Prosecutive Trends and Their Impact on the Presentence Report

• NCJ Number: 77613
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1981) Pages: 9-12
• Author(s): H J Jaffe; C Cunningham
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Implications for presentence reports of the Federal prosecutive emphasis on white-collar crime are discussed.

Abstract

Federal prosecutive emphases for the coming decade will focus on public official corruption, organized crime, white-collar crime, and international narcotics conspiracies. This shift in enforcement strategy from street crime to more sophisticated crime calls for a change in the drafting of the presentence investigation report. There is little need under existing Federal prosecutive priorities for the diagnostic style of presentence report writing. A sentencing judge will need little social or developmental history when fashioning a disposition to fit defendants convicted of such offenses as multiregional corruption, certification manipulation of crude oil, maladministration in the operation of employee benefit plans, or consumer victimization. The only portions of the presentence report needing significant expansion under the prosecution of such crimes are the official version section, the financial section, and the evaluation section. The official version section should accentuate the nature and circumstances of the offense, the defendant's role in the offense, and the nature and degree of harm caused by the offense. Under this thrust, the presentence report is no longer a vehicle of social inquiry but rather a finely honed legal document drafted to ensure that the factual basis of sentencing is accurate. Because of the large amounts of money involved in the kinds of crime being targeted, the general financial status of the offender is important for determining the ability of the offender to pay a fine, make restitution, or pay the costs of prosecution. The evaluation section of the presentence report should provide the court with a comprehensive assessment of the gravity of the offense, its relationship to the general conduct of the defendant, and the degree of harm inflicted on the victim. Such information will aid the sentencing judge in assessing the personal, social, and financial cost arising from the immediate offense for which the offender is about to be sentenced. Footnotes are provided.