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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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"The Crime Factory: Process, Pretext, and Criminal Justice"

Posted on October 30, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this very interesting article by Professor Erin Murphy available through SSRN. Here is the abstract: What do Bill Clinton, Roger Clemens, Martha Stewart and L'il Kim have in common? How about...


First Circuit talks through two Eighth Amendment issues

Posted on October 30, 2008
Thanks to AL&P, I see that the First Circuit today handed down these two opinions dealing with two different clauses of the Eighth Amendment: US v. Polk, No. 07-2425 (1st Cir. Oct. 30, 2008) (available here), rejects a claim that...


What might a new administration mean for the federal death penalty?

Posted on October 30, 2008
There has been a some discussion of what new Supreme Court Justices might mean for capital punishment jurisprudence (such as Steven Calabresi's recent assertion that Senator Obama would appoint judges who would pursue the abolition of capital punishment)...


Latest USSC data on crack retroactivity

Posted on October 30, 2008
The US Sentencing Commission has available here updated data on the retroactive application of its revised crack sentencing guidelines on its website. Here is how the data is described: A set of tables presenting preliminary data on cases in which...


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Senator Ted Stevens not (yet) disenfranchised

Posted on October 30, 2008
This article in the Anchorage Daily News, headlined "Stevens keeps right to vote until sentencing," keeps up with the latest legal news surrounding Senator Ted Stevens: Sen. Ted Stevens gets to vote in next Tuesday's election despite being found guilty...


Notable "death is different" response to wrongful convictions

Posted on October 30, 2008
I just discovered via SSRN this notable article by Professor Rory Little titled "Addressing the Evidentiary Sources of Wrongful Convictions: Categorical Exclusion of Evidence in Capital Statutes." Here is the abstract: After two decades of powerful "wrongful conviction" cases stimulated...


"Court-Related Aspects of Capital Punishment "

Posted on October 29, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this special issue of the Justice System Journal, which looks like a must-read. Though not available free on-line, here are some of the intriguing titles of articles in this special issue...


Lengthy Seventh Circuit discussion of reasonableness review

Posted on October 29, 2008
Though not appearing to break any new ground, the Seventh Circuit today in US v. Jackson, No. 07-2421 (7th Cir. Oct. 29, 2008) (available here), provide another good example of an appellate court taking its obligation to conduct reasonableness review...


How should (and will) Senator Stevens' political past and future impact his sentencing?

Posted on October 29, 2008
I am having a grand time ruminating about various legal and political dynamics that surround the upcoming sentencing of Senator Ted Stevens following his conviction earlier this week. And this new Washington Post article, headlined "McCain and Palin Say Stevens...


Fifth Circuit rejects supervised release residency condition

Posted on October 29, 2008
I am noticing more and more cases in which federal circuit courts are rejecting certain conditions of supervised release imposed by district courts. I am wondering if this trend reflects district courts imposing more broad SR restrictions or circuit courts...


"America's Forgotten War"

Posted on October 29, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this piece in today's Washington Post. The reference, of course, is to the war on drugs, and here are a few interesting excerpts from the piece: On June 17, America's longest-running...


Looking at control of federal prosecutors as we look toward a new administration

Posted on October 28, 2008
Just posted on SSRN is this terrific looking new essay by Dan Richman, titled "Political Control of Federal Prosecutions ? Looking Back and Looking Forward." Here is the abstract: This essay ? written for the annual Duke Law Journal Administrative...


Law prof fears "mass freeing of criminal defendants"

Posted on October 28, 2008
Yesterday in this post I noted this new op-ed authored by Senator John McCain in which the Senator asserts that Sentaor "Obama's judges would coddle criminals." Today, Professor Steven Calabresi, in a somewhat insightful and somewhat wacky op-ed in the...


"What pardons will Bush issue?"

Posted on October 28, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this local article, which asks what is likely to be a hot questions in lots of circles a little more than a week from today. The article is focused on the...


More scholarship to add to the fall reading pile

Posted on October 28, 2008
Thanks to this post at Co-op, I see there are these two must-reads for sentencing fans appearing in the October 2008 issue of the William & Mary Law Review: Giovanna Shay & Christopher Lasch, Initiating a New Constitutional Dialogue: The...


