Sentencing Reform (Robinson)
Faculty
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| Paul H. Robinson Colin S. Diver Professor of Law phr@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Expository Writing
Grading
25% Participation,
25% Paper,
50% Other (Weekly two-page writing assignment answering three questions relating to that week's memorandum.)
With Permission of Instructor
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- Class sessions are regularly recorded. I will make these recordings routinely available on the course site to everyone in the class.
Meeting Times/Location
M 4:30PM - 6:30PM
Golkin Hall 238
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
Course number: LAW948-001-26C (Robinson) Professor Robinson, Fall 2026 Seminar on Sentencing Reform
The Seminar will examine existing debates on sentencing reform, the push for reduced use of incarceration, the problem of unjustifiable disparity among sentencing judges, the “Truth in Sentencing” movement, the use of mandatory minimum sentences, the modern movement toward sentencing guidelines, the use of restorative justice, the special problems related to dealing with dangerous mentally ill offenders and drug addicted offenders, the conflicting nature of alternative sentencing goals, including the American Law Institute’s revision of the Model Penal Code’s sentencing principles, as well as other prominent issues. Each week students will read a memorandum on a specific topic and consider several real-world cases that put the week’s issues in a real-world context. Each week students will submit by Sunday midnight before the seminar meeting on Monday afternoon a written response of no more than two pages in answer to three “Discussion Questions” presented at the end of each week’s memorandum. (These weekly short papers will count for 50% of the seminar grade). At the end of the seminar, students will submit a “thought paper” of no more than 10 pages on a subject of the student’s choosing approved by the instructor (25% of the seminar grade). (The seminar is open to nonlaw students upon permission of the instructor. Write to phr@law.upenn.edu.)
Criminal Law and Procedure Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of criminal law and procedure; Perform legal analysis in the context of criminal law and procedure; Communicate effectively on topics related to criminal law and procedure; Demonstrate an understanding of the role criminal law and procedure play in society and their impact on other areas of law and society.