Latter-Day Procedures in the Sentencing and Treatment of Offenders in the Federal Courts

• NCJ Number: 106687
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (June 1987) Pages: 10-19
• Author(s): H P Chandler
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Reprinted from Virginia Law Review (October 1951). For microfiche, see NCJ-106685.

Annotation

The use of probation in the Federal courts in the determination of sentencing and treating offenders is discussed from philosophical and historical perspectives.

Abstract

The difficulties inherent in determining sentence is highlighted in terms of the conflict between the several purposes of sentencing: punishment, protection of society, and rehabilitation. Also examined are the origin and extension of presentence investigations, the question of the public or confidential nature of presentence reports, the development of Federal probation from 1925 to 1950, and the nature and advantages of probation. Additional areas considered are the degree of success of probation, possibilities of improvement in the Federal Probation Service, and a new facility for the treatment of youthful offenders. It is concluded that Federal court judges are increasingly deciding that changing the attitudes of offenders through friendly probation supervision, combining firmness and sympathy, may be the most positive step toward rehabilitation. 31 footnotes.