Miscellaneous

Just Desserts are Not Enough

By Anne Skove, Esq.

Current thinking about sentencing seems to hyperfocus on a few tensions: aggravation v. mitigation, public safety v. rehabilitation, and an overuse of plea bargaining. Is there a better way?

Yes, says Judge MIchael Marcus of the Multnomah County (Oregon) Circuit Court. He wants to turn the discussion (and practice) to "what works." "What works" varies from defendant to defendant.

Judge Marcus also touts the availability of technology, roles of prosecutors and defenders, and long-term success (measured in terms of public safety and recidivism, among other factors) in revitalizing sentencing.

He recognizes he has a long row to hoe: "Sentencing is not going to abandon its ancient and brutally dysfunctional liturgy without the difficult struggle for cultural change that we have encountered at least for the last decade."

Read more at Smart Sentencing.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on January 11, 2009 (boomark / email).