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

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Interesting pair of thoughtful sentencing rulings from the Seventh Circuit

By Douglas A. Berman

As I continue to catch up on notable circuit rulings from last week when I was on the road, I came across two notable sentencing decisions from the Seventh Circuit.  Though covering quite different topics, both of these opinions merit attention and review because of the thoughtful engagement with defense arguments (even though the defendants wind up on the short end of the appeals): In US v. Nagel, No. 08-2535 (7th Cir. March 24, 2009) (available here), the panel rejects a federal sex offender's intriguing claim that his "mandatory minimum sentence violates the Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the United States Constitution because it is not subject to a 'safety valve' allowing for a sentence below the mandatory minimum term." In US v. Abbas, No...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).