Prosecuting prison rape

Posted on October 28, 2008
I just came across this interesting looking pieceon SSRN, titled "Prosecuting Sexual Violence in Correctional Settings: Examining Prosecutors' Perceptions." Here is the abstract: The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) is the first piece of federal legislation, which expressly...


A perfect Sixth Amendment test case for SCOTUS?

Posted on October 28, 2008
In separate opinions in recent years, Justice Stevens has suggested that he might like to overrule the Harris decision allowing judges to find facts triggering mandatory minimum sentence, and Justices Scalia and Thomas have indicated in various ways their concerns...


Some sentencing questions after Senator Stevens conviction

Posted on October 28, 2008
There are so many ideas and questions bouncing in my head in the wake of US Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska being convicted Monday afternoon on all seven counts in his federal corruption trial. Here are just a few of...


Japan continues its stepped up pace of executions

Posted on October 28, 2008
Here is a good trivia question for the sentencing cocktail parties: What do Japan and Texas have in comming these days? The answer, as detailed in this BBC News story and this AP story, is that both jurisdictions are now...


Interesting legal developments concerning sex offender regulations

Posted on October 28, 2008
Two interesting legal stories developed Monday concerning legal challenges to certain state sex offender laws: The story from Georgia concerns sex offender registries and is well covered by Sex Crimes in this post headlined "Georgia Supreme Court Rules that Registration...


Senator Stevens convicted on all counts

Posted on October 27, 2008
As detailed in this CNN report, US Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska was convicted Monday afternoon on all seven counts in his federal corruption trial, and thus he now has to think about the federal sentencing guidelines and judicial sentencing...


Re-examining compassionate release

Posted on October 27, 2008
One important sentencing topic that rarely gets enough scholarly consideration is the legal doctrines that permit "compassionate release" for prisoners under certain limited circumstances. I was thus surprised and pleased to discover this new paper on SSRN by William Berry,...


New op-ed from Senator McCain talking about DOJ and judges

Posted on October 27, 2008
A helpful reader passed along this new op-ed authored by Senator John McCain in which he discusses the future of the Department of Justice and judicial appointments. Here are snippets that might especially intrigue (and annoy) sentencing fans: Lax enforcement...


Noticing the new ex-felon voting block

Posted on October 27, 2008
This Los Angeles Times article spotlights a notable new voting block: former felons who have regained the right to vote. Here are snippets from the article: At least a dozen states have changed their laws since 2003 to allow more...


A profile of Prez pardons as we enter clemency season

Posted on October 26, 2008
Former pardon attorney Margaret Colgate Love sent me a terrific little document providing a "a very quick and dirty profile of the 157 individuals who have been pardoned by President Bush to date, as well as the five individuals whose...


In praise of the ABA's sentencing institute

Posted on October 26, 2008
As noted in this post at WCCP, the "ABA's recent sentencing institute was packed full of wonderful discussion on the effect of Booker, Rita, Gall, and Kimbrough, as well conversations on many other issues related to sentencing." I was both...


"The California Prison Disaster"

Posted on October 25, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this potent editorial in today's New York Times. Here are excerpts: The mass imprisonment philosophy that has packed prisons and sent corrections costs through the roof around the country has hit...


Intriguing report on woman facing federal child porn sentencing

Posted on October 25, 2008
This local story from Iowa describes some challenging sentencing issues raised in an unusual case in which a female defendant is facing sentencing following her plea to federal child porn charges. Here are some of the details from the sentencing...


Eleventh Circuit issues stay in Troy Davis case

Posted on October 25, 2008
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has this report on the latest development in one of the most-discussed capital cases in recent years: The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Friday halted Troy Anthony Davis? execution, the third time his life has been...


What sentence would be a just for a national crime hoax?

Posted on October 24, 2008
This CNN piece has the latest details on the "political attack" that has produced a lot of buzz in the last few days: A Republican campaign worker who told police she was assaulted by a man angered by a John...


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