Abstract
Compared to some other areas of governmental activity, the federal presence in the realm of sentencing law and policy has remained insignificant. Setting aside the growth in federal criminal jurisdiction per se, which still accounts for less than 8 percent of all incarcerated offenders, Congress historically has shown little interest in influencing the goals or the particulars of state sentencing systems and has done little to help fund those systems. This may, however, be changing. There are now calls to expand the federal government's role in both paying for and controlling the contours of criminal punishment at the state level. These developments raise long-term questions concerning the appropriate allocation of federal, state, and local authority over sentencing law. Surprisingly, very little consideration has been given to these issues. This article suggests a pragmatic analysis for addressing them. It posits that, for the foreseeable future, it would be a mistake to move toward a federally dominated national sentencing policy.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 116-129 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |
| Volume | 543 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 1996 |
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The Federal Role in Sentencing Law and Policy. / Reitz, Kevin R.
In: The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 543, No. 1, 01.01.1996, p. 116-129.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The Federal Role in Sentencing Law and Policy
AU - Reitz, Kevin R.
PY - 1996/1/1
Y1 - 1996/1/1
N2 - Compared to some other areas of governmental activity, the federal presence in the realm of sentencing law and policy has remained insignificant. Setting aside the growth in federal criminal jurisdiction per se, which still accounts for less than 8 percent of all incarcerated offenders, Congress historically has shown little interest in influencing the goals or the particulars of state sentencing systems and has done little to help fund those systems. This may, however, be changing. There are now calls to expand the federal government's role in both paying for and controlling the contours of criminal punishment at the state level. These developments raise long-term questions concerning the appropriate allocation of federal, state, and local authority over sentencing law. Surprisingly, very little consideration has been given to these issues. This article suggests a pragmatic analysis for addressing them. It posits that, for the foreseeable future, it would be a mistake to move toward a federally dominated national sentencing policy.
AB - Compared to some other areas of governmental activity, the federal presence in the realm of sentencing law and policy has remained insignificant. Setting aside the growth in federal criminal jurisdiction per se, which still accounts for less than 8 percent of all incarcerated offenders, Congress historically has shown little interest in influencing the goals or the particulars of state sentencing systems and has done little to help fund those systems. This may, however, be changing. There are now calls to expand the federal government's role in both paying for and controlling the contours of criminal punishment at the state level. These developments raise long-term questions concerning the appropriate allocation of federal, state, and local authority over sentencing law. Surprisingly, very little consideration has been given to these issues. This article suggests a pragmatic analysis for addressing them. It posits that, for the foreseeable future, it would be a mistake to move toward a federally dominated national sentencing policy.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030541483&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0030541483&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0002716296543001011
DO - 10.1177/0002716296543001011
M3 - Article
VL - 543
SP - 116
EP - 129
JO - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
JF - Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
SN - 0002-7162
IS - 1
ER -