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Sentencing Law and Policy 

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
Post Frequency: 77.7/day Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24 Recent Entries: 4815
By Douglas A. Berman
Go to Sentencing Law and Policy, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Eleventh Circuit panel reverses ruling that 30-year mandatory AWA sentence for attempted sex offense is unconstitutional
Posted on June 02, 2010Long-time readers may recall a notable district court opinion in US v. Farley from September 2008 (discussed in this post), which found unconstitutional a mandatory minimum term of 30 years imprisonment for a defendant who travelled across state lines in...
Green tea party: will Glenn Beck or Sarah Palin or other professed liberty lovers support ending pot prohibition in California?
Posted on June 02, 2010This piece from the Los Angeles Times, which is headlined "California voters back pot legalization, but support is shaky," provides some very interesting data on very early polling concerning the marijuana ballot initiative to be decided by California voters this...
"Youthful offenders deserve a second chance"
Posted on June 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new commentary in the Los Angeles Times authored by Miriam Aroni Krinsky, Ernie Pierce and Jeanne Woodford. Here are excerpts: One of us is a retired police officer who daily...
Notable data from new EJI report on racial skew of key criminal justice decision-makers
Posted on June 02, 2010As noted in this prior post, the Equal Justice Initiative have released this big new report on racial discrimination in jury selection. Though there is much of interest in this new report, sentencing fans know that juries have very little...
Elderly sex offender gets long sentence for not checking ID before taking dirty pictures
Posted on June 02, 2010This local story out of Michigan, which is headlined "Sex offender, 73, confused why his photos of nude teens caused such a legal fuss," reports on an interesting case involving an old pervert getting in big trouble for not figuring...
"Federal Sentencing at a Crossroads: A Call for Leadership"
Posted on June 01, 2010The title of this post is the title of the terrific panel discussion put together last week by NYU's Center on the Administration of Criminal Law and the Federal Bar Council. The discussion was moderated by The Honorable John Gleeson,...
New district court sentencing data now available from the USSC
Posted on June 01, 2010The US Sentencing Commission has some fresh new sentencing data now up on its website. The USSC's latest data report, which can be accessed here, is described this way: Second Quarter FY10 Quarterly Sentencing Update: An extensive set of tables...
Some intriguing who and how dynamics in the Carr ruling reversing sex offender's SORNA conviction
Posted on June 01, 2010The substance of the Supreme Court's opinion this morning in Carr (basics here), which reverses a sex offender's failure-to-register federal conviction, is mind-numbing even for hard-core sentencing fans. The decision is focused only on statutory interpretation: he majority declares that...
"Classic" split 5-4 SCOTUS ruling in reversal of Sixth Circuit habeas grant
Posted on June 01, 2010In a ruling that covers Miranda and IAC issues, the Supreme Court this morning has reversed the Sixth Circuit yet again in is Berghuis v. Thompkins, No. 08-1470 (S. Ct. June 1, 2010) (available here). The ruling is a "classic"...
Sex offender prevails with challenge to SORNA conviction in Carr
Posted on June 01, 2010SCOTUSblog already has news on the first Supreme Court opinion handed down this morning, and it is a win for a sex offender appealing his SORNA conviction in Carr. Here is the early SCOTUSblog report: We have the first opinion:...
As the calender turns to June, my thoughts turn to SCOTUS, baseball and golf
Posted on June 01, 2010I was pleased to see an interesting bit of judging data in this new "Sidebar" pieceby Adam Liptak in today's New York Times. The piece is headlined "This Bench Belongs in a Dugout," and it is mostly about baseball fandom...
New NAACP report on "prison-based gerrymandering"
Posted on June 01, 2010As detailed in this press release, this morning "the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) released Captive Constituents, a report on prison-based gerrymandering." Here is more from the press release: As the report details, most states and local governments...
Why doesn't the new Liberty Central website say anything about mass incarceration or the drug war or any criminal justice issues?
Posted on June 01, 2010Thanks to this new post at The BLT, which is headlined "Virginia Thomas Celebrates 'Fantastic' Web Launch for Conservative Site," I checked out Liberty Central a new website formally launched last week with the express "primary objective" to seek "to...
"How can Georgia turn lawbreakers into taxpayers?"
Posted on May 31, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this interesting new piece from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is a companion to this broader article on the budget burdens of incarceration levels in Georgia. The main piece starts this way:...
What would those who gave all think about US mass incarceration?
Posted on May 31, 2010Here is a deep question to ponder on Memorial Day: what would the men and women who gave their lives fighting for American freedom think about the modern reality that the US now has the largest prison population in the...
Notable reactions from notable officials to the new Holder memo for federal prosecutors
Posted on May 29, 2010This new post at The BLT, which is headlined "Holder Memo Calls for Flexibility in Charging, Sentencing," reports on the new memorandum from Attorney General Holder to all federal prosecutors concerning "Department Policy on Charging and Sentencing" which replaces older...
