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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.
Plaxico Burress cuts a plea deal requiring two-year prison term for his gun possession
Posted on August 20, 2009As detailed in this New York Daily News article, "Plaxico Burress took a surprise plea bargain Thursday that will land the talented but troubled wide receiver behind bars for two years." Here are more legal details and some notable reactions:...
Split Eighth Circuit discusses reasonableness review and cooperation discounts at length
Posted on August 20, 2009The entire Eighth Circuit today in long opinions discusses the relationship between reasonableness review and substantial assistance discounts in US v. Burns, No. 04-2901(8th Cir. Aug. 20, 2009) (available here). All followers of federal sentencing discretion and review will want...
"Priority Test: Health Care or Prisons?"
Posted on August 20, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this effective op-ed from the pen of Nicholas D. Kristof in today's New York Times. Here are excerpts: At a time when we Americans may abandon health care reform because it...
Possibility of California sentencing commission continues to generate controversy
Posted on August 20, 2009Those scholars who focus on sentencing issues disagree about plenty, but there tends to be consensus in the academic community that the creation of a sentencing commission can help a jurisdiction reform (or at least monitor) criminal justice law and....
Compassionate release for Lockerbie bomber spotlights different visions of justice
Posted on August 20, 2009As detailed in this New York Times article, headlined "Scotland Lets Lockerbie Bomber Return to Libya," a very high-profile terrorist is being shown compassion by Scotland: The Scottish government announced Thursday that it was freeing the only person convicted in...
"Fans talking like lawyers over Burress, Stallworth"
Posted on August 20, 2009The title of this article is the headline of this AP articlenoting that it is hard to avoid comparing the crimes and punishments of NFL players Plaxico Burress, Donte Stallworth and Michael Vick. Here is a snippet: Of the first...
Dershowitz says Davis opinion shows "Scalia's Catholic Betrayal"
Posted on August 19, 2009The title of this post notes the headline of this new piece at the Daily Beast from the pen of Alan Dershowitz. Though I find it a bit odd that a famous Jewish law professor would be lecturing a famous...
Yet another district judge formally adopts 1-to-1 crack/powder sentencing ratio
Posted on August 19, 2009As detailed in this effective local article, a federal judge in Pennsylvania has now "said 'sound policy reasons' ? including the new stance of the Justice Department ? led him to reject long-established guidelines for sentencing crack-cocaine defendants...
Oklahoma legislator pushing death penalty for repeat sex offender
Posted on August 19, 2009Though I read the 2008 Supreme Court decision in Kennedy as suggesting that the death penalty is always constitutionally disproportionate for non-murder personal crimes, it seems that some state legislators still view capital punishment for certain sex offenders as a...
Stressing the importance of sentencing explanations by district courts
Posted on August 19, 2009In a unpublished Sixth Circuit opinion today in US v. Herrod, No. 07-2197 (6th Cir. Aug. 19, 2009) (available here), Judge Clay writes an extended and effective concurrence stressing the importance of district judges explaining their sentencing rulings fully after...
Split Massachusetts high court strikes down retroactive GPS tracking for probationers
Posted on August 19, 2009As detailed in this Boston Globe story, in Massachusetts yesterday a "divided Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that sex offenders convicted before 2006 cannot automatically be forced to wear GPS devices because it creates an unconstitutional burden on their freedom...
"Supreme Court's Davis Ruling Raises New Death-Penalty Questions"
Posted on August 18, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this very effectice piece on the Supreme Court's Davis decision from Time. The start and end of the piece capture a lot of the dynamic and challenging issues and questions that...
Supporting a plan that would involve "opening California cell doors"
Posted on August 18, 2009The Los Angeles Times this morning has this new op-ed that makes arguments in support of cutting California's prison population. The title and subtitle of this piece highlights its basic themes: " Opening California cell doors can free up needed...
"Sotomayor on losing end in Ohio man's death appeal"
Posted on August 18, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this AP article detailing what appears to be Justice Sotomayor's first notable vote in what appears to be the last legal hope for an Ohio death-row defendant. Here are the basics:...
What can and should we take away from the "trial" of Texas Judge Sharon Keller?
Posted on August 18, 2009I have not closely followed the controversy surrounding Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Sharon Keller because I have never been confident that her actions on the day the Supreme Court granted cert in the Baze lethal injection case ?...
