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1 Linda Drazga Maxfield, et al., Just Punishment: Public Perceptions and Federal Sentencing Guidelines 1 (1996)

handle is hein.agopinions/jpppfsg0001 and id is 1 raw text is: U.S. Sentencing Commission One Columbus Circle, N.E. Washington, DC 20002-8002 RESEARCH BULLETIN JUST PUNISHMENT: Public Perceptions and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines by Unda Drazga Maxfield, Willie Martin, and Christine Kitchens Office of Policy Analysis More than 1,700 citizens throughout the United States provided their opinions on punishment and crime seriousness issues as part of a recent Sentencing Commission study. This first-ever survey of public attitudes toward federal sentences used a series of crime vignettes incorporating relevant offense and offender characteristics (g, a bank robbery with a gun, injury, and $10,000 taken). These vignettes were presented at personal interviews, and respondents were asked to record what they considered to be a just and appropriate punishment in each case. In addition, respondents completed a short questionnaire describing their experience with, attitudes toward, and opinions about the criminal justice system. This Research Bulletin describes the survey and its methodology, and compares public perceptions with the corresponding sentencing guideline ranges for four selected federal offenses: drug trafficking, bank robbery, immigration offenses, and fraud. Under contract with the Commission, Dr. Peter Rossi and Dr. Richard Berk prepared a separate, general report summarizing the survey data. Introduction public opinion about just punishment for federal offenses. The study identified links between the public's just punishment perceptions and elements of guideline calculations: the crime itself, relevant characteristics of the defendant (e.g., prior criminal history), circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime (e.g., loss amount or weapon use), specific crime features that may enhance or mitigate punishment (e.g., role in the offense or abuse of a position of trust), and the consequences of the criminal act (e.g., injury to a victim). Vignette National Survey Design This study employed a vignette approach for its survey design. The first step was to identify a set of offenses to be included in the data-collection instrument (see Table 1). Table 1 Just Punishment Survey Vignette Crimes The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 charged the U.S. Sentencing Commission with developing the means of measuring the degree to which the sentencing, penal, and correctional practices are effective in meeting the purposes of sentencing..... These statutory purposes are: just punishment, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. In developing the guidelines, the Commission was instructed to consider both the community view of the gravity of the offense and the public concern generated by the offense.2 To address these directives, the Commission undertook a national survey to assess Antitrust Bank robbery Blackmail Bribery Civil rights Counterfeiting Drug possession Drug trafficking Embezzlement Environment Extortion Firearms Food and drug Forgery Fraud Immigration Kidnapping Larceny Money laundering Street robbery Tax Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission, Just Punishment National Survey 1993-94. 1 ' 28 U.S.C. § 991(b)(2). 2 28 U.S.C. § 994(c)(4) and (5).

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