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1987年12月1日,美国国会通过了《美国联邦量刑指南》,自此美国的刑事司法体制进入了指南时代。然而仅仅经过十七年之后,《美国联邦量刑指南》受到联邦最高法院的违宪审查并被宣告无效。虽然联邦最高法院以违宪之由终结了指南的强制效力,但多数派和少数派都肯定指南的主要目标——追求全美各州的量刑均衡。多数派意见选择了终止指南的强制效力。在多数派意见的背后,一方面是对法官自由裁量权的维护,另一方面则是指南自身所具有的缺陷——罪刑失衡。顽固地维护法官的自由裁量权自然是错误的做法,但量刑规范化必须要建立在罪刑均衡的基础上才能获得社会的认可。
On December 1, 1987, the U.S. Congress passed the “Guide to the Sentencing of Sentencing in the United States.” Since then, the criminal justice system in the United States has entered a guideline era. However, just seventeen years later, the Federal Sentencing Guide was unconstitutionally reviewed by the Federal Supreme Court and invalidated. Although the federal Supreme Court ended the compulsory effect of the guide by unconstitutionality, both the majority and the minority affirmed the main goal of the guide - to pursue a balanced sentencing process across all states. The majority opinion chose the mandatory effect of the termination guide. Behind the majority opinion, on one hand, it is the maintenance of the discretion of judges, on the other hand, the defects of the guide itself - the imbalance between the crime and punishment. It is naturally a mistake to stubbornly uphold the judge’s discretion. However, the standardization of sentencing must be based on the balance of crimes and penalties to gain social recognition.