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The Federal SRA: A Social Experiment Gone Astray
In 1984 Congress confronted the rise in drug and firearm related crimes by instituting a social experiment. The social experiment became known as the Sentencing Reform Act (SRA) of 1984. Congress assumed longer federal prison sentences--without parole--would serve as a serious deterrent to crime, particularly in the case of those …
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More from this issue:
- Law Librarian Liable for Access Violations
- Choice Between Exercise and Access Struck Down
- Officer's Family Awarded $120,000 for Contracting TB
- Service Complete When Delivered to Prison Officials
- Non-Stenographic Depositions, by Paul Wright
- Federal Tort Claims Act Requires Exhaustion
- No Waiver of Witness Fees for IFP Litigants
- No Cause of Action for Defamation
- Opening Legal Mail States Claim
- Some Evidence Standard Meets Due Process
- Rules for Appointment of Counsel Clarified
- Disobeying State Court Order Basis for Section 1983 Liability
- Texas Studies Housing Prisoners in Foreign Countries, by F Lee Weiss
- Sanctions Against Pro Se Litigant Reversed
- Ad-Seg WACs Do Not Create Liberty Interest
- Section 1988 Attorney Fee Awards Explained
- Texas Proposes to Build State "Jails"
- California Visitor Search Ruling Modified
- The Federal SRA: A Social Experiment Gone Astray, by Lee Alphonso Moore
- No Right to Cross Dress
- Increasing Parole Review Time is Ex Post Facto
- Shackling Plainitff Violates Right to Fair Trial
- Money Damages Available for Consent Decree Violations
- US Marshals Liable for Beating
- Probation Officers Only Entitled to Qualified Immunity
- 9th Circuit Announces New Qualified Immunity Rule
- Dismissal Error for Failing to Obey Local Rules
- Ad Seg Right to Eyeglasses and Toilet Paper
- WA Repeals Cons Tolling Statute
- Retaliatory Transfer States Claim
- Default Appropriate for Obstructing Discovery
- Overcrowding Emergency Measures Get Old
- California Prisons Grow
- Court Reporters Entitled to Only Qualified Immunity
- Prisoners Retain Right of Bodily Privacy
- Disciplinary Isolation Triggers Due Process
- Florida Conditions Lawsuit Settled After 21 years
- Periodical Reviews
- City of Refuge, by David Finney
More from Lee Alphonso Moore:
- The Federal SRA: A Social Experiment Gone Astray, Aug. 15, 1993
More from these topics:
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- Louisiana’s Atavistic Approach to Criminal Sentencing and Parole Demonstrates Politicians’ Failure to Learn from Past Mistakes, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Sentencing, Parole, Prisoners' Rights.
- California Appeals Court Sustains Amendments to CDCR that Narrow Youth Parole Eligibility Rules, July 1, 2026. Parole, Equal Protection Clause/Claims, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Credits, Prison Regulations.
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Alternative Sentencing, Sentence Enhancements/Departures, Multiple/Multiplicious Counts, Drug Quantity.
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- California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s Prisons, April 1, 2026. Retaliation for Filing Grievances, Totality of Conditions, Parole, Life without Parole (LWOP), Americans with Disabilities Act.