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"Retributive Justice in the Real World"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post is the title of an interesting-looking article by Professor Michael Cahill, available at this link. Here is the abstract: In 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced a set of Department of Justice (DOJ) policies designed to curtail federal prosecutors? discretion to plea bargain.  The new DOJ rules sought to ensure uniform criminal punishments and prevent criminal offenders from cutting deals to avoid deserved punishment. Yet the would-be ban on bargaining seems to have had little, if any, effect.  Such a result is hardly surprising, as the policy?s spirit of pursuing justice at all costs, however noble, is unworkable if the pursuers cannot actually pay all costs.  Limitations of budget, resources, or evidence inevitably demand some compromises, such as a tradeoff between seeking the maximum punishment for each offender and ensuring some punishment for all offenders...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on April 20, 2008 (boomark / email).