Comments on: Thoughts on criminal justice reform

By: Bailout where it’s needed: public defender systems | a public defender

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:11:48 +0000

[...] tough economic times. Money is drying up. Perhaps this is a very appropriate opportunity to look at truly reforming the criminal justice system. Let’s provide more alternatives to incarceration and true [...]

By: Enforcement In Job Law Texas

Enforcement In Job Law Texas — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:00:21 +0000

Who Is Responsible For or Enforce The Law…

In any state, a government has three functions. These are the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary….

By: jrosepxx

jrosepxx — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 04:58:31 +0000

Help!
I am reporting on the various Cheshire proposals, and forming an advocacy plan to hopefully steady the knee jerk reaction as a class assignment. However, I am currently quite confused by the various ways in which sentences can be minimized. As I understand it, the judge is given guidelines by states ie 20-30 years, and he sentences within those guidelines. Sometimes there are mandatory minimum sentences because with the guidelines, judges could possible still go lower. Once in prison there are also a variety of ways to serve a lower sentence…but I don’t understand these. What is the difference between pardon, parole, furlough, community release, probation etc….my head is spinning.

please help

By: Dan Schwartz

Dan Schwartz — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:14:39 +0000

Very interesting piece, Gideon.

One unintended side effect of criminal justice reform is that civil courts suffer tremendous. Limited resources are already being diverted. For example, the drastic increase of probation officers has to come from somewhere. Meanwhile our civil court infrastructure is in need for modernization.

Ultimately, all these decisions have costs involved — known and unknown. I think our judicial branch is on the right track with its views; hopefully, the legislature won’t succumb to politics. Its too easy to criticze those who don’t want mandatory minimums as “being soft on crime” when the reality is much more complicated and nuanced than that.