Some coverage of yesterday's US Sentencing Commission hearing
Posted on May 28, 2010Through blog reports and press releases, one can cobble together a basic sense of the basic feel of the testimony and comments yesterday at the US Sentencing Commission's public hearing about mandatory minimum sentencing statutes and federal sentencing policy (background...
Interesting revision of data on juve LWOPs in the federal system
Posted on May 28, 2010The Blog of Legal Times his this new post reporting that through "an unusual filing with the Supreme Court this week, Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal said some of the information that the Court used in its recent Graham v....
Going back, going back...
Posted on May 28, 2010Among the many reasons I have been pleased with the last thee Supreme Court nominees is the interesting common fact that they all graduated from Princeton University, which just happens to all be my alma mater. Indeed, I am very...
Great coverage of lots of sentencing issues at FAMM's new blog, SentenceSpeak
Posted on May 27, 2010I am pleased to seem that the folks at Families Against Mandatory Minimums have their new blog, SentenceSpeak, up and running and it looks like it is on a steady path to being a daily must-read for all sentencing fans....
"Defendant's Gender Affects Length of Sentence"
Posted on May 27, 2010A helpful reader forwarded me this posting from ScienceDaily, which has a report with a headline that serves as the title of this post. The piece reports on research from Sweden, and here are the basics: A study of 300...
Interesting commentary on the state of debate over SCOTUS nominee Elena Kagan
Posted on May 27, 2010Dahlia Lithwick has this interesting and amusing essay up at Slate, headlined "The Kagan Kids: Why the younger generation doesn't care about the debate over the latest Supreme Court nominee." Here are excerpts: As the Elena Kagan Bore'Em to Death...
Ohio legislature developing special teen "sexting" criminal law
Posted on May 27, 2010My local Columbus Dispatch reports here on an interesting state legislative effort to create a special criminal law to deal with the special problem of teen sexting. This article is headlined "Ohio House backs making teen 'sexting' crime: Bill rules....
Fourth Circuit rules that Ex Post Facto Clause still limits application of new advisory guidelines
Posted on May 27, 2010In an interesting and thoughtful new split ruling, the majority of a panel of the Fourth Circuit has today ruled in US v. Lewis, No. 09-4343 (4th Cir. March 27, 2010) (available here), that the Ex Post Facto Clause still...
Two notable federal sentencing pieces in the latest BC Law Review
Posted on May 27, 2010Thanks to this post at Concurring Opinions, I see that the May 2010 issue of the Boston College Law Review has a student note and an article by a federal defender that should be of special interest for modern federal...
Nuanced and astute (and vague) testimony from DOJ at Sentencing Commission hearing on mandatory minimums
Posted on May 27, 2010As detailed in this prior post, the United States Sentencing Commission today is conducting a public hearing in Washington DC "to gather testimony from invited witnesses regarding the issue of statutory mandatory minimum penalties in federal sentencing...
Effective new commentary on the Supreme Court's work in Graham
Posted on May 27, 2010Over at Findlaw, Professor Sherry Colb has this new column on the Supreme Court's recent Eighth Amendment work in Graham. The piece is titled simply, "High Court Rejects Life Without Parole for All Juvenile, Non-Homicide Crimes," and here is how...
Eighth Circuit affirms big real property forfeiture for child porn offense
Posted on May 26, 2010I wonder if any of the usual suspects who get riled up about property rights will have any complaints about the intriguing forfeiture ruling from the Eighth Circuit today in US v. Hull, No. 08-4015 (8th Cir. May 26, 2010)...
"Two Kinds of Retributivism"
Posted on May 26, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new piece on SSRN from Mitchell Berman (no relation). Here is the abstract: This essay, written as a contribution to a forthcoming volume on the philosophical foundations of the criminal...
Some police chiefs expressing concern about crime impact of Arizona's new immigration law
Posted on May 26, 2010This new Washington Post piece, which is headlined "Arizona immigration law will boost crime in U.S. cities, police chiefs say," provides a new criminal justice spin to the robust political and social debate following Arizona's recent adoption of new rules...
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Japan's International Child Abduction Policy
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Eminent domain, demographics and immigration policy
On the face of it, you may be wondering what eminent domain,...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Does failure to provide health insurance benefits at the time promised constitute harm to the employee?
Yes. Failure to provide health insurance benefits is a violation of Labor Law ob...
My job requires me to drive bank deposits up to two times a day using my own vehicle and gas. Although not too far, can should I be receiving compensation? One deposit run is required daily by company policy, but the man
you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
Can i sue my employer for breach of Contract?
i would suggest you get professional advice
from what you have put here yo...

I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Does failure to provide health insurance benefits at the time promised constitute harm to the employee?
Yes. Failure to provide health insurance benefits is a violation of Labor Law ob...
My job requires me to drive bank deposits up to two times a day using my own vehicle and gas. Although not too far, can should I be receiving compensation? One deposit run is required daily by company policy, but the man
you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
Can i sue my employer for breach of Contract?
i would suggest you get professional advice
from what you have put here yo...








