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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.
What is the best argument that Heller should only impact the feds? Will it get any votes?
Posted on September 30, 2009How Appealing does an effective job here assembling the early major news coverage of the Supreme Court's decision to grant cert in McDonald v. Chicago, the case concerning whether the Second Amendment as interpreted in Heller is applicable as a...
Ninth Circuit judges talking about meaning and import of Paul reversal(s)
Posted on September 30, 2009Federal sentencing fanatics know that the Paul case in the Ninth Circuit is significant because it was arguably the first (and might still be considered the only) circuit ruling that a within-guideline sentence should be reversed as substantively unreasonable...
Split Ohio Supreme Court upholds criminal punishment for DUI arrestee refusing chemical test
Posted on September 30, 2009As detailed in this official press release, this morning the Supreme Court of Ohio "upheld as constitutional a state law that imposes 10 additional days of mandatory jail time on a driver with a prior DUI conviction if that person...
SCOTUS cert grants: Guns, sex offenders, and sentencing factors ... oh my!
Posted on September 30, 2009Reviewing (thanks to SCOTUSblog) the details of the ten cert grants announced by the Supreme Court this morning (basics here and here), I cannot help but feel a bit like a legal Dorothy heading through a jurisprudence thicket on the...
Might the Harris limit on Apprendi be at risk with O'Brien cert grant?
Posted on September 30, 2009Professor Kevin Reitz sent me this tantalizing e-mail in response to te Supreme Court's cert grant today in O'Brien (basics here): U.S. v. O?Brien gives the Court the chance to reconsider Harris v. U.S., 536 U.S. 545 (2002), which held...
Fundraiser Hsu gets 24-year (within-guideline?) federal sentence for ponzi scheming
Posted on September 29, 2009The high-profile, white-collar sentencing of the day is described in this Wall Street Journal article headlined "Campaign Fund-Raiser Hsu Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison." Here are the basics: A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced former Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu...
Seeking First Amendment and feminist perspectives on an escort's sentence
Posted on September 29, 2009This new federal sentencing story out of California, which is headlined "Stanford Law School grad turned call girl sentenced to home detention," has so many interesting and comment-worthy dimensions. First, the basics: A Stanford Law School graduate was sentenced Monday...
Important new NACDL report critical of modern drug court movement
Posted on September 29, 2009As detailed in this news release, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has today released an important new report on drug courts. The title of the press release. "Drug Courts Endanger Rights, Block Access To Needed Treatment for Drug....
"Roman Polanski Rep Says Justice Has Already Been Served"
Posted on September 29, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this new ABC News piece concerning a famous old child sex case that has become new again thanks to the famously neutral Swiss. Here is how this piece starts: As director...
Notable empirical examination of truth-in-sentencing laws in operation
Posted on September 29, 2009I just noticed on SSRN this article by two European economists titled "Responses to More Severe Punishment in the Courtroom: Evidence from Truth-in-Sentencing Laws." Here is the abstract: We investigate behavioral responses of agents in the criminal process to more...
Schools embrace sex-offender scanners despite costs of this form of technocorrections
Posted on September 29, 2009This article from today's Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the hottest new school accessory this fall: The three mothers waiting to meet with the principal looked harmless enough, but before they were allowed into the Spring-Ford district school, they had to...
Ohio Supreme Court asked to stay next scheduled execution in wake of botched attempt
Posted on September 28, 2009As detailed in this AP article, the Ohio death row inmate who is scheduled to be executed (for the first time) next week has today "asked the Ohio Supreme Court to delay his upcoming execution in light of problems with...
"Homeless Georgia Sex Offenders Directed to Woods"
Posted on September 28, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this ABCNews report that provides the latest example of some of the real-world consequences of sex offender residency restrictions. Here is how the piece begins: A small group of homeless sex...
NY Times editorial assails "High Cost of Death Row"
Posted on September 28, 2009Today's New York Times has this editorial contending that the high costs of the death penalty ought to lead cash-strapped states to move away from capital punishment. Here are excerpts from a piece headlined "High Cost of Death Row": To...
An early preview of Graham and Sullivan, the SCOTUS juve LWOP cases
Posted on September 28, 2009Writing in today's Los Angeles Times, David Savage has this preview of the two big Eighth Amendment cases to be heard this fall by the Supreme Court. The piece is headlined "Supreme Court to consider juvenile 'lifers': Does life without...
Another triple-digit federal sentence for ponzi schemer
Posted on September 28, 2009This local article, headlined "Ponzi scheme leader sentenced to 100 years," highlights another triple-digit federal sentence imposed on a white-collar offender earlier today. Here are the details of a sentencing today that fell a bit short of the Bernie benchmark...
"Forum: Does California need a sentencing commission?"
Posted on September 27, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this piece in the Sacramento Bee that sets up yes/no commentary answers from leading voices in the sentencing reform debate in California. Here is the set up, followed by links to...
A snippet of sex offender stories in the Sunday papers
Posted on September 27, 2009As is the norm these days, the Sunday newspapers have no shortage of notable sex offender stories. For example, the New York Times this morning brings us this piece, headlined "California Struggles With Paroled Sex Offenders." Meanwhile, my own local...
A few SCOTUS scouting pieces to gear up for the new season
Posted on September 27, 2009The new SCOTUS season is about to kick into high gear, with the Justices likely to announce a bunch of new cert grants this coming week and with a full slate of arguments to start the following week. For sentencing...
Interesting discussion of contributions and legacy of Jeremy Bentham
Posted on September 26, 2009I just noticed on SSRN this posting of an interesting looking book chapter discussing the contributions and legacy of Jeremy Bentham. Here is the abstract: Jeremy Bentham is associated in criminology with his invention of the 'Panopticon.' In many ways...
Notable buzz about proportionality review in capital cases
Posted on September 26, 2009A helpful reader passed along some helpful information about recent developments concerning proportionality review in capital cases. Here are the basics: A cert petition in Holmes v. Louisiana, which questions whether the operation of Louisiana?s capital punishment scheme and the...
Could and should new technologies help achieve perfect deterrence?
Posted on September 26, 2009This amusing article, which is headlined "Fantasy iPhone applications: 20 apps we would like to see," provides a technology suggestion that might help criminal deterrence work even better: Below we present 20 iPhone apps that we would like to see....
Alabama litigation over whether and how homeless sex offenders have to register
Posted on September 25, 2009This article from Alabama, headlined "Alabama's sex offender laws challenged," spotlights some of the legal difficulties surrounding registration requirements for homeless sex offenders. Here is how the piece starts: A Montgomery circuit judge has struck down a portion of the...
Technocorrections, economic realities and a new privacy/liberty relationship
Posted on September 25, 2009Today's Washington Post has this interesting article focused on alcohol monitoring devices, which is headlined "Sweat Becomes Offenders' New Snitch: Alcohol-Sniffing Anklet Saves Money but Stirs Privacy Fears." As this excerpt reveals, the piece discussion various important issues that come...
Around the blogosphere
Posted on September 25, 2009Here are some posts of note around the blogosphere to close out the week: From Crime & Consequences here, "Brunner on Death Penalty: Not Ready for Prime Time" From Grits for Breakfast here, "A conservative case for reducing incarceration" From...
Ninth Circuit awaits SCOTUS action on Second Amendment incorporation issue
Posted on September 25, 2009As detailed in this SCOTUSblog post, the Ninth Circuit decided on Thursday to "put on hold its consideration of a case testing whether the Second Amendment right 'to keep and bear arms' restricts laws passed by state and local governments."...
"Other states watching Arkansas lethal injection case"
Posted on September 25, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this AP article discussing arguments yesterday in the Eighth Circuit. Here is how it starts: An attorney for four Arkansas death row inmates who are challenging the state's lethal injection procedure...
"Time for a Moratorium to Rethink Executions"
Posted on September 24, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this new commentary now up at The Huffington Post authored by Ohio's Secretary of State (and US Senate candidate), Jennifer Brunner. The piece springboards off the failed execution attempt of Romell...
Oregon Supreme Court declares two non-capital sentences disproportionate
Posted on September 24, 2009A helpful reader altered me to today's ruling by the Oregon Supreme Court in State v. Rodriguez/Buck, No. S055720 (Ore. Sept 24, 2009) (available here), in which the Court relies on the state's constitutional proportionality provision to deem two sentences...
State judge makes pitch for ignition locks for drunk drivers
Posted on September 24, 2009Thanks to a helpful commentor, I just noticed this terrific Slate piece in which a retired state court judge makes an effective pitch for one of my favorite modern technocorrection punishment : ignition locks for drunk drivers. The piece is...
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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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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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