Another notable reversal of a high-profile, white-collar conviction
Posted on August 18, 2009Though only a little bit of a sentencing story, all white-collar crime folks should be interested in this news out of the Ninth Circuit (via this piece in The Recorder): The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has thrown out...
Second Circuit panel advocates "more flexible approach" to tough guideline determinations
Posted on August 18, 2009In an intriguing and potentially very important little ruling today, a (two-judge) panel of the Second Circuit in US v. Dharfir, No. 05-5965 (2d Cir. Aug. 18, 2009) (available here), endorses and seems to urge district judges to adopt a...
A great new blog for resources on criminal informants, aka snitches
Posted on August 18, 2009CrimProf Alexandra Natapoff has done ground-breaking work on criminal informants in articles and a book, and I am pleased to learn that she has now brought her expertise to the webvia a new blog called Snitching Blog. An introductory post...
"Criminals 'could be spared jail if they are a parent'"
Posted on August 18, 2009The title of this post is the provocative headline of this provocative article coming from across the pond. Here are the details: Criminals could be spared jail if they are a parent, Scotland's new children's tsar said today. Children's Commissioner....
The re-leaunch of CrimProf blog
Posted on August 17, 2009I am pleased to be able to report on an exciting new development in the climinal law blogosphere. Here is the news (with links) from an e-mail I received today from Professor Kevin Cole: My CrimProf colleagues here at the...
How many justices decided death and innocence (and original habeas) are different in Davis?
Posted on August 17, 2009The law geek in me is having a hard time thinking about my upcoming classes because I am so taken by the Supreme Court's fascinating little ruling this morning (discussed here), which addresses the "original" habeas petition In re Troy...
"The Emerging Criminal War on Sex Offenders"
Posted on August 17, 2009The title of this post is the title of this new article on SSRN from Corey Rayburn Yung (who also runs the terrific blog Sex Crimes). Here is the abstract for Corey's new piece: This article addresses four central questions....
SCOTUS orders innocence hearing in Troy Davis case
Posted on August 17, 2009The Supreme Court is making some rare summer news this morning through a ruling in a high-profile capital case. Here are the basic details from this SCOTUSblog postby Lyle Denniston: The Supreme Court, over two Justices? dissents, on Monday ordered...
Are there any must-reads (beyond Heller) for my Second Amendment Seminar
Posted on August 16, 2009Regular readers know I am interested in the intersection of the Second Amendment and the criminal justice system in the wake of Heller. My interest is finding expression this coming fall semester ? which starts tomorrow(!) at The Ohio State...
Examining life sentences (and their connnection to death) in America's heartland
Posted on August 16, 2009Today's Des Moines Register has this interesting article, headlined "In Iowa prisons, life means life." Here are a few excerpts: Iowa is one of the most difficult states in the nation for an inmate serving a life sentence to gain...
"What Prevents the Application of the Thirteenth Amendment in Prison?"
Posted on August 16, 2009The question of this post is from the title of this new article by Raja Raghunath appearing on SSRN. The full title is "A Promise the Nation Cannot Keep: What Prevents the Application of the Thirteenth Amendment in Prison?" and...
Is Illinois's new internet ban for sex offenders constitutional?
Posted on August 16, 2009As detailed in this Chicago Tribune report from last week, Illinois " Gov. Pat Quinn signed new laws Tuesday designed to limit sex offenders' use of technology as a way to find more victims" by making it "a felony for...
Backstory and reaction to denial of capital clemency in Ohio
Posted on August 15, 2009As detailed in this post, yesterday Ohio Governor Ted Strickland denied clemency for death row defendant Jason Getsy despite the state parole board's recommendation for mercy based in part on the fact that Getsy was the only one of multiple...
"Did The Economist Do Sex Crime Victims Justice?"
Posted on August 15, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this interesting commentary by Robin Sax at The Huffington Post, which is a response to the articles noted in this post from a recent issue of The Economist. Here is how...
Parole granted to Squeaky Fromme after serving 30+ years in prison
Posted on August 15, 2009This New York Times article provides the details on a high-profile parole granted to a notorious female offender: Lynette A. Fromme, the waifish acolyte of Charles Manson who tried to kill President Gerald R. Ford in September 1975, was released...
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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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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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