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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.
Notable comment on sentencing from Chief Justice of the United States
Posted on April 08, 2010Tony Mauro in this post at The BLT has this remarkable sentencing-significant snippet from Chief Justice Roberts' comments yesterday when speaking to a law school crowd in Indiana (my emphasis added): Trial judging: Asked by a trial judge in the...
LA Times asserts prosecutors who apply California law to murderers are "inhumane"
Posted on April 08, 2010My inner Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride must emerge in response to this new editorial in the Los Angeles Times, which is headlined "A death penalty record: L.A. County led the U.S. in capital sentences in 2009. Prosecutors are...
Mass high court considering GPS tracking rules for sex offenders
Posted on April 08, 2010As detailed in this Boston Herald article, which is headlined "DAs unite to use GPS on sex offenders," the most popular of modern technocorrections was before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court yesterday. Here are the details: Allowing sex offenders to...
Potent new district court opinion assailing mandatory minimum sentencing
Posted on April 07, 2010Thanks to this post at the Second Circuit Sentencing Blog, I just learned about the potent opinion issued last week by US District Judge John Gleeson in United States v. Vasquez, No. 09-CR-259 (E.D.N.Y. March 30, 2010) (available for download...
Louisiana moving to adding "drug offender" label to state drivers licenses
Posted on April 07, 2010This local article, which is headlined "'Drug offender' could be added to licenses," details the latest approach to offender branding being considered in Louisiana. Here are the particulars: Second-conviction felony drug dealers should have that noted on their driver's licenses,...
Does having celebrity "a-listers" ask for leniency help a defendant's cause at sentencing?
Posted on April 07, 2010The question in the title of this post results in from my afternoon read of The Star Magazine, which has this new article headlined "A-Listers Ask Judge for Leniency in Sentencing of Michael Douglas' Son." Here is the background: As...
"Vigilante Justice: Prosecutor Misconduct in Capital Cases"
Posted on April 07, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new paper (with four co-authors) appearing on SSRN. Here is the abstract: This Article examines categories of prosecutor misconduct that may occur in capital cases, and it discusses suggestions to...
Illinois Governor acts on backlogged clemency petitions and grants multiple pardons
Posted on April 06, 2010Critics of President Obama often assail him for being just another Chicago politician, but this recent press report on actions by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn leave me wishing President Obama would acted more like his hometown politicians when it comes...
"Sarah Palin, Marijuana Law Reformer?"
Posted on April 06, 2010The title of this post is the partial headline of this item at the Huffington Post, which continues with "Nevada Group Hopes $25,000 Convinces Palin To Back Reform Of Marijuana Laws." Here are snippets of the piece: Could Sarah Palin...
New UK sentencing structure attacked for giving judges too much discretion
Posted on April 06, 2010The title of this new piece in The Guardian caught my eye because I thought the federal sentencing system was being discussed under the headline "Judges given free rein by 'pitifully loose' sentencing law." But, as this excerpt shows, the...
Should Sherrif Joe Arpaio be praised or pilloried for "Pedal Vision"?
Posted on April 06, 2010This local story provides the details on the latest innovation coming from Arizona's (in)famous Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Here are the fascinating details: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Maricopa County is implementing a new inmate program at Tent City Jail called ?Pedal Vision...
Effective review of federal sentencing law on sentencing entrapment
Posted on April 06, 2010The Third Circuit released an opinion today in US v. Sed, No. 09-1489 (3d Cir. Apr. 6, 2010) (available here), which includes this effective review of the disparate circuit law on the concept of "sentencing entrapment": We have neither adopted...
The latest "grand" development in the debate over child porn restitution "settlements"
Posted on April 06, 2010This new article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which is headlined "Possessor of child porn to pay $1,000 in restitution," provides the latest legal update on a case concerning debates over restitution awards in child porn cases." Here are the...
"Aging Prisoners, Increasing Costs, and Geriatric Release"
Posted on April 06, 2010The title of this post is the subtitle of this terrific and timely new publication from the Center on Sentencing and Corrections at the Vera Institue of Justice. Here is how the Center summarizes the piece (which is authored by...
Report on capital justice delayed in Alabama
Posted on April 05, 2010This local article from Alabama, which is headlined "Death penalty cases take longer to complete as debate continues," provides details on why capital justice takes a long time in the Yellowhammer State. Here are excerpts: When a new inmate arrives...
"there is no such thing as a nonviolent crime"
Posted on April 05, 2010This title of this post is a line from this remarkable op-ed from a "senior supervising psychologist" at a California prison. The op-ed is headlined "State plays dangerous game when it considers the early release of inmates," and it highlights...
SCOTUS short-list speculation as Justice Stevens talks of retirement
Posted on April 05, 2010As highlighted in all the links here at How Appealing, it is time once again to crank up the speculation stories about when exactly Justice Stevens will retire and who President Obama might nominate to replace him. Given that Tom...
A busy week that was at SCOTUS for sentencing fans
Posted on April 04, 2010The biggest story for criminal justice fans coming from the Supreme Court this week was surely its ruling in Padilla concerning the application of the Sixth Amendment to how an attorney advises a defendant prior to a plea (details here...
Georgia not (yet) considering prison reduction to cut costs
Posted on April 04, 2010This effective piece from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which is headlined "Georgia prison population, costs on rise," suggests that Georgia may soon have start considering it prison populations as it tries to deal with budget deficits. Here are excerpts: As Georgia...
DC Circuit rejects 30-year ban on all computer use for sex offender
Posted on April 03, 2010As detailed in this Wired story, "a federal appeals court Friday overturned a 30-year computer ban imposed on a sex offender caught in an online police sting." The opinion came in US v. Russell, No. 08-3120 (DC Cir. Apr. 2,...
Notable report on debate over capital punishment in South Korea
Posted on April 03, 2010I always find interesting the attitudes and practices of Asian countries concerning the death penalty, which is why this new article from South Korea caught my eye. The piece is headlined "Recent murder case sparks death penalty debate in South...
Just bought an iPad...
Posted on April 03, 2010in order to discover how blog friendly it will be. I probably won't get a chance to use it until Sunday, but will file a blog report.
"2,500 cons could get 'spring' break"
Posted on April 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