Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2005
Abstract
The present sentencing debate focuses on which decisionmaker is best suited to make the sentencing decision. Competing positions in this debate typically view the sentencing decision as monolithic, preferring one decisionmaker over all the others. A monolithic view of the decision unnecessarily invites poor decisionmaking. The sentencing decision is properly viewed as a series of distinct decisions, each of which can best be performed by a decisionmaker with certain qualities. This Essay demonstrates how a system of optimal decisionmaking might be constructed -by sorting out the different attributes called for by the distinct aspects of the sentencing decision and matching them to the strengths and weaknesses of each potential decisionmaker.
Keywords
sentencing
Publication Title
Columbia Law Review
Repository Citation
Robinson, Paul H. and Spellman, Barbara A., "Sentencing Decisions: Matching the Decisionmaker to the Decision Nature" (2005). All Faculty Scholarship. 598.
https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/faculty_scholarship/598
Included in
Courts Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Criminology and Criminal Justice Commons, Judges Commons, Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons
Publication Citation
105 Colum. L. Rev. 1124 (2005)