Sentencing Consistency: Basic Principles Instead of Numerical Grids: The Ohio Plan
Abstract
This article describes Ohio's distinctive system and suggests that sentencing guidance based upon basic sentencing principles rather than numerical formulae deserves serious attention. In so doing, the article examines Ohio's system of general legislative and appellate guidance, explains how it came about, illustrates how the legislative guidance is being enforced and elaborated by appellate courts, explores some of the weaknesses of the Ohio system, and indicates how greater consistency and predictability in sentencing might be fostered under such a system. The article suggests that a system of general legislative guidance coupled with strong appellate review can achieve consistency in sentencing, control costs, and incorporate new knowledge about human behavior and sentencing alternatives in a manner that is less political and more open to an objective balancing of societal needs than occurs under numerical guideline systems.
Keywords
Sentencing
Publication Date
2002
Document Type
Article
Place of Original Publication
Case Western Reserve Law Review
Publication Information
53 Case Western Reserve Law Review 1 (2002)
Repository Citation
Griffin, Burt W. and Katz, Lewis R., "Sentencing Consistency: Basic Principles Instead of Numerical Grids: The Ohio Plan" (2002). Faculty Publications. 1048.
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/faculty_publications/1048
