CRIM QUIZ 3

What is Indeterminate sentencing?

An ___ sentence is a prison term with a flexible duration, defined by a minimum and maximum range (e.g., "5 to 10 years" or "15 years to life") rather than a fixed date

.• Legislatures set broad minimum and maximum terms for crimes.

• Judges impose a range of years within those limits.

• Actual time they serve depends on their behaviour, rehabilitation efforts, and decisions made by aparole board.

Summary: A judge assigns a range (e.g., 5 to 15 years), with parole boards determining actual release dates.

What is determinate sentencing?

a model of sentencing in which the offender is sentenced to a fixed term of incarceration

• The legislature sets the maximum penalty for each crime

• Judges apply a specific sentence within the statutory range•

There is no parole board

Summary: A fixed term is assigned (e.g., 10 years), with limited opportunities for early release.

What is mandatory sentencing?

____ sentencing requires that people convicted of certain crimes serve a predefined term of imprisonment, removing the discretion of judges to take issues such as extenuating circumstances and a person's likelihood of rehabilitation into consideration when sentencing.

summary:

• Introduced to remove judicial discretion and ensure uniform sentencing

• Often used for: Violent crimes, Drug offenses, Firearm-related crimes, Repeat offenses

• E.g., "Three Strikes" laws (1990s)—mandated life sentences for three felony convictions.

What are sentencing guidelines and what are the two main factors?

These guidelines provide recommended sentences based on two main factors:

• The seriousness of the crime

•The offender's criminal history

What is Apprendi v New Jersey (2000)?

• Pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm—a charge carrying 5-10 years in prison.

• Prosecutors invoked a hate crime statute to enhance his sentence to 10-20 years.

• The judge (not a jury) determined that Apprendi's crime met the hate crime standard and extended his sentence.

IMPORTANT:• The Supreme Court ruled this unconstitutional, stating that any factor that increases a sentence beyond the statutory maximum must be determined by a jury and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

What is Blakely v. Washington (2004)?

Aggravating factors must be determined by a jury, not imposed unilaterally by a judge

What is United States v. Booker (2005)?

• Challenged the federal sentencing guidelines, arguing they violated the Sixth Amendment.

• The Supreme Court ruled that these guidelines should be advisory rather than mandatory.

What is the difference between the three-strikes law change in 2012 v 2024?

• 2012 Prop 36 - offenders whose third strike is a nonviolent offense no longer receive life sentences

• 2024 Prop 36 - introduced stricter penalties for specific drug and theft crimes

What is Legal formalism?

Judges apply legal reasons to the facts of a case in a rational, mechanical, and deliberate manner.

What are Legal Realists?

Rational application of legal reasons does not sufficiently explain the decisions of judges, and psychological, political, and social factors influence judicial rulings.

What is the hypothesis of the case "Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions"?

Making repeated judgments or decisions depletes individuals' executive function and mental resources, which can influence their subsequent decisions.

Judges -> as they advance through the sequences of cases (which have random order), they will be more likely to accept the default, status quo outcome: Deny a prisoner's request.

What are the results of the case "Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions"?

The percentage of favorable rulings drops gradually from 65% to NEARLY zero within each decision session and returns abruptly to 65% after a break.

These results suggest that judicial rulings can be swayed by extraneous variables that should have no bearing on legal decisions.

What are the criticisms of the "Extraneous Factors in Judicial Decisions" case?

Glöckner argues that the magnitude of the effect is overestimated and that alternative explanations better account for the observed results

A Cohen's d* of ~2 (extremely large) suggests an effect stronger than almost any other psychological phenomenon, making it highly implausible.

Case order might not be random, which could skew the results ->(unrepresented prisoners -who have lower parole approval rates- tend to appear later in the session)

Judges do not take breaks at fixed times but instead may choose when to stop based on the complexity of cases.

Case duration influences when a decision is made, creating an artificial trend.

The Evolution of Punishment: Ancient Greece and Rome

Exile and Fines

• Free citizens often faced exile rather than physical punishment.

• Slaves endured harsh physical punishments.

• Violent crimes, including murder, often handled as personal disputes.

• Most common official punishment: fines.

The Evolution of Punishment: The Middle Ages

Blood and feuds and fines

• Little centralized law enforcement—justice often through blood feuds.

• Introduction of "wergild" (man price) to prevent endless revenge killings.

• Feudal system punishments: forfeiture of land and property for betrayal.

• Origin of the term "felony"—betrayal of one's feudal lord.

The Evolution of Punishment: The Feudal Era

Brutality & Public Spectacle

• Rise of executions, mutilation, branding, flogging, and public torture.

• Punishments served as both law enforcement and public entertainment.

• Wealthy individuals could buy their way out of punishment.

• The poor faced the full severity of the law.

The Evolution of Punishment: The Rise of Forced Labor

• Shift from execution to labor as punishment.**

• Workhouses established for petty criminals and the unemployed.

• Many offenders forced into industries or naval service as galley slaves.

• "Transportation" used to deport criminals to colonies for forced labor (e.g., American colonies, Australia).

