Sentencing White Collar Criminals - Annotated Bibliography

Introduction

Even though there is no valid definition of the white-collar crime, the term characterizes some nonviolent crimes of dishonesty. Entrepreneurs or professionals commit these offenses under the mask of legal business activities. Currently, there is a trend toward stricter punishment for white-collar crimes depending on the illegal activity. This annotated bibliography gives an overview of research done and assumptions on the issue of sentencing white-collar criminals.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Hagan and Palloni counterpose the central belief that criminal justice systems resist reforms due to the broad assumption that white-collar criminals became more severe after Watergate. The article argues that readjustments could be more common than actual policies in criminal justice systems by providing examples of how this readjustment processes could be explored in the form of verdicts made prior and after the exceptional historical experiences of Watergate.

The data in this article shows that there were changes which took place in sentences imposed before and after Watergate. The authors found that those arrested for white-collar crimes had a higher chance of facing a prison sentence, though for shorter periods, than the less literate individuals accused of common crimes.

Hagan and Palloni argue whether longer punishments could be operative for this form of crime; they attempt to figure out whether an unusually long sentence works a meaningfully higher warning to possible white-collar criminals than shorter terms. In contrast, white-collar employees are overly sensitive to threats since their whole environment and socialization encourages control of impending cost and benefit. This approach makes sense since white collar criminals are rarely hardened criminals. They are generally afraid of prison, and a short sentence as a scare method could be as effective.

The article concludes that it is obvious the justice system gives stricter penalties to high profile cases as a way of scaring them, though it would be more useful to pronounce shorter sentences to more offenders since criminals believe they have a lower likelihood of facing the law.

Pollack, H., & Smith, A. (1984). White-Collar vs. Street Crime Sentencing Disparity - HowJudges See the Problem. Court Review,21(3), 12-17.

In this article, fourteen judges in the city of New York gave their response on the matter of disparity in sentencing white-collar criminals in comparison to other criminals. The author found that when white-collar offenders are incarcerated, they set an example for their colleagues. The groups that have a higher likelihood of being deterred are the upper and middle-class workers - including bankers, civil servants, accountants, and doctors. The article also found that public officials have a higher likelihood of being dealt with in a stricter way than private people who are accused of similar cases.

The author claims that shorter sentences compared to those imposed on property offenses are not less harsh. For instance, one-year imprisonment to a middle-class individual seems to be more retaliatory than a 3 to 4-year jail term to a property crime. The authors conclude that sentencing occurs among judges for several reasons: one is the pressure of daily responsibilities in the criminal courts, especially those in urban areas. Secondly, is that their characteristics influence the judge's behaviors of the judges. Next is the society's expectation where the court is situated. Lastly is, lacking a consistent theory of criminal punishment and causation. The article emphasizes the necessity of additional research on actual sentencing practices.

This article is useful since it offers valid arguments which contrast with my first article by arguing for similar sentences for white-collar and street criminals. The author also helps me understand that the criminal's justice system which tries to make judgments on white-collar criminal cases is overrated.

Podgor, E. S. (2007). Challenge of White-Collar Sentencing, The. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,97(3).

This article challenges the need for imposing draconian sentences, in certain circumstances for over twenty-five years, to white-collar criminals who commit first-time, non-violent crimes. The author further looks at the efforts by the United States Sentencing Commission to accomplish a neutral sentencing strategy, one that does not look at class status, and does not respect the actual disparities portrayed by these criminals. Since the white-collar offense has sociological origins, this article traces the source of the phrase "white-collar crime." The author contradicts with the how the term is currently used. He finds the differences in a biased method which applies factors like an individual's wealth to determine whether the individual ought to undergo criminal punishment.

Podgor, however, notes that denial of bias in the conviction process fails to eliminate every sociological contemplation, particularly those that could influence genuine disparities. With the aim of achieving a neutral sentencing tactic, one that favors no class, a system has risen in America which does not recognize unique qualities of white-collar criminals and puts them through draconian sentences which in certain circumstances surpass their life expectancy.

The article gives examples of high-profile individuals in managerial positions who have faced over fifteen years of imprisonment. The article is useful since it applies punishment and classical theories which consider utilitarian models that includes deterrence goals both specific and general, education, isolation, and rehabilitation.

The author thus makes a valid point when calculating losses; the numbers are often blown out of proportion when dealing with publicly traded companies which is usually the case. Additionally, it is also an imprecise still of trying to gauge value for the losses white-collar criminal case. The laws also give judges more freedom with a comprehensive set of guiding principles for penalizing these criminals.

