This volume addresses major issues and research in corrections and sentencing with the goal of using previous research and findings as a platform for recommendations about future research, evaluation, and policy. The last several decades witnessed major policy changes in sentencing and corrections in the United States, as well as considerable research to identify the most effective strategies for addressing criminal behavior. These efforts included changes in sentencing that eliminated parole and imposed draconian sentences for violent and drug crimes. The federal government, followed by most states, implemented sentencing guidelines that greatly reduced the discretion of the courts to impose sentences. The results were a multifold increase in the numbers of individuals in jails and prisons and on community supervision—increases that have only recently crested. There were also efforts to engage prosecutors and the courts in diversion and oversight, including the development of prosecutorial diversion programs, as well as a variety of specialty courts. Penal reform has included efforts to understand the transitions from prison to the community, including federal-led efforts focused on reentry programming. Community corrections reforms have ranged from increased surveillance through drug testing, electronic monitoring, and in some cases, judicial oversight, to rehabilitative efforts driven by risk and needs assessment. More recently, the focus has included pretrial reform to reduce the number of people held in jail pending trial, efforts that have brought attention to the use of bail and its disproportionate impact on people of color and the poor. This collection of chapters from leading researchers addresses a wide array of the latest research in the field. A unique approach featuring responses to the original essays by active researchers spurs discussion and provides a foundation for developing directions for future research and policymaking.

This handbook surveys American sentencing and corrections from global and historical views, from theoretical and policy perspectives, and with attention to a number of problem-specific issues.

The third edition of California Legal Research continues to fill a unique niche in the literature available for California state law research, explaining both the sources of California law and the process of conducting research using those sources. After introductory chapters devoted to the basic research process and research techniques, California Legal Research explores judicial opinions, the state constitution, statutes and legislative history, and administrative law. The book then turns to updating research with Shepard's and KeyCite, using secondary sources and practice guides, and planning a research strategy. A final chapter explains legal citation, with information on the California Style Manual, the ALWD Citation Manual, and the Bluebook. The book should be valuable to a wide range of audiences--from first-year students to seasoned veterans. Outlines of the research process and excerpts from key state sources make the book easy to use. The text includes brief discussions of legal analysis throughout, recognizing the interplay between research and analysis. California Legal Research supplements its detailed discussion of state research with brief discussions of federal research. Thus, it can be used as the sole text in a research course or in conjunction with texts focusing on topical or federal research.

Originally published: Syracuse, N.Y.: Prison Research Education Action Project, 1976.