Sanctions, Sentencing & Correc

Catalog description

Elective Course Course Requirement: exam Fulfills Criminal Law Concentration elective This course will examine the most critical part of the great majority of criminal proceedings: the rendering of a sentence. Lawyers have traditionally played a very limited role in the sentencing of convicted criminal defendants and have not used the sentencing hearing as a forum for effective advocacy. However, the role of the lawyer in this area is rapidly changing. This course will review all facets of criminal sanctions, including the procedures used to determine the sentence, the purposes for the imposition of sanctions, and whether those purposes could be better achieved with sanctions other than imprisonment. In addition, we will look closely to the role lawyers can and do play in the sentencing process and how knowledge of sentencing processes can enhance the effectiveness of legal representation. The course will also explore the special problems of sentencing juvenile and mentally ill defendants, and the current ?populist? movement toward stripping away judicial discretion and replacing it with legislatively mandated sentences.