Schanzenbach, M., & Yaeger, M. L. (2006). Prison Time, Fines, and Federal White-Collar Criminals: The Anatomy of a Racial Disparity. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology,96(2).

This article examines racial disparities in white-collar offender conviction by applying a large dataset given by the US Sentencing Commission. The authors deliberate on sex inequalities as well since it provides fascinating comparison to ethnic differences. Schanzenbach and Yaeger apply standard regression methods to find large racial disparities. They found that when researching for several important traits, Hispanics and Blacks receive longer prison sentences compared to the white majority. Through careful consideration, the article finds that the ability to pay fines largely influences the nature of estimated disparity in white-collar offenses. Additionally, the authors found that the control of the Guideline's penalizing degree might favor minorities. This article thus concludes that the approximation of ethnic differences, even though a clause penalizing scheme such as the Guideline, is highly complex compared to previous work indices.

From this article, we learn that specific types of minority criminals, maybe since the society sees them as more dangerous, are marginalized for stricter punishment. Young unemployed Hispanic and Black men especially have a higher likelihood of facing prison sentences than their white counterparts, and in some areas, they gave even longer sentences. It is also evident that minorities facing drug convictions, those who cannot pay their fines, refuse to plead guilty, those who victimize the whites, or those with previous criminal records, face more severe punishments.

This article is useful since it encourages researchers to carry out more broad research on the effects of wealth and social status in pre-trial decision making and sentencing. Schanzenbach and Yaegershow us how race makes a difference in sentencing criminals and how this sentencing Guidelines fail to accomplish their goal of improving racial discrimination and disparities.

Testa, A. (2017).Examining Federal Criminal Sentencing of White-Collar and Common Property Offenders: The Case of Embezzlement and Larceny. Criminal Justice Policy Review,088740341770931.

Testa discusses the issue of whether those facing embezzlement charges which is a felony classified as a white-collar misdemeanor facing either severe or compassion ate penalty in contrast to comparable larceny criminals which is a property offense. Testa's research applies inclination score corresponding methodology to generate the same sample of theft and embezzlement criminals. He uses facts from the US Sentencing Commission on persons convicted from the year 2005 to 2010.

The author finds that offenders of embezzlement crimes have a higher chance of facing prison sentences, unlike the larceny criminals. Additionally, the findings in this article argue that the likelihood of embezzlement criminals getting jail terms after the beginning of the Global Financial Crisis was low.

The article claims that the guidelines for calculating the loss of funds require modifications not to overstate the amount lost when offenses involve a public corporation. Testa goes further to state that the department of justice has to reverse its principles which require prosecutors to seek the strictest punishment available. The author appears to have assumed that sentences for white-collar offenders are severely harsh and he gives the facts and recognizes arguments from all sides.

Law enforcement officers, therefore, need to put more focus on curbing latency crimes since they are violent and put people's lives in danger. For this, punishment for street crimes needs to be higher and stricter than white-collar crimes to prevent criminals from causing property damage and wounding other people. This article is legitimate for use since it's an academic source with valid facts and figures.

Wheeler, S., Weisburd, D., & Bode, N. (1982). Sentencing the White-Collar Offender - Rhetoric and Reality. American Sociological Review,47(5), 641-659.

This book joins other efforts of bringing reason and in-depth comprehension to this controversial issue of sentencing white-collar criminals. Through research and anecdote, the authors strive to clarify the current "common law of sentencing" and to give a presentation of judicial perceptions concerning sentencing.

The article's focus and assumption are that the current background for sentencing given by the law lacks definition. Consequently, when judges impose a sentence, they go past the guidelines seeking its primary ideologies as well as the cultural standards on which the case law and legislation are both based. Wheeler and his group found that the judges use these rules, rarely elaborating them to come to a suitable verdict.

The author's viewpoint is on these cultural norms contending that judges apply common values to the sentencing process. The benefits come from the Anglo-American law customs and the judge's cultural experiences. The authors additionally discovered that significant outcomes exist among judges who regard these principles, irrespective of the broad differences in sentences.

Here Wheeler, Mann, and Sarat's article is quite essential as they attempt to leap into the black box to report the findings of fifty-one interviews where federal judges in seven districts debate on the issue of sentencing. That authors are fully aware of the risk that they might be wandering in judicial thoughts which lack a causal relationship t...