PBI Proposes U.S. Sentencing Commission Create Academics Advisory Group

The Plea Bargaining Institute submitted comment to the United States Sentencing Commission today proposing the creation of an academics standing advisory group. The submission came in response to the U.S.S.C. June 1 Federal Register Notice seeking comment on proposed priorities for the amending cycle ending May 1, 2025.

From the letter submitted by PBI: “The Plea Bargaining Institute proposes the Commission consider the creation of a fifth standing advisory group comprised of academics from various fields of study. The creation of an academics advisory group could serve as a resource for the Commission with regard to not only the further development, analysis, and dissemination of plea bargaining data, but also sentencing data more generally.”

The PBI letter went on to describe various ways in which the creation of such an advisory group could assist the Commission in the carrying out of the Commission’s statutory responsibilities.

• For example, such an advisory group could be comprised of academics from various fields of study, such as law, psychology, economics, and criminology. This would allow those representing various research fields to share information regarding the types of sentencing data their field utilizes in its research and provide insights regarding what additional sentencing data collection might be of assistance in their fields.
• Further, such an advisory group could serve as a resource in considering how data is collected, analyzed, and disseminated by the Commission.
• Such an advisory group could also assist the Commission and the Commission staff in identifying existing research from various fields of study that may be informative related to the Commission’s work.
• Finally, an academics advisory group would create an ongoing dialogue between the research community and the Commission to help ensure that academics are aware of areas in need of further scholarly attention and areas where further scholarly development would be of assistance to the Commission.

“PBI is dedicated to the creation of opportunities for collaboration and dialogue,” said PBI Founding Director Lucian Dervan. “An academics advisory group would provide an opportunity for such dialogue and collaboration between the Commission and the academy.”