The Demand for Democracy in Sentencing

12 Pages Posted: 11 Jul 2024

See all articles by Con Reynolds

Con Reynolds

Government of the United States of America - Sentencing Commission; Cornell Law School

Carlton Reeves

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: July 03, 2024

Abstract

In making the federal sentencing guidelines advisory, Booker v. United States made the influence of those guidelines dependent on their perceived legitimacy. This Article argues that, given the link between law's legitimacy and its democratic character, Booker should be read as a demand for democracy in sentencing. This demand echoes the one imbued in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's statutory charter, which gives the agency unique potential to create administrative governance that is of the people, for the people, and by the people. In detailing past and present efforts to fulfill that potential, this Article invites readers to assist the Commission in its continuing pursuit of more democratic sentencing policy.

Keywords: democracy, sentencing, criminal law, administrative law

Suggested Citation

Reynolds, Con and Reeves, Carlton, The Demand for Democracy in Sentencing (July 03, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4884638 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4884638

Con Reynolds (Contact Author)

Government of the United States of America - Sentencing Commission ( email )

One Columbus Cir., NE - Ste. 2-500
Washington, DC 20002
United States

Cornell Law School ( email )

Carlton Reeves

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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