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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.
Fourth Circuit reverses two notable sentences as (procedurally?) unreasonable
Posted on February 11, 2010The Fourth Circuit has two notable sentencing reversals today, in US v. Morace, No. 09-4007 (4th Cir. Feb. 11, 2010) (available here) and US v. v. Herder, No. 08-4420 (4th Cir. Feb. 11, 2010) (available here). In Morace, the government...
"Grandmother Will Mark President's Day By Petitioning Obama To Commute Her 27-Year Prison Sentence For Non-Violent Crime"
Posted on February 11, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new press release from the ACLU. Here are excerpts from the release, which provides the backstory of a remarkable case, that appears to be the kick-off for a remarkable new...
Minnesota Governor Pawlenty urges doubling of sentences for sex offenders
Posted on February 10, 2010As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Pawlenty: Time to get tougher on sex crimes," Minnesota's governor (and a future presidential candidate?) is talking about significantly increasing his states punishment table for sex offenders. Here are the basics:...
"Cheese in pants may draw life term for Yolo man"
Posted on February 10, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this article from today's Sacramento Bee. Here are the particulars: A Yolo County man who put cheese down his trousers faces a life sentence when he goes before a judge next...
Interesting prison and restitution recommendations in Erin Andrews peeper prosecution
Posted on February 10, 2010This news report from the Los Angeles Times, which is headlined "Prosecutors ask for 27-month prison sentence for man who spied on ESPN's Erin Andrews," provides a high-profile and opaque window into the alchemy behind how federal prosecutors develop sentencing...
What (precise?) sentence should Erin Andrews advocate for her stalker/peeper?
Posted on February 10, 2010In this post earlier today, I noted the peculiar sentencing recommendation coming from federal prosecutors for the stalker/peeper who followed and filmed ESPN reporter Erin Andrews: only a 27-month prison term and exactly $334,808.27 in restitution. I now see this...
Lots worth reading around the blogosphere (especially on the costs of mass incarceration)
Posted on February 10, 2010Lots of my favorite criminal law blogs have lots of notable new posts covering sentencing issues, especially California Corrections Crisis, Grits for Breakfast, the Prison Law Blog, and Think Outside the Cage. And thanks to some of the postings there,...
Federal judge in Texas seeks justification for criminal prosecution of immigration offenders without a criminal history
Posted on February 10, 2010As detailed in this local article from Texas, which is headlined "Federal judge questions immigration prosecutions: Sparks suggests it's too expensive to jail those without any significant criminal history," a federal judge near the border is sick and tired of...
China?s highest court issues new guidelines for administering capital punishment
Posted on February 10, 2010Students of the modern American death penalty know that the U.S. Supreme Court has spent a good part of the last four decades trying to develop standards for how states must balance equal and individual justice in the administration of...
Fifth Circuit panel splits over approach to plain-error review for sentencing errors
Posted on February 10, 2010Among a number of notable sentencing rulings released today, a Fifth Circuit panel has a split decision that reverses a white-collar offender's sentence due to a guideline calculation error US v. John, No. No. 08-10459 (5th Cir. Feb. 9, 2010)...
Noting some great successes in Texas justice
Posted on February 09, 2010As detailed in this Januray 2010 publication from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the story of Texas justice (at least in the non-capital arena) is one that should garner much attention and praise. The publication is titled "Texas Criminal Justice...
Oklahoma legislature still eager to make child rape a death penalty offense
Posted on February 09, 2010This new local article, whcih is headlined "Okla. panel OKs death sentence for child rapists," spotlights that some legislators continue to want to resist the Supreme Court's 2008 Kennedy ruling declaring unconstitutional Louisiana's capital child rape law...
Australia province to start utilizing community-based "sentencing councils"
Posted on February 09, 2010This interest local story from Australia, which is headliend "Community 'sentencing council' to advise on legal punishments," reports on an notable development Down Under. Here are the details: The Queensland Government says the community will get more of a say...
Ninth Circuit panel rejects Second Amendment challenge to federal felon-in-possession crime
Posted on February 09, 2010The Ninth Circuit has a little ruling today that rejects a Second Amendment challenge to the federal felon-in-possession prohibition in light of Heller. The ruling in US v. Vongxay, No. 09-10072 (9th Cir. Feb. 9, 2010) (available here), gets started....
