His Day in Court

• NCJ Number: 76996
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 44 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1980) Pages: 39-42
• Author(s): F Greenwald
• Date Published: 1980
• Length: 4 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The problems of providing equitable court sentences for aliens and the efforts of the Foundation for the Development of International Probation and Parole Practice to solve such problems are discussed.

Abstract

Alien offenders occupy a special position in the U.S. criminal justice system. Although they are given all the rights and privileges of citizen offenders with respect to arrest, trial, and opportunities for defense, often they are denied the advantages of the presentence report -the single most valuable item available to the court in making sentencing decisions. When reports are prepared for aliens, they usually contain little or no information on the offenders' social histories since these persons are seldom lifelong U.S. residents. As a result, sentences for aliens are often harsher or more lenient than those for citizens. If aliens are sentenced to imprisonment in a U.S. facility, language and cultural differences may interfere with effective treatment. Further, the practice of some courts of deporting alien offenders rather than imprisoning them does not serve the best interests of society or justice. A practical solution to such problems would involve international cooperation in the preparation of presentence reports and in correctional supervision. Such cooperation could also help U.S. citizens facing similar problems in other countries. The foundation, a nonprofit corporation providing services at cost, works to solve these difficulties by communicating with the appropriate authorities in various Nations and by forwarding to sentencing courts responses with recommendations for or against probation, community service, or other alternatives as well as agreements to offer courtesy supervision should the courts request them. Other organizations working towards international cooperation in criminal justice activities are identified. A reference list is not included.