Exam 6: Implementing the Justice Model: Problems and Prospects

Identify at least two sources of potential disparity in determinate sentencing states.

According to Cullen and Gilbert, ____________ is determined by the harmfulness of the criminal act as well as offender culpability.

Prosecutors tend to have more power under a determinate-sentencing scheme because of the availability of _____________ as a bargaining tool.

Which of the following is not a factor that may contribute substantially to rising prison populations and/or prison overcrowding?

____________ systems may be attractive to state legislatures in that they are less subject to charges of ineffectiveness than are utilitarian goals.

Cullen and Gilbert argue that new sentencing legislation is typically ___________ in its central features.

The potential for sentencing disparity is _____________ if the range of possible sentences for a given category of offenses is ____________.

The movement to abandon the indeterminate sentence and to focus instead on punishment and retribution as the primary ends of the criminal sanction has received broad-based support across the political spectrum. However, conservatives and liberals have embraced such a model for different reasons. Briefly explain these differing reasons for support of the same punishment-oriented model.

Early results assessing the impact of determinate sentencing laws suggest that average terms served under determinate sentencing laws may be marginally lower than those under indeterminate sentencing. Briefly explain how we cannot automatically conclude that this is attributable to greater leniency under a determinate sentencing scheme, however.

Which of the following does not fit within the goals of the justice model?

Briefly define the term "eraser justice" discussed by Cullen and Gilbert in Chapter 6.

Which of the following is not a core parameter of the justice model?

Mandatory sentencing strategies can be viewed as primarily a ____________ strategy, particularly when mandatory enhancements represent large increases over the base penalties.

Discuss legislatively based determinate laws, and how the two alternative models-sentencing guidelines and parole release guidelines-relate to sentencing. In your answer, be sure to identify the following: (1) how guidelines for each model are formulated, (2) who is responsible for determining each set of guidelines, and (3) the range (or amount) of discretion applied to each guideline.