Intriguing little Eleventh Circuit ruling on loss calculation and restitution
Posted on February 08, 2010The Eleventh Circuit has an interesting little decision today in US v. Patterson, No. 09-13354 (11th Cir. Feb. 8, 2010) (available here), that should be of interest to folks working on various white-collar sentencing issues. Here is how the ruling...
"New legal issue: Payment for child porn victims"
Posted on February 08, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new AP piece, which effectively reviews the robust legal and policy debates over whether restitution orders should be a big part of federal child porn sentencing proceedings. Here are excerpts:...
"Would Ending The Drug War Stimulate Economic Growth?"
Posted on February 08, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new commentary up here at The Atlantic. Here is how it starts: Correspondent Richard Posner wrote an interesting blog post suggesting six ways that the U.S. could stimulate economic growth,...
Eighth Circuit rejects challenge to constitutionality of Arkansas lethal injection protocol
Posted on February 08, 2010As detailed in this AP article, today a "federal appeals court upheld Arkansas' lethal injection procedure ... [by affirming] the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by three death-row inmates, including two who are scheduled to die over the next nine...
"Record 86% of Japanese Support Death Penalty, Yomiuri Reports"
Posted on February 07, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this Bloomberg news item. Here are the details: Japanese support for the death penalty rose to a record 85.6 percent, the Yomiuri newspaper reported, citing a poll by the Cabinet Office....
Did Sarah Palin or any others at the Tea Party Convention talk about pot prohibition or mass incarceration?
Posted on February 07, 2010Though I sense that everyone is still trying to figure out just what the Tea Party movement is (or isn't), I think it is safe to assert and assume that the movement is interest in promoting human liberty and concerned...
Another justified complaint about the pace of Obama judicial nominations
Posted on February 06, 2010At Slate, Doug Kendall has this new commentary, headlined "Fill the Bench Now: Now is the time for Obama to move on judicial nominations," which take President Obama to task for the slow pace of his judicial nominations. Here are...
"The Undiscovered Country: Execution Competency & Comprehending Death"
Posted on February 05, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new piece by Jeffrey L. Kirchmeier now available on SRRN. Here is the abstract: The United States Supreme Court has not created a clear Eighth Amendment standard to determine whether...
Third Circuit rejects lifetime limit on internet use as supervise release condition
Posted on February 05, 2010A Third Circuit panel has again struck down as substantively unreasonable a supervised release condition putting a lifetime limit on internet use. The opinion in US v. Miller, No. 08-4278 (3d Cir. Feb. 5, 2010) (available here), gets started this...
Should Ohio Supreme Court start scheduling more than one execution per month?
Posted on February 05, 2010As detailed in this prior post, Ohio's public public defender last summer complained about the state's quickened pace of scheduled executions. But, as detailed in this new AP report, which is headlined "Ohio Supreme Court considers 5 new execution dates,"...
Michigan court says state sex offender registration law does not apply to homeless
Posted on February 05, 2010As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Michigan appeals court: Homeless sex offenders don't have to register," a new opinion about sex offender resigration requirements is causing a stir in Michigan. Here are the basic details: The Michigan...
Time to dust off (and double the size of?) the usual SCOTUS short lists
Posted on February 04, 2010This new ABC News piece, which is titled "White House Prepares for Possibility of 2 Supreme Court Vacancies," suggests that speculations about SCOTUS short lists might need to go into double-time. Here are the basics from the piece: Lawyers for...
"The Racial Geography of the Federal Death Penalty"
Posted on February 04, 2010The title of this post is the title of this notable new piece about the federal death penalty now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Scholars have devoted substantial attention to both the over-representation of African-Americans on federal death...
Noting big (and wasteful?) budget growth in federal prison spending
Posted on February 04, 2010Following up on an issue I spotlighted in this recent post (which has generated lots of interesting comments), today this article in USA Today takes a look at the Justice Department's proposed 2011 budget numbers. This piece is headlined "2011...
Ohio completes third successful one-drug lethal injection
Posted on February 04, 2010As detailed in this local Columbus Dispatch story, which is headlined "Convenience-store killer executed by lethal injection," the Buckeye state has now completed three "uneventful" executions using its new one-drug execution protocol. Here is how the article starts: After 16...
"Justice Kennedy laments the state of prisons in California, U.S."
Posted on February 04, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable article in today's Los Angeles Times. Here is how the piece starts: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy criticized California sentencing policies and crowded prisons Wednesday night, calling...
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you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
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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...
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