Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

District Court embraces a sentencing approach to dealing with prosecutorial misconduct (and highlights the impact of effective scholarship)

By Douglas A. Berman

I 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 the insights of a new piece of scholarship (recently discussed here) by Professor Sonja Starr titled "Sentence Reduction as a Remedy for Prosecutorial Misconduct."   Here is how the Dicus opinion starts and ends:At a sentencing hearing on September 9, 2008, I announced that I was reducing the defendant?s sentence from the high end to the low end of his advisory guidelines range as a sanction for the prosecution?s serious breach of the defendant?s plea agreement. I would otherwise have sentenced the defendant at the top of his guidelines range based on his sales of marijuana to minors, which was a factor not reflected in his advisory guidelines range...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on September 24, 2008 (boomark / email).