NCJ Number
115549
Journal
Hofstra Law Review Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1987) Pages: 649-675
Date Published
1987
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This note applies the policies and reasoning of nondelegation cases in other contexts to argue that the nondelegation doctrine precludes the privatization of corrections.
Abstract
At the heart of the nondelegation doctrine is a concern for political accountability. By invalidating a sufficiently broad delegation of legislative power to another branch of government or private party, the doctrine requires that the legislature meet its responsibilities and not delegate its power to politically unaccountable persons or parties. No case law has yet addressed the constitutionality of delegating the provision of corrections to the private sector. Some of the leading nondelegation cases discussed include A.L.A. Schecter Poultry Corporation v. United States, Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan, and Eubank v. Richmond. The article also examines the history of prison privatization and the current debate. It concludes with a discussion of some of the major policy reasons against privatization which arise regardless of whether the power is delegable as a matter of law. 217 footnotes.