The Evolution of Punishment: The Birth of Prisons

• The Industrial Revolution led to increased crime due to widespread poverty.

• Harsh punishments like mass executions were widely used.

• Reformers pushed for imprisonment as an alternative to physical punishment.

• Early prisons and floating prison ships had horrific conditions before reforms improved them.

• By the 1820s, we see the first penitentiaries—prisons meant to rehabilitate offenders rather than just punish them

Why do people obey the law (4 reasons)?

1. moral obligation

2. perceived fairness of state agents

3. fear of consequences

4. fear of detection

What is general deterrence?

By punishing the known offender for his or her misdeeds, society hopes to convince would-be offenders that the pains of punishment outweigh the potential benefits of criminal behavior. Punishment is based on its effect on others.

"Your sentence will serve as a warning to others that committing this crime carries serious consequences."

What is specific deterrence?

Experiencing harsh criminal punishments should convince convicted offenders that crime does not pay. The suffering caused by punishment should inhibit future law violations.

"This punishment is meant to discourage you from repeating this offense in the future."

What is incapacitation?

By incapacitating a convicted offender in a secure facility, such as a prison or jail, the state seeks to reduce or eliminate his or her opportunity to commit future crimes. Offenders are confined not for what they have done but for what it is feared they might do in the future.

"You will be removed from society to prevent you from causing further harm."

What is rehabilitation?

Aimed at reducing future criminality by treating and eliminating the underlying causes of crime.

• E.g. Educational and vocational programs, treatment center placement, and counseling

You will participate in counselling and job training programs to help you reintegrate into society as a law-abiding citizen."

What is retribution/just desert?

Because criminals benefit from their misdeeds, they deserve to be punished for their criminal acts. It is only fair that criminals who have committed the most serious crime, murder, receive the most severe penalty, death.

• Can be summed up with: 'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life'

• Punishment is therefore an end in itself, not a means to an end from this

"You knowingly broke the law and must face the punishment that fits your crime."

What is equity/restitution?

Because criminals gain from their misdeeds, it seems both fair and just to demand that they reimburse society for the loss(es) it has sustained as a consequence of their crimes.

"You will compensate the victim for the financial losses they suffered as a result of your actions."

What is resteration?

Defendants may be asked to confront their behavior, the damage they caused the victim, and the shame they brought to their family, friends, and community. The goal is to satisfy everyone's needs and restore the wrongdoer to good standing in society.

"You will meet with those affected by your crime and take steps to repair the harm done to both the victim and the community."

What are corrections?

Programs, services, facilities, and organizations responsible for the management of people accused or convicted of criminal offenses.

What is jail?

• Primarily for holding defendants after arrest and before first appearance, release on bail, or trial

• Also for serving sentences of less than one year for misdemeanors

• Typically managed locally

What is Prison?

• Holds those convicted of felonies with sentences exceeding one year

• Typically managed by the state

According to the National Academy study, the unprecedented rise in incarceration rates can be attributed to..?

An increasingly punitive political climate surrounding criminal justice policy formed in a period of rising crime and rapid social change

What are the results of the National Academy study that examined the consequences of an increase in incarceration? (4)

1. Might have decreased crime, but reduction unlikely to have been large

2. Modest increase in deterrence. Recidivism declines with age, so lengthy prison sentences are inefficient

3. Effects of harsh penal policies have fallen most heavily on blacks and Hispanics

4. Change in penal policy over the past four decades had a wide range of unwanted social costs with uncertain benefits

What policy did the National Academy offer?

Given the small crime prevention effects of long prison sentences and the possibly high financial, social, and human costs of incarceration, federal and state policymakers should revise current criminal justice policies to significantly reduce the rate of incarceration in the United States. In particular, they should reexamine policies regarding mandatory prison sentences and long sentences

What is Probation?

• Serve a sentence at home in the community

• Subject to tight restrictions on activities

• Regular meetings with the probation officer

• Assigned by the judge

• Failure to abide by probation terms results in probation revocation and completion of the sentence in prison

What is parole?

• Early release from prison, where the remainder of the sentence is served at home in the community

• Similar restrictions as probation

• Assigned by parole board

• Parole revocation returns the parolee to prison to complete the sentence

What is the difference between parole and probation?

___ is the conditional, early release of a prisoner from incarceration back into the community, while probation is a sentence served in the community instead of prison.

Study: What kind of experiment is the Parental Incarceration and Children's Educational Attainment?

Natural experiment

More incarceration (due to random judge assignment) is associated with more education for the children. Why?

"In some cases, for some families, the absence of a particularly harmful parent might actually help the child—especially when they were living together before"

What is italys Collective Clemency Law

a law aimed at tackling severe prison overcrowding, resulting in the immediate release of over 22,000 inmates—about 30-33% of the prison population—who had three years or less left on their sentences.

What is sentence overhang?

the residual portion of a prison sentence that is suspended or pardoned rather than completely forgiven.

What were the findings through italys Collective Clemency Law,

• People responded to this threat: more overhang = less crime

• Each additional month of sentence overhang reduced the chance of reoffending by 1.3%

• BUT: the deterrent effect was weaker for those who had already served longer sentences

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