Determinate Sentencing and Agenda Building: A Case Study of the Failure of a Reform

• NCJ Number: 156903
• Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 23 Issue: 4 Dated: (1995) Pages: 349-362
• Author(s): P L Griset
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 14 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the failure of the movement for determinate sentencing in New York State, where initial pressure for change was exceedingly strong.

Abstract

Determinate sentencing appealed to a wide spectrum of New Yorkers including politicians of both parties, policymakers, and the media. Data were obtained from archival materials, interviews, and personal observations. The article describes the four phases of policy development in the agenda building model, i.e., issue creation, issue expansion, agenda entrance, and issue resolution. The determinate model, as it developed in New York, was susceptible to selective interpretations by people with different interests. Once the sentencing guidelines committee proposed a concrete model, proponents of determinacy became opponents, and the movement died. 38 references