Sentencing Law and Policy

The Robina Institute’s work in Sentencing Law and Policy seeks to effect large-scale and systemic improvements by providing direct assistance to jurisdictions exploring ways to advance their sentencing systems and producing, encouraging, collecting, and disseminating policy-relevant research about the operations and effects of sentencing systems. This research looks at the impacts of sentencing systems on public safety, sentencing proportionality, racial and ethnic disparities, and imprisonment rates.

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Comparing Key Elements of Guidelines Systems

Though there are multiple jurisdictions with sentencing guidelines, each exists on what we refer to as the advisory to mandatory continuum, referring to the degree to which the guidelines are enforced within each jurisdiction and,…
Publication

Sentencing Guidelines Resource Center: In-Depth Jurisdiction Profiles

Jurisdictions across the United States take varied approaches to figuring out appropriate sentences in criminal cases. Some jurisdictions have sentencing commissions to help guide policy decisions in these areas. And some also have…
Publication

The Compelling Case for Low-Violence-Risk Preclusion in American Prison Policy

This article recommends the development of broad policies of preclusion regarding the use of incarceration for offenders who are highly unlikely to commit a violent crime in the future. The proposal builds on the new Model Penal Code:…

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