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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.
Kolber blogging on the comparative nature of punishment
Posted on October 01, 2008Professor Adam Kolber has this new post at PrawfsBlawg talking about his new article, "The Comparative Nature of Punishment" (previously blogged here). This new post concludes this way: The bottom line is this: If we seek to punish offenders in...
Split Ohio Supreme Court upholds retroactive application of sex offender regulations
Posted on October 01, 2008As detailed in this official press release, the "Supreme Court of Ohio ruled today that applying 2003 amendments to ... the state's sex offender registration and reporting law to offenders whose crimes took place before the amendments were adopted does...
Lots of crime, but little punishment, in new SCOTUS grants
Posted on October 01, 2008As detailed in this post from SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court today added "ten new cases to its decision docket for the year .... [and of] those ten, seven involved issues of criminal law." But, as this accounting from Lyle Denniston...
SCOTUS plays foot(note)sie as it denies rehearing in Kennedy
Posted on October 01, 2008As I had expected (and had predicted here and elsewhere), the Supreme Court denied Louisiana petition for rehearing in the Kennedy child rape case. Over at Sex Crimes, Corey has this effective post covering this ruling and the footnotes added...
More on Justice Alito's climb out of the cert. pool
Posted on October 01, 2008I just noticed this Legal Times piece by Tony Mauro discussing Justice Samuel Alito notable (and in my view praiseworthy) decision to get out of the cert pool (first discussed here). Here are snippets from the piece: Former clerks tell...
"California Sex Offender Put in Charge of Kids at Marijuana Festival"
Posted on October 01, 2008The title of this post sound like a headline from The Onion (similar to this comical recent Onion headline, "Palin Brushing Up On Foreign Policy At Epcot"). But, in fact, the title of this post is the headline from this...
New BJS data on federal criminal justice realities
Posted on September 30, 2008A new report just released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics provides a different perspective on federal crime and punishment than is provided by the data produced by the US Sentencing Commission. The new BJS report, titled simply "Federal Justice....
"Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System"
Posted on September 30, 2008The title of this post is the title of this new report from The Sentencing Project. Here is how the report is described from an e-mail I received today: The Sentencing Project has just published a new edition of "Reducing...
When will the latest economic crisis become a criminal justice story?
Posted on September 30, 2008Traditional economic markets rarely play a direct role in the criminal justice arena (though I believe punishment systems would be much improved if subject to rigorous cost/benefit analysis). But dramatic economic realities always become a criminal justice story in some...
Notable plea deal to avoid mandatory minimum in notable sex case
Posted on September 29, 2008CNN has this report, headlined "Ex-teacher gets 6 years for sex with boy, 13", that caught my eye in part because of the discussion of how a plea deal was struck to avoid the application of a federal mandatory minimum...
FSR publishes issue on "American Criminal Justice Policy in a 'Change' Election"
Posted on September 29, 2008I am pleased to report that, just in time for the election stretch-run, the latest issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter focused on American criminal justice is now available here on-line. The issue is titled, simply enough, "American Criminal Justice...
A religious pitch for drug courts
Posted on September 29, 2008This new paper posted at SSRN, titled "An Argument for Providing Drug Courts in All Alabama Counties Based on Judeo-Christian Ethics," provides a religious pitch for drug courts. Here is the abstract: A drug court is an alternative process in...
Who sets the priorities of New York City prosecutors?
Posted on September 29, 2008This new story on CNN allows be to do some cat blogging and also has me wondering if all human-related crimes have been solved and resolved in New York City. The story is headlined "Prosecutors consider retrial in cat-killing case,"...
Another sad account of modern prison conditions
Posted on September 29, 2008I just received via e-mail a heads-up about a new book titled "Dying Inside: The HIV/AIDS Ward at Limestone Prison." This webpage provides information about the book, including this summary description: Dying Inside brings the reader face-to-face with the nightmarish...
"Nearly 500 teens serving life terms in Pa. prisons"
Posted on September 29, 2008The title of this post is the title of this notable article from this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here are some excerpts: Pennsylvania leads the nation in teen lifers -- prisoners serving life without parole for crimes they committed as minors...
Making an economic case against the death penalty
Posted on September 28, 2008This op-ed from a local paper in Califorinia, headlined "Price isn't right for the death penalty," makes a economic pitch against the use of the death penalty. Here are excerpts: As the country's economic woes continue to mount, frightening many...
Heller and the Second Amendment stir up controversy
Posted on September 27, 2008The AP has this new piece noting that some notable judicial conservatives are assailing Justice Scalia's activism in the Heller Second Amendment case. Here are snippets from the article: The judges, J. Harvie Wilkinson of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court...
"The Confessional Penalty"
Posted on September 26, 2008The title of this post is the title of this paper I just noticed on SSRN. The paper, by two professors at Tel Aviv University, is another interesting suggestion to use sentencing rules to deal with non-sentencing concerns (like the...
Justice Alito jumping out of the cert pool!!
Posted on September 26, 2008Though it won't garner as much attention as a big ruling, Adam Liptak reports here some huge news coming from the Supreme Court: Justice Samuel Alito is getting out of the cert pool. Here's more from Liptak's story in today's...
Say hallelujah for new faith-based prison scholarship
Posted on September 25, 2008I have been amazed and disappointed by how little scholarly attention has been given to the faith-based prison movement. Thus, I say hallelujah for this new piece from Lynn Branham appearing on SSRN. (Music fans can listen to Jeff Buckley...
New Sentencing Project report on felon disenfranchisement
Posted on September 25, 2008I was pleased to learn through a helpful e-mail that the a new report from The Sentencing Project discussing felon disenfranchisement reform over the past decade. The report, titled "Expanding the Vote: State Felony Disenfranchisement Reform, 1997-2008," is available at...
Second Circuit talks through federal crime of failure to pay child support
Posted on September 25, 2008As some experts in federal criminal law may know, it is a federal crime to willfully fail to pay child support. Though I suspect that this crime is frequently committed, I also suspect that it is only rarely prosecuted in...
Six-year-old suggests dad's shaming sentence
Posted on September 25, 2008UPI reports here on another interesting shaming sentence from a local state court: A Kalamazoo County, Mich., judge has ordered a man convicted of theft to wear the words "Daddy, don't steal" for seven months. Kalamazoo County Circuit Judge Pamela...
Baaaaaaad Michigan sex offender registry law?
Posted on September 25, 2008Thanks to posts at How Appealing and The Volokh Conspiracy, I see that the Michigan courts are struggling to determine if a man convicted of having sex with a sheep will have to register as a sex offender once he...
Louisiana files final Kennedy rehearing petition brief
Posted on September 24, 2008As detailed here at SCOTUSblog, Louisiana today filed its final brief before the Supreme Court decides whether to rehear the Kennedy child rape case. This last brief is available at this link, and here is part of Lyle Denniston's summary:...
New FAMM report and poll data on reforming mandatory minimums
Posted on September 24, 2008This press release discussing a new report and interesting polling data from the folks at Families Against Mandatory Minimums provides interesting sentencing grist for the political mill. Here are excerpts from the press release: A new poll released today by...
Busy day in the Ninth Circuit
Posted on September 24, 2008The Ninth Circuit today issued these three opinion of note for sentencing fans (though technically one of the cases involves only a non-sentencing constitutional issue): US v. Gomez-Leon, No. 05-50138 (9th Cir. Sept. 24, 2008) (available here) (discussing at great...
Proof nobody can be trusted in the criminal justice system
Posted on September 24, 2008Joseph Stalin supposedly said, "I trust no one, not even myself." Though few should consider Stalin a great giver of advice, this local Ohio story highlights why a "trust no one" mantra is applicable in some modern criminal justice systems....
District Court embraces a sentencing approach to dealing with prosecutorial misconduct (and highlights the impact of effective scholarship)
Posted on September 24, 2008I am pleased to report on a fascinating district court opinion issued today, US v. Dicus, No. CR 07-32-MWB (N.D. Iowa Sept. 24, 2008) (available for download below). Among the fascinating facets of the Dicus opinion is its incorporation of...
"Explaining Sentences"
Posted on September 23, 2008The title of this post is the title of this terrific new paper by Michael O'Hear available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Despite the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in United States v. Booker, which enhanced the power of district...
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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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