In praise of NJ's sentencing commission

Having spent nearly a decade of my life in and around New Jersey, I can attest that the state has a lot more to offer besides Bruce Springsteen.  For example, the state's sentencing commission has done amazing work in its short history, including a groundbreaking study of the state's drug-free zone laws (background here and here).

Consequently, I was pleased to hear that on June 7, the New Jersey Assembly unanimously voted in a support of a bill to make the New Jersey Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing permanent.  The Newark Star Ledger followed up with this strong editorial encouraging the New Jersey Senate to do the same.

Fittingly, the NJ Assembly vote also coincided with the publication of the Commission's interim report, entitled "Sentencing In the 21st Century and the Necessity of a Permanent Sentencing Commission in New Jersey."  This 18-page report, which is available here, draws upon recent work by other commissions, and notes the emphasis placed on the value of permanent commissions by the American Law Institute and the Constitution Project, to explain why a sentencing commission is virtually essential for the development and monitoring of rational and effective sentencing policies.