Symposium on Crime and Justice: The Past and Future of Empirical Sentencing Research

 

The punishment received by those convicted in the criminal justice system is the outcome of a complex set of interactions between actors starting with the initial charge and ending only when the convicted individual is released from supervision. There is a consensus among criminological scholars that the empirical study of this sentencing process has stagnated. The National Science Foundation has agreed to partially fund this symposium to help reinvigorate empirical research in this area by reengaging with other disciplines and reconnecting with the ongoing policy debates about sentencing. We have assembled a top flight group of scholars to review the current state of sentencing research and chart future research directions. We encourage all researchers (and policymakers interested in research) to come and participate in the discussion. Scholarships are available for graduate students and others who would otherwise not be able to attend.

The Role of Race in Sentencing Outcomes
Chair: Cassia Spohn, Arizona State University
Main Reviewer: Eric Baumer , The Florida State University
Discussants:
David Baldus, University of Iowa
Richard Frase, University of Minnesota
Samuel Sommers, Tufts University

Risk Assessment in Sentencing
Chair: Charles Wellford, University of Maryland
Main Reviewer: Kelly Hannah-Moffat, University of Toronto
Discussants
Bernie Harcourt, University of Chicago
Richard Kern, Virginia Criminal Sentencing Commission
Jennifer Skeem, University of California, Irvine

Discretion and Decision Making in the Sentencing Process
Chair: Jeffrey Ulmer, Penn State University
Main Reviewers: Shawn Bushway, University at Albany and Brian Forst , American University
Discussants
Kim Hunt, US Sentencing Commission
Nancy King, Vanderbilt University
Jeff Rachlinski, Cornell University

Managing the Criminal Justice Population
Chair: Al Blumstein, Carnegie Mellon University
Main Reviewer: Bill Sabol, Bureau of Justice Statistics
Discussants
Steve Aos, Washington State Institute for Public Policy
Marie Gottschalk, University of Pennsylvania
Glenn Loury, Brown University

Moving Forward
Chair: Sara Steen, University of Colorado - Boulder
Discussants  
Anne Piehl, Rutgers University
Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota