasingly important topic in discussions about justice, rehabilitation, and human rights. The current state of the prison system in many countries is character Continue Reading...
As, it will create vast disparities in society that are having negative impacts on: the courts and corrections. This is because the law will: target the lower ends of society and those groups that are considered to within the minority. An example of Continue Reading...
war on drugs has been an unmitigated disaster that has fallen short of its intended objectives, and done nothing but blotted up taxpayers' money, opened up avenues for organized crime, and filled up the prison systems with mere drug users and posses Continue Reading...
War on Drugs Four decades ago, the American government declared a war on drugs. As has been the case with some other American wars, the battle continues with the American government continuously investing money and resources in the stubborn hope of Continue Reading...
Criminal Justice in Todays SocietyAbstractThe modern-day society has evolved, and so are the security and social issues that face it. To determine the specific challenges that face todays society and thus, the criminal justice system, it requires a c Continue Reading...
