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Mandatory Sentencing

sentence

sentence, in criminal law, punishment that a court orders, imposed on a person convicted of criminal activity. Sentences typically consist of fines, corporal punishment, imprisonment for varying periods including life, or capital punishment, and sometimes combine two or more elements. In the United States, the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution bans "cruel and unusual punishments" (effectively excluding corporal punishment), and exile and forfeiture of property by heirs are not imposed. Especially in punishing misdemeanors, payment of a fine may be the alternative to a prison sentence.

The sentence to be imposed is generally fixed by statute. In some cases (mandatory sentencing) the duration is exactly prescribed; in others the judge (and in some instances, the jury) has limited discretion. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that courts in sentencing may, and sometimes must, consider not only the crimes for which a defendant was convicted, but also other charges, even if they led to acquittal. The Court has also ruled that only a jury may make the factual findings that can increase a sentence beyond the usual range specified in law for a crime. If a person is convicted of more than one crime at a single trial, the sentences may run concurrently (i.e., all beginning at the same time) or consecutively. In indeterminate sentencing, a minimum and maximum term is set, and good behavior may allow a convict to be released on parole any time after the minimum term has been served. In many states successive convictions on felony charges bring longer sentences, and in the 1980s some U.S. states and the federal government began to impose "three strikes" and similar laws, ordering mandatory long-term or life imprisonment for repeated felony offenses. Such laws have been criticized for sometimes requiring long sentences for nonviolent offenders whose crimes may include petty theft or drug possession. Persons found incapable of understanding the nature of their crimes or of helping in their defense are often committed to mental institutions for periods that are to end if they recover sanity; these are effectively, if not technically, sentences. See also verdict, jury, and pardon.

Selected full-text books and articles on this topic at Questia

Mandatory Minimum Sentences: A Utilitarian Perspective
Gabor, Thomas. Canadian Journal of Criminology, Vol. 43, No. 3, July 2001

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Too Severe?: A Defense of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines (and a Critique of Federal Mandatory Minimums)
Cassell, Paul G. Stanford Law Review, Vol. 56, No. 5, April 2004

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Mandatory Minimums in Drug Sentencing: A Valuable Weapon in the War on Drugs or a Handcuff on Judicial Discretion?
. American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 36, No. 4, Fall 1999

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A "Second Look" at Crack Cocaine Sentencing Policies: One More Try for Federal Equal Protection
Angeli, David H. American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 34, No. 3, Spring 1997

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Sentencing Eddie. (Criminal Law)
Lynch, Gerard E. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 91, No. 3, Spring 2001

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America's Correctional Crisis: Prison Populations and Public Policy
Stephen D. Gottfredson; Sean McConville. Greenwood Press, 1987

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Three Strikes: Can We Return to Rationality?
Vitiello, Michael. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 87, No. 2, Winter 1997

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The Perpetual Prisoner Machine: How America Profits from Crime
Joel Dyer. Westview Press, 2000

Librarian’s tip: Discusses mandatory sentencing in Chap. 6 "The Weapons of War"

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Three Strikes and You'Re Out: Estimated Benefits and Costs of California's New Mandatory-Sentencing Law
Peter W. Greenwood. Rand, 1994

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Mandatory Sentencing: One Judge's Perspective, 2002
Oberdorfer, Louis F. American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, Winter 2003

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Justice by the Numbers; Mandatory Sentencing Drove Me from the Bench
Forer, Lois G. The Washington Monthly, Vol. 24, No. 4, April 1992

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Waging the Battle against Drunk Driving: Issues, Countermeasures, and Effectiveness
Gerald D. Robin. Praeger, 1991

Librarian’s tip: Chap. 9 "Mandatory Sentences for Drunk Drivers" and Chap. 10 "Impact of Mandatory Sentences on the Criminal Justice System"

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Penal Populism and Public Opinion: Lessons from Five Countries
Julian V. Roberts; Loretta J. Stalans; David Indermaur; Mike Hough. Oxford University Press, 2003

Librarian’s tip: "Mandatory Sentencing" begins on p. 54

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Fifteen Years after the Federal Sentencing Revolution: How Mandatory Minimums Have Undermined Effective and Just Narcotics Sentencing
Weinstein, Ian. American Criminal Law Review, Vol. 40, No. 1, Winter 2003

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Mandatory Sentencing

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Selected full-text books and articles on this topic at Questia

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