Hessick on Frankel on Legality and Legal Standards

Carissa Byrne Hessick (University of North Carolina School of Law) has posted Legality, Legal Standards, and the Legacy of Marvin Frankel (Federal Sentencing Reporter, volume 35, 2023) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

 

Marvin Frankel’s Criminal Sentences: Law without Order contained a scathing critique of mid-twentieth century criminal sentencing, and it provided a blueprint for what became the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984—legislation that fundamentally transformed federal sentencing. This short essay subjects Frankel's critique to closer scrutiny, finding that it overstated arguments related to the principle of legality and understated the promise of appellate review as a source of sentencing law.