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Criminal Law

Sentencing Law and Policy Sentencing Law and Policy

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
By Douglas A. Berman

Post Frequency: 77.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24

Recent Entries: 4815

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SCOTUS stays Texas execution based on pending Alabama case

Posted on September 24, 2009
As detailed in this AP report, the "U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday night stopped the scheduled execution of Texas death row inmate Kenneth Mosley a day before he was to receive lethal injection for the fatal shooting of a suburban Dallas...


A Bill James furlough for a jailed Red Sox fan

Posted on September 24, 2009
I became a Bill James fan as a kid after reading the baseball guru's extraordinary analysis of a seemingly meaningless loss mid-season by the Kansas City Royals in the mid 1980s. Two decades later, I recall this memory because of...


Below-guideline sentence for corrupt Alaska state representative

Posted on September 24, 2009
As detailed in this local article from Alaska, which is headlined "Former Alaska rep gets 6 months in state's bribery scandal," another high-profile white-collar offender has received another high-profile below-guideline federal sentence. Here are the details: Former state Rep...


"Judge: Teen too pregnant for jail; She can give birth first, then go, judge says"

Posted on September 24, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting local article from Michigan. Here are the details: A 19-year-old Pontiac woman was to be sentenced to prison Wednesday for her role in a crash that killed her pregnant...


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Still another noteworthy federal child porn downloading sentence

Posted on September 23, 2009
This local story, headlined "Teacher sentenced in child pornography case," provides yet another noteworthy example of the variation and uncertainty that surrounds federal child porn sentencing. Here are some unique parts of this sentencing story that drew my attention: Judge...


"Prosecutors Defend False Testimony as 'Truthful, but Inaccurate'"

Posted on September 23, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this new article in the National Law Journal. Here is how it gets started: Federal prosecutors in Chicago have asked a judge to reconsider her ruling last month that four convicted...


Pastor and city leaders fighting over sex offender working at church in California

Posted on September 23, 2009
This local story out of California, which is headlined "Pastor: San Bernardino council ultimatum is unconstitutional," reports on the fascinating details of a brewing constitutional debate involving churches freedom and local sex offender restrictions...


Ninth Circuit upholds barring from San Francisco as a supervised release condition

Posted on September 23, 2009
A Ninth Circuit panel today has an interesting ruling upholding an unusual condition of supervised release in US v. Watson, No. 08-10385 (9th Cir. Sept. 24, 2009) (available here). Here is how it starts: Deandre Watson, who pled guilty to...


Charting the uncertain future for death row inmates left behind after New Mexico repeal

Posted on September 23, 2009
This interesting local article from New Mexico, which is headlined "Uncertain Fates: NM?s next governor could commute death sentences," discusses the uncertainty that surrounds the fate of the two condemned murderers that were left on death row even after New...


Gubernatorial candidates discuss California prison reforms

Posted on September 23, 2009
This front-page article from today's Sacramento Bee, which is headlined "Gubernatorial hopefuls split on California prison changes," suggests that mostly standard ideas are coming from the leading candidates looking to take over one of the most dysfunctional sentencing and prison...


"Lil Boosie Gets Two-Year Prison Sentence For Drug Possession"

Posted on September 23, 2009
And now from the entertainment sentencing news desk, as the title of this post is the headline of this sentencing story from MTV. Here are the basic details: Louisiana rapper Lil Boosie (born Torrence Hatch) pleaded guilty to a third-offense...


States continuing to consider prisoner release to deal with budget woes

Posted on September 22, 2009
The economic realities of mass incarceration continue to impact state budgets and political debates, as evidenced today by this local feature out of Illinois headlined "Quinn's plan to release prisoners stirs debate." Here are the basics: There are still a...


"Plax prison touchdown"

Posted on September 22, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this little article in today's New York Post. Here are the basics: Plaxico Burress is due to turn himself in at 9:30 a.m. today to begin a two-year prison term. The...


State AGs and the Second Amendment incorporation debate

Posted on September 22, 2009
Thanks to law.com, everyone can check out this very interesting piecefrom a California legal newspaper headlined "With 9th Circuit Set to Hear Firearms Case En Banc, Calif. AG Walks Line on Gun Control." Here are a few highlights: A hard-fought...


"Immigration Prosecutions at Record Levels in FY 2009"

Posted on September 22, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this new data item from the folks at the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). Here is how the report starts: The latest available data from the Justice Department show that during...


