NCJ Number
197127
Date Published
2002
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This chapter examines the impact of a proposal under the Home Office Sentencing Framework Review or Halliday Report (2001) on sentencing reform in Britain that creates a sentencing commission charged to establish guidelines providing presumptive starting points for judicial considerations of sentences in individual cases.
Abstract
Under Britain’s Home Office Sentencing Framework Review or Halliday Report (2001), sentencing guidelines are indicated as an essential part of the new sentencing framework. The report proposes the creation of a sentencing commission to establish sentencing guidelines. In this chapter, U.S. and Dutch experiences with sentencing guidelines are examined to raise explicit and implicit issues in the Halliday Report’s proposals. Existing policy and empirical literature on sentencing guidelines and sentencing commissions is relatively small. However, based on U.S. experience the involvement of the judiciary is seen as the single most important element on whether sentencing commissions fail or succeed. If judges cooperate in and endorse the commission’s work and accept the guidelines, the venture may succeed. Judges can be won over by having the commission viewed as credible, the commission must always be concerned about practical matters of implementation regarding the processes of new policies, and substantial thought and resources must be invested in educating the judiciary about the guidelines development process and the adoption of the guidelines. The chapter consists of three sections: (1) issues are reviewed concerning the nature, composition, leadership, and functions of a sentencing commission; (2) issues are addressed in adopting presumptive sentencing guidelines; and (3) consideration is given to whether the influence of the English judiciary presents an insuperable obstacle to the achievement of the Halliday Report’s goals. The creation of a sentencing commission and the development of guidelines will facilitate the achievement of Halliday’s proposals thereby making English sentencing more consistent, transparent, and predictable; reduce the scale of racial, ethnic, and gender disparities; will provide a tool for the management and control of state resources in the punishment of offenders; and will make judges more accountable for their decisions about citizens’ liberties. Guidelines can also create injustice by failing to acknowledge meaningful differences between cases. However, the positives outweigh the negatives making guidelines worth attempting. References