(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense
Find a Local Lawyer
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402
Sentencing Law and Policy 
News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
Post Frequency: 55.8/day Last Entry: June 18, 2013 at 08:59:53 Recent Entries: 7872
By Douglas A. Berman
Go to Sentencing Law and Policy, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
Seeking comments on what to say in comments to the US Sentencing Commission about its priorities
Posted on June 18, 2013A wise colleague wisely suggested to me that this year might be an especially wise time to convert all my ideas and concerns about the work of the US Sentencing Commission into formal comments for formal submission to the USSC...
With overcrowded prisons and under court order, Italy is the California of Europe when it comes to punishment practices
Posted on June 18, 2013This lengthy new article from the International Business Times prompts my post title because it details how Italy is struggling through prison problems that sound a lot like what California continues to deal with. The piece is headlined "Italy?s Overcrowded...
Per Justice Thomas in 5-4 SCOTUS split, Alleyne extends Sixth Amendment to findings triggering mandatory minimums
Posted on June 17, 2013Big news from SCOTUS today for sentencing fans, with this (abridged) initial report coming from the fine folks live-blogging at SCOTUSblog: Alleyene: Any fact that increases the mandatory minimum is an "element" that must be submitted to the jury. 5-4...
"The Impact of Neuroimages in the Sentencing Phase of Capital Trials"
Posted on June 17, 2013The title of this post is the title of this notable new research paper now available on SSRN and co-authored by Michael Saks, N. J. Schweitzer, Eyal Aharoni and Kent Kiehl. Here is the abstract: Although recent research has found...
If you are wondering if marijuana is the next growth industry...
Posted on June 17, 2013here are three notable recent articles from major news sources that should be on your initial reading list: From the AP here, "Is legal pot ready for a ?Starbucks? brand? Activists say no, but a businessman tries his luck" From...
First-cut reactions as to what is big, and not so big, about Alleyne's reversal of Harris
Posted on June 17, 2013I will likely have a lot to say about the specifics of the Sixth Amendment discussions in all the Alleyne opinions later today once I get more time to review the decision more closely. But I have three quick reactions...
After an apology and less than a week in jail, ex-NFL star Chad Johnson gets out
Posted on June 17, 2013As reported in this new local news and AP report (which includes a video), "Chad Johnson apologized Monday for disrespecting a judge when the former NFL star slapped his attorney on the backside in court last week, and his immediate...
"Lafler and Frye: Two Small Band-Aids for a Festering Wound"
Posted on June 17, 2013The title of this post is the title this notable new paper by Albert Alschuler now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article contends that two recent Supreme Court decisions concerning the assistance of counsel in plea bargaining...
Notable comments and recommendations emerging from Ohio Death Penalty Task Force
Posted on June 16, 2013As I have mentioned before, I have generally been disinclined to blog about my on-going work as a member of the Joint Task Force to Review the Administration of Ohio?s Death Penalty (background here). But there was some notable developments...
"Closing the Widening Net: The Rights of Juveniles at Intake"
Posted on June 16, 2013The title of this post is the title of this notable new piece by Tamar Birckhead now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Should juveniles have more, fewer, the same or different procedural rights than are accorded to adults?...
Sixth Circuit calls for briefing on Eighth Amendment in Blewett crack sentencing retroactivity case
Posted on June 14, 2013In this post a month ago, I first reported that a majorty of a Sixth Circuit panel in US v. Blewett, No. 12-5226 (6th Cir. May 17, 2013) (available here), used equal protection principles to justify giving the new crack...
"Records Show Nearly 500 Years In Prison Time For Medical Marijuana Offenses"
Posted on June 14, 2013The title of this post is the heading of this notable new entry on The Weed Blog, which gets started this way: In spite of growing public support for medical marijuana, concern about overreach by the U.S. Department of Justice...
Lots of reasonable debate over the guidelines and reasonable review from Second Circuit judges
Posted on June 14, 2013With thanks to the readers who alerted me, I wanted to alert everyone else to todays Second Circuit opinion in US v. Ingram, No. 12-1058 (2d Cir. June 14, 2013) (available here). The per curiam opinion, which affirms a below...
"Woman arrested 396 times sentenced to mental health and substance abuse program"
Posted on June 14, 2013The title of this post is the headline of this notable little local story out of Chicago which provides some more proof concerning the inefficiencies and inefficacies of modern criminal justice systems. Here are the basics: An Uptown woman who...
Arizona prosecutors say they are still planning to try again to get Jodi Arias sentenced to death
Posted on June 13, 2013As reported in this Reuters article, a "top Arizona prosecutor said on Wednesday that the state still plans to seek the death penalty for convicted murderer Jodi Arias for killing her ex-boyfriend, after a jury deadlocked last month on whether...
"The Non-Redelegation Doctrine" with post-Booker sentencing in mind
Posted on June 13, 2013Now available via SSRN is this intriguing new article from F. Andrew Hessick III and Carissa Byrne Hessick, which is titled simply "The Non-Redelegation Doctrine." Here is the abstract, which highlights why this article should be of special interest to...
SCOTUS holds in Davila judicial involvement in pleas subject to harmless error analysis
Posted on June 13, 2013Via the fine folks at SCOTUSblog, here are the quick highlights from the one sentencing-related opinion handed down by the US Supreme Court this morning: US v. Davila. Opinion by Ginsburg for the Court. The decision of the Eleventh Circuit...
"What the Sentencing Commission Ought to Be Doing: Reducing Mass Incarceration"
Posted on June 12, 2013The title of this post is the title of this notable new article by Judge Lynn Adelman available via SSRN. With three new members of the US Sentencing Commission, the piece is especially timely, and here is the abstract: The...
Bipartisan House Overcriminalization Task Force schedules first hearing for June 14
Posted on June 12, 2013I learned via this NACDL press release that Representative Jim Sensenbrenner Chairman Sensenbrenner has scheduled the first hearing of the Overcriminalization Task Force for this Friday, June 14, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. at 2237 Rayburn House Office Building...
Not surprisingly, early buzz about a possible plea for Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro
Posted on June 12, 2013As reported in this USA Today article, headlined "Lawyer for Cleveland kidnap suspect hopes to avoid trial," an initial court appearance for Ariel Castro is already leading to talk of a possible plea in this high-profile case. Here are the...
Documenting problems with using electonic tracking for crime control in Colorado
Posted on June 11, 2013The Denver Post recently published this lengthy article headlined "Electronic monitoring of Colorado parolees has pitfalls," which documents that the benefit GPS tracking may depend on who monitors the monitoring. Here are exceprts: One sex-offender parolee hooked his GPS tracking...
Celebrity injustice?: NFL player Chad Johnson gets 30-days in county jail for lawyer butt pat
Posted on June 11, 2013As reported in this CNN piece, "Butt pat lands former NFL star Chad Johnson in jail," a low-level sentencing proceeding involving a high-profile defendant in Florida state court has become interesting fodder for debating courtroom decorum and celebrity justice...
Notable capital habeas echo from Firth Circuit after complaint about Judge Jones
Posted on June 11, 2013As reported in this local piece, headlined "Chief Judge: New Panel Will Be Assigned to Consider Death Row Appeal; Execution still slated for tomorrow," there has now been at least one procedural consequence of the resent complaint filed against Fifth...
So far in 2013, more investment in cops means less homicides in Chicago
Posted on June 11, 2013As reported in this interesting front-page New York Times article, headlined "Chicago Tactics Put Major Dent in Killing Trend," it seems Chicago is so far have measurable success in 2013 with a notable form of "hot spot" policing. Here is...
With two opinion days this week, any predictions on coming SCOTUS sentencing decisions?
Posted on June 10, 2013The fine folks at SCOTUSblog report that we will be getting opinions in argued cases from SCOTUS both today and on Thursday, June 13. With two opinion days this week, and a third of the nine longest pending cases involving...
SCOTUS concludes Ex Post Facto Clause still limits application of new guidelines after Booker
Posted on June 10, 2013Thanks to the fine folks live-blogging at SCOTUSblog, I can provide this summary report (with a few edits) of the one big sentencing ruling handed down by the Supreme Court this morning: Justice Sotomayor for the Court in Peugh v....
"High Federalism: Marijuana Legalization and the Limits of Federal Power to Regulate States"
Posted on June 10, 2013The title of this post is the title of this new paper by David Schwartz which I just noticed via SSRN. Here is the abstract: The conflict between state marijuana legalization and the blanket federal marijuana prohibition of the Controlled...
Guidelines are "the lodestone" of federal sentencing (as well as "the starting point and the initial benchmark")
Posted on June 10, 2013The title of this post is drawn from the key word in a key paragraph that captured my attention in what is otherwise a straight-forward opinion by the Supreme Court today in Peugh (basics here). Here is the context from...
"A Conservative Case for Prison Reform"
Posted on June 10, 2013The title of this post is the title of this op-ed appearing in today's New York Times and authored by Richard Viguerie, the chairman of ConservativeHQ.com. Here are excerpts: Conservatives should recognize that the entire criminal justice system is another...
"Iowa judge calls sentencing guidelines for meth dealers 'flawed'"
Posted on June 09, 2013The title of this post is the headline of this local article discussing a significant federal sentencing decision handed down late Friday. Here are the basics: Sioux City-based U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett on Friday became one of a handful...
Next
Japan's International Child Abduction Policy
By Kirsten Brown (AXcess News) Washington - Four fathers quietly f...
Eminent domain, demographics and immigration policy
On the face of it, you may be wondering what eminent domain,...
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...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-25 at 15:46PM
Acute perpendicular parking #NYPD #NYFD
On 08-18 at 22:18PM
Parallel parking gone bad. Too much gas UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:41PM
UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:25PM
Twitter suspends journalist critical of broadcast partner's coverage on dubious grounds @guyadams #nbcfail #twitterfail
On 07-30 at 17:57PM
Model example of 1st Amendment suppression by the People of New York City's Michael Bloomberg #OWS #NYPD
On 07-12 at 21:07PM
AG Holder lackadaisical on Operation in our Sites domain name seizures & RIAA lobbied free speech suppression @dajaz1
On 06-08 at 22:44PM
Why is the Catholic Church going to court over Obama contraception policy? @NewYorker commentary
On 05-31 at 10:08AM
Monks sue Louisiana for right to sell caskets made from forrest destroyed by Katrina
On 05-31 at 07:47AM
Are the abortion ultrasound laws headed for the Supreme Court?
On 05-15 at 21:52PM
is===1I 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...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material © 1999-2011 by USLaw.com. |