NCJ Number
79414
Date Published
1976
Length
123 pages
Annotation
Findings are presented from an assessment of the impact of New York State's 1973 drug laws on the State courts.
Abstract
Comprehensive revisions of New York State's drug laws became effective on September 1, 1973. The new statutes reclassified many drug crimes as high degree felonies, made prison sentences mandatory upon conviction for many drug crimes, restricted plea bargaining by defendants indicted for drug crimes, and reinstituted recidivist sentencing provisions in the State. Under these latter provisions, prior felons newly indicted for a felony face new restrictions in plea bargaining, and prison terms must be imposed upon conviction. This study assesses the success achieved by the courts in creating a credible deterrent over the 2 years for which data are available. Data were obtained from interviews with officials responsible for the administration of the criminal justice system in each county selected for study, and discussions were held with prosecuting attorneys, administrative judges, public defenders, and police officials. Implementation of the 1973 drug and sentencing laws would be deemed successful if (1) the risk of punishment facing offenders increased to make the deterrent potential of the law more powerful, (2) the number of offenders sentenced to prison increased to remove potentially dangerous criminals from society, and (3) the speed with which cases are processed improved so that swiftness of punishment accompanies certainty of punishment. During the first 2 years the new drug and sentencing laws were in effect, none of these key indicators of successful implementation have been evident. Appended are major provisions of the new drug and sentencing laws, gaps in the measurement of the probability of punishment, measuring changes in the pending caseload in the New York City Supreme Courts, and methodology for New York City Supreme Court productivity calculations. Tabular and graphic data are provided.