(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction: Using Restorative Justice to Satisfy Victims' Rights

Authors

Jessica M. Marshall, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

The responsibility of sentencing defendants is the most difficult task within the criminal justice system. As the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff noted above, a sentencing judge is faced with the role of taking a guilty defendant and determining what punishment her crime warrants. Incarceration? Probation? Time served? Each judge evaluates the specific offense's characteristics, such as the number of victims, amount of loss, and violence of the offense, against the specific offender's characteristics, such as family history, age, and military service. As part of this evaluation, the defendant, the Government, the Probation Office in the form of a Presentence Report, and the victims, provide statements in the form of letters or oral testimonials. Despite the volume and depth of input provided by the parties, the ultimate responsibility for determining a sentence rests with the judge. This, however, does not necessarily have to be the case for all defendants-nor should it be.

Disciplines

Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Law | Law Enforcement and Corrections

Recommended Citation

Jessica M. Marshall, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction: Using Restorative Justice to Satisfy Victims' Rights, 15 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 569 (2014).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol15/iss2/10