NCJ Number
87227
Date Published
1982
Length
85 pages
Annotation
Papers are presented from a British workshop that included as one of its themes the relevance to the English sentencing system of developments in the law and practice of sentencing being implemented or considered in North America and continental Europe.
Abstract
One group of papers examines the present state of sentencing in Great Britain, with attention to disparity in sentencing in magistrates' courts. Another group examines four sentencing options already in place overseas. They include the sentencing provisions of the new German Criminal Code, the Canadian Law Reform Commission's Draft Code of Evidence and Procedure at Sentencing Hearing, and indeterminate and determinate sentencing as practiced in California. The papers discussed participants in the process of sentencing, particularly the prosecutor, whom many suggested should have a greater role in sentencing. Involving the victim of the offense and the community in sentencing is also considered. A third group of papers considers whether any sentencing future in view in America should or would be adopted in Great Britain. Current attitudes towards the manner in which sentencing reforms can be achieved are considered. Some attitudes that will have to be changed if reform is to be accomplished are identified, notably the doctrine of the independence of the judiciary. Many felt that lawmakers should be cautious in invading the domain of judicial discretion, which appeared to many to have happened under the California determinate sentencing law.