Notable (and disturbing?) Third Circuit ruling on AEDPA and the Sixth Amendment

Posted on September 22, 2009
The Third Circuit has an interesting ruling today in a habeas case that, though not exactly about sentencing, seems certain to intrigue readers. The opinion in Thomas v. Carroll, No. 06-2282 (3d Cir. Sept. 22, 2009) (available here) gets started...


Federal hearing about constitutionality of Ohio's re-execution attempt pushed back months

Posted on September 22, 2009
This local AP story, which is headlined "Second attempt to execute Ohio killer further delayed," documents why the state of Ohio is very unlikely to get another chance to execute Romell Broom anytime soon. Here are the basics from the...


An international perspective on the right to remain silent

Posted on September 21, 2009
This article from New Zealand, which is headlined "Crime victims slam right to silence," provides an interesting international perspective on what is often viewed as a cherished American constitutional right. Here are some highlights: Crime victims want an end to...


A (questionable?) Eighth Circuit reversal of a reduction in crack guideline retroactivity case

Posted on September 21, 2009
The implementation of the retroactive crack guidelines has produced a lot of federal circuit court rulings, though most have involved a circuit affirming a district court's decision to deny a reduction to a defendant. But the Eighth Circuit has a...


A timely examination of data and integration amidst California's corrections craziness

Posted on September 21, 2009
Professor W. David Ball has recently put up on SSRN on this timely analysisof California's sentencing and corrections challenges, which is titled "E Pluribus Unum: Data and Operations Integration in the California Criminal Justice System." Here is the abstract: The...


Are there reliable data on the efficacy of chemical castration?

Posted on September 21, 2009
This question in the title of this post is prompted by this interesting new piece out of Australia, which discusses the idea of chemical castration for certain sex offenders. Here excerpts from the piece: A recent spate of stories about...


Federal stimulus money used to fund native american prison economy

Posted on September 21, 2009
I found this item in the New Mexico Independent quite intriguing as a sign of the economic times. The headline is "Feds release $82 million in stimulus for criminal justice for several pueblos, Navajo nation," and here is how the...


"Dying in Vein: Is subjecting an inmate to a failed execution cruel and unusual punishment?"

Posted on September 21, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this new piece appearing on-line at Newsweek. Here is how it begins: Can a vein save a convicted killer? It the case of Romell Broom ? it might. Broom was sentenced...


Posts of note from The BLT

Posted on September 21, 2009
These two posts from The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times tap into two very different issues that have long been of interest to me (and have been subject to lots of older and newer posts on this blog): The...


Reflective commentaries in the wake of Garrido's crimes

Posted on September 20, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle today has these two very different commentaries discussing how the California and other jurisdictions ought to react to the Garrido case: Toughen parole measures for sexual predators What we can learn from the Dugard case


Looking at Lawrence as an Eighth Amendment case

Posted on September 20, 2009
Thanks to this post at CrimProf, I just noticed this intriguing piece by Sheldon Bernard Lyke on SSRN, which is titled "Lawrence as an Eighth Amendment Case: Sodomy and the Evolving Standards of Decency." Here is the abstract: This Article...


Yet another noteworthy below-guideline federal child porn sentence

Posted on September 19, 2009
This local story from Washington state, which is headlined "2½-year sentence for man with 1,300 CDs of child porn," provides yet another example of the uncertainty and disparity surrounding federal sentencing for child porn offenses. First the facts as reported:...


Virginia Supreme Court rules that school boards decide whether sex offender can go on school property

Posted on September 19, 2009
This local article, which is headlined "Schools can ban sex offenders," reports on an interesting ruling yesterday from the Virginia Supreme Court: School boards ? not judges ? have the final say about whether violent sex offenders or anyone else...


Lots of useful information in latest FAMMGram

Posted on September 19, 2009
The homepage of Families Against Mandatory Minimums has this annoucement: "The FAMMGram is here! It's packed with news on efforts to change federal mandatory minimums, FAMM project updates and more." Among the features in this periodic newsletter that I found...


Is Japan's death penalty now about to be killed?

Posted on September 19, 2009
When I teach the death penalty, I often urge student to note and reflect on the fact that Japan is like the US in being a modern industrialized democratic nation that has continued to use the death penalty. But this...


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