Prepare:
Think about the following questions:
Do you believe judges have too much discretion in an indeterminate sentencing system like that in Mokans? If so, do you favor a more "lock-step" approach? If so, what factors should be determinative?
What ought to be considered and why? How should various factors be weighted, and should judges have any discretion?
Do whatever you need to be prepared to actively discuss in class the issues emerging from the sentencing hearing and the desirability of discretion v. "lock-step" sentencing approaches.
Read Dressler, 23-26 and the material from the United States Sentencing Commission and rethink the questions posed above. Be prepared to discuss your thoughts in class.
In Class: Debrief from Sentencing Hearing and apply Federal Sentencing Guidelines to Defendants Tolbert and Lucas
Reflect:
1. After seeing how the Sentencing Guidelines work, have your views on determinate v. indeterminate sentencing changed at all? Do you see why sentencing decisions can be so difficult, both on a systemic basis and in individual cases?
2. What does what we have learned about sentencing tell us about what ought to be criminalized in the first place and the levels at which certain conduct should be punished? What does consideration of the various factors in sentencing tell us, if anything, about what ought to be elements of offenses?
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