Fear of Judging: Sentencing Guidelines in the Federal Courts

by Jose A. Cabranes and Kate Stith

Book Overview

For two centuries, federal judges exercised wide discretion in criminal sentencing. This changed in 1987, when a hopelessly complex bureaucratic apparatus was imposed on the federal courts. Though termed Sentencing "Guidelines," the new sentencing rules are mandatory. Reformers hoped that the Sentencing Guidelines would address inequities in sentencing. The Guidelines have failed to achieve this goal, according to Kate Stith and Jos Cabranes, and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0226774864
• ISBN13: 9780226774862
• Release Date: October 1998
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"