Alaska Public Media — Judges — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Judges

Defendants are regularly condemned to years, decades, or life in prison for minor infractions because of minimum sentencing statutes. If judges had more discretion in sentencing, then sentences could be more proportional to the crime, more specific to the individual defendant, and minimize the negative impact of minimum sentencing laws without inherently needing those laws repealed.

New law gives judges more discretion when setting bail

"Until this most recent law was signed, judges were required to release people charged with many misdemeanors without cash bail. But that lack of judicial discretion raised concerns for police, prosecutors and, ultimately, the Legislature. It passed a new law, which Governor Bill Walker signed June 14 that said judges again can decide whether to require cash bail."

Alaska Public Media

July 4, 2018

Sentencing, JudgesAnthony BradleyJuly 27, 2018Alaska Public Media, Alaska, Bail, Sentencing

Judges

Galsworthy CJR Program

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