NCJ Number
101016
Date Published
Unknown
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This manual explains the philosophy, goals, and implementation of Utah's sentencing and release guidelines as well as guidelines forms.
Abstract
The guidelines are based on offense severity, the offender's criminal history, and mitigating and aggravating circumstances. The guidelines are designed to structure sentencing and release decisionmaking while preserving flexibility to deal with the exceptional case and evolving public sentiment. This manual specifies how the guidelines are to be used by prosecutors, presentence investigators, sentencing judges, prison administrators, and the Board of Pardons. The Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice is instructed in how to evaluate the guidelines process and make modifications. The forms and instructions provided pertain to mandatory sentences, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the criminal history assessment, the general disposition matrix, and the time matrix. The appendixes include an example for completing forms, a history and critique of the guidelines, juvenile justice guidelines, and a statement of the impact of guidelines policies on the prison population.