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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.
Debate and controversy over sentencing in the UK
Posted on July 10, 2008There has been a lot of notable sentencing news coming from the UK, and this latest story, headlined "Judges' revolt stops curb on court sentencing powers," highlights judicial push-back on efforts to develop binding sentencing guidelines. Here is how the...
One (of many?) post-Heller motion to dismiss felon in possession federal indictment
Posted on July 09, 2008A friend of the blog sent me a copy of a notable motion to dismiss a federal criminal indictment for felon in possession based on Heller. The motion is pretty straight-forward (and can be downloaded below), and the heart of...
Judge Posner (aka Hannah Remanda) finds nine things to hate about unreasonable sentence
Posted on July 09, 2008The latest Miley Cyrus hit, which has a chorus focused on the "seven things I hate about you," came to mind when I saw the today's Seventh Circuit opinion in US v. Higdon, No. 07-9351 (7th Cir. July 9, 2008)...
A rare (and interesting) federal parole decision from the Third Circuit
Posted on July 09, 2008Though the Sentencing Reform Act 1984 abolished parole for the federal system nearly a quarter century ago, there are still some folks in federal prison serving parole-eligible sentences. One such federal prisoner lost an appeal today in the Third Circuit...
Is Louisiana working on its Kennedy rehearing petition? Will Gov. Jindal stay true to his word?
Posted on July 09, 2008According to SCOTUS Rule 44, a party has 25 days to petition the Supreme Court for rehearing, which means Louisiana now less than two weeks to file a rehearing petition in the Kennedy child rape case. Notably, according to quotes...
USSC press release about alternatives symposium
Posted on July 09, 2008As first noted here, next week the United States Sentencing Commission is conducting a two-day symposium on alternatives to incarceration. The USSC now has posted this official press release announcing the event, which it describes this way: The United States...
A potent attack on the post-Booker world
Posted on July 08, 2008Thanks to this post at C&C, I see that frequent commentor Bill Otis has a new article on federal sentencing appearing in the latest volume of Engage, the journal of the Federalist Society's practice groups. This new article, which is...
The post-Heller litigation headaches (and judicial cut-backs) have begun
Posted on July 08, 2008I am pleased to see that Eugene Volokh is tracking some early post-Heller rulings in lower courts, and he has this post spotlighting what appears to be the first ruling, Johnson v. United States, No. 1:07CV155, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS...
Examining the intersection of victim's rights and juve justice
Posted on July 08, 2008I just saw this interesting looking piece on SSRN that combines two topics of interest to most sentencing fans. The piece by Kristin Henning is titled, "What's Wrong with Victims' Rights in Juvenile Court?: Retributive v. Rehabilitative Systems of Justice,"...
A new web pitch for Webb: (ex officio) US Sentencing Commissioner
Posted on July 08, 2008I was disappointed to learn that Senator Jim Webb, the only national political figure who has shown a real commitment to questioning the efficacy of modern mass incarceration, has taken himself out of the VP sweepstakes. So, I must now...
Deconstructing the federal relevant conduct guidelines
Posted on July 08, 2008As first noted here, the federal defenders are hard at work on an important post-Gall/Kimbrough project entitled "Deconstructing the Guidelines." The first paper in the series addressed the child porn guidelines (discussed here); the second paper examined the career offender...
Bad ref sentencing raising some good legal issues
Posted on July 08, 2008As detailed in this New York Times article, the upcoming sentencing of former NBA ref Tim Donaghy is raising an important set iof legal issues surrounding credit for cooperation. Here are details from the Times piece: Federal prosecutors are opposing...
Hofstra Law Review issue on capital mitigation
Posted on July 08, 2008Thanks to this post at CDW, I see that the Hofstra Law Review has this entire new issue examining the ABA?s "Supplementary Guidelines for the Mitigation Function of Defense Teams In Death Penalty Cases." Though the copious pieces will be...
First Circuit finds stat max sentence (substantively?) unreasonable
Posted on July 07, 2008At the end of a very long opinion covering lots of different criminal justice issues, the First Circuit today in US v. Ofray-Campos, No. 05-1461 (1st Cir. July 7, 2008) (available here), reverses on defendant's above-guideline sentence as unreasonable...
First Circuit upholds DNA collection from non-violent felons on probation
Posted on July 07, 2008Thanks to AL&P, I see that the First Circuit has reversed a district court ruling that found Fourth Amendment problems with DNA collection from non-violent felons on probation . Here is the first paragraph from US v. Soto, No. 07-1245...
From the prison news business desk...
Posted on July 07, 2008here are two interesting stories about prison law and economics: From the Houston Chronicle here, "Critics: Prison labor hurts free-world jobs -- Program allows companies to employ inmates, operate for less with subsidies" From the NC News & Observer here,...
Examining the political dimensions of mass incarceration
Posted on July 07, 2008Though not available for free on-line, this piece by political scientist Marie Gottschalk seems especially timely as we move into the later phases of a major election year. The piece is titled "Hiding in Plain Sight: American Politics and the...
More coverage of prosecutors using capital discretion differently
Posted on July 07, 2008This effective local article from Missouri, headlined "Prosecutors use discretion differently in death sentencing," tells a story that is familiar to anyone who follows closely the modern administration of capital punishment. The piece does a particularly effective job highlighting factors...
A (silly?) Kennedy technicality: can prosecutors still pursue capital child rape charges?
Posted on July 06, 2008Unless the Supreme Court reconsiders its Kennedy ruling (which seems doubtful, despite good cause), it is now unconstitutional (and thus surely unjust) for a state to seek to execute a defendant for the crime of child rape. But here is...
US Sentencing Commission symposium on incarceration alternatives
Posted on July 06, 2008I am excited and encouraged to report that the United States Sentencing Commission is conducting a two-day symposium on alternatives to incarceration later this month. Here is the announcement from the USSC's offical webpage: The United Sates Sentencing Commission will...
A Mississippi pitch for drug courts and getting smarter on crime and punishment
Posted on July 06, 2008Writing here in the Clarion-Ledger, a state judge (and former state senator) makes a strong pitch for drug courts in Mississippi. Here is part of the pitch: Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, while serving as state auditor, released a report from...
An age-old (and costly) problem with long prison terms
Posted on July 06, 2008This new article coming from California, headlined "Aging inmates add to prison strain in Calif.," spotlights the long-term and costly consequences of long-term prison sentences. Here is how the article starts: Louis Rodriguez, a lifelong thief, is costing California taxpayers...
Washington Post editorial supports rehearing in Kennedy child rape case
Posted on July 05, 2008I am very pleased to see that the Washington Post, in this new editorial, is encouraging the Supreme Court to rehear the Kennedy child rape case in the wake of the discovery that the Justices got a key fact about...
A sentencing commission working on criminal code improvements and revision
Posted on July 05, 2008I am not quite sure what impressese me more: the fact that my home state sentencing commission is working seriously on criminal code improvements or the fact that my home town newspaper has this entertaining article on the commission's work,...
Thinking creatively about different SCOTUS short lists
Posted on July 04, 2008The holiday times, the end of a notable SCOTUS Term, and this new Findlaw article (titled "What Kind of Justices Might a President Obama Appoint? Senator Obama's Reactions to Recent Supreme Court Decisions Show that the Answer May Not Be...
Celebrating liberty in the country leading the world in incarceration rates
Posted on July 04, 2008Writing over at the Huffington Post, J. Richard Cohen has this new commentary titled "Mass Incarceration of Children Must End." Though focused on tough juve sentencing, the piece reminds everyone of this key datum as we celebrate liberty on today's...
My (already dated) musings on the SCOTUS criminal docket
Posted on July 03, 2008Though I wrote this piece a while ago and have not had a chance to update it recently, now finally appearing at this link at SSRN is a draft of a short piece of mine complaining about the Supreme Court's...
Ninth Circuit ruling on sex offenders under AWA
Posted on July 03, 2008Thanks to this post at Sex Crimes, I see that the Ninth Circuit has this ruling earlier this week about who qualifies "sex offender" under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
Two notable Eighth Circuit sentencing wins for federal prosecutors
Posted on July 03, 2008Two rulings from the Eighth Circuit today reflect the reality that federal prosecutors still seem to prevail more often than not in tough sentencing appeals. Here are links and unofficial summaries from ,the circuit's official opinion page: US v. Femsteer,...
Looking ahead to SCOTUS docket dynamics
Posted on July 03, 2008Even though there was a record low number of decisions this past Term, the Supreme Court had something for nearly everyone interested in criminal justice issues. Gall and Kimbrough and Irizarry provided federal sentencing fans with a lot of consider,...
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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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