NCJ Number
139234
Journal
Criminal Justice Journal Volume: 13 Issue: 2 Dated: (Spring 1992) Pages: 153-211
Date Published
1992
Length
59 pages
Annotation
This analysis of Federal and California sentencing guidelines and recent case law relating to drug law offenses concludes that a determinate sentencing structure is inappropriate for narcotics violations and that California's system should be modified either through law reforms or through more supervision and control over the court's implementation of the current law.
Abstract
In California, determine sentencing reform has failed with respect to narcotics sentences, as shown by the failure of judges in Los Angeles County courts to conform to the increasingly tough mandatory sentences. This abuse of discretion is largely due to the "all or nothing" structure of California's determinate sentencing law. In the Federal system, uniformity, deterrence, and incapacitation are being achieved, but just deserts and fairness have been sacrificed. Therefore, the California legislature should either completely abolish the determinate framework in sentencing drug offenders or modify the existing system by adding short-term sentences to the current extremes of probation or a long minimum prison term. Footnotes