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Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

New piece on federal prosecutorial discretion

By Douglas A. Berman

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One of many reasons I do not get too concerned about the exercise of broad federal judicial sentencing discretion is because I have long believed (or perhaps I should say long feared) that federal prosecutorial discretion is always much greater and much less transparent than judicial discretion. With this perspective, I am looking forward to reading this new piece from Ellen Podgor, titled "Department of Justice Guidelines: Balancing 'Discretionary Justice'." Here is the abstract:Prosecutors are afforded enormous discretion in a multitude of decisions. Internal guidelines of the Department of Justice (DOJ) assist federal prosecutors in making the decisions that fall within their discretionary realm. Although these guidelines are policy statements and not legislative rules, they offer an element of consistency to the decision-making process, provide education for newcomers to the department, and can serve as a restraint on prosecutorial discretion...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 15, 2008 (boomark / email).