In praise of an extraordinary new resource, "Reforming Criminal Justice"

This press release reports on the recent culmination of an extraordinary academic project:

In an effort to inform criminal justice reform, the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University published a major new report titled Reforming Criminal Justice. The culmination of a yearlong collaboration, the four-volume publication involved 120 of the nation’s foremost academics to discuss specific topics within the reform movement. The report was made possible with support from the Charles Koch Foundation....

Erik Luna, ASU Law Amelia D. Lewis professor of constitutional and criminal law, directs the project. “The goal of this report is to connect academics with those responsible for criminal justice policy,” said Luna. “In recent years, academics have not effectively participated in and contributed to the conversation. This is a way for them not only to be a part of the discussion, but also to impact real-world policy.”

The coalition of scholars, known as the Academy for Justice, was inspired by a bipartisan summit in 2015, which brought together prominent figures in the reform movement to discuss the problems of criminal justice and to propose real, meaningful, lasting solutions. Following the 2015 summit, Professor Luna spearheaded an effort to integrate the expertise of the nation’s leading academics into the criminal justice reform movement.  That effort ultimately led to the idea of creating an unprecedented report with perspectives from criminal justice experts from colleges and universities such as Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, NYU, Penn, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Virginia.  The scholars gathered at ASU Law’s Beus Center for Law and Society in February 2017, to share ideas, review and provide feedback on each other’s work, and ensure the highest quality content and issue development....

The report provides both detailed analysis and specific policy proposals, a resource of unrivaled breadth and depth in the reform movement.  The 57 separate contributions cover a wide range of specific topics within criminal justice: from criminalization and policing to adjudication and incarceration.  To maintain and increase its momentum, policymakers, thought leaders, and community members must encourage a broader and deeper understanding of the problems and forge thoughtful solutions to these difficult issues. This is where academics have an important role to play.

The report is being distributed to policymakers, criminal justice officials, think tanks, non-profit organizations, and community activists, but will also be freely available to the public through a dedicated website, academyforjustice.org

I had the honor and privilege of contributing a chapter to this extraordinary project, which is available here and is titled simply "Sentencing Guidelines."  Sentencing fans will especially want to check out all of Volume 4  on "Punishment, Incarceration, and Release" for chapters on topics ranging from traditional theories of punishment to risk assessment at sentencing to fines and fees to sex offender registration and many more. Indeed, all criminal justice fans should check out all the volumes because there is so much extraordinary work to be found therein.