NCJ Number
176059
Date Published
1997
Length
47 pages
Annotation
This chapter explains the State and Federal criminal sentencing process, including plea bargaining; Federal, State, and private probation presentence investigation reports; offender and victim information commonly used in sentencing; and the sentencing hearing.
Abstract
The large caseloads of criminal courts means that the sentencing process usually does not follow the deliberate, consistent course specified by theory. Instead, the sentencing process usually begins before the case is called for trial; defense and prosecution counselors engage in plea negotiations to dispose of more than 90 percent of all criminal cases. Two steps follow plea bargaining in some jurisdictions. First, the probation department must develop a presentence investigation report. Second, the court must receive the report and conduct a dispositional hearing before imposing a sentence. Federal probation officers must concentrate on factors the court must consider in computing the sentence pursuant to the Federal sentencing guidelines. Requirements, standards, and practices for State presentence reports vary greatly among and within individual States. Private presentence reports available for a fee are a new phenomenon. In addition, studies reveal that what judges seek and actually use in sentencing offenders is information that they believe indicates offender dangerousness and risk of recidivism. Thus, judges typically scrutinize the offender's prior record and psychiatric and other related expert evaluations. Judges are also required to consider information about the crime victims as a result of the victim rights movement and recent case and statutory law. Finally, the dispositional hearing required in many jurisdictions usually includes four elements: (1) defendant allocution, (2) victim allocution, (3) other dispositional witnesses, and (4) defense and prosecution arguments in sentencing. Reference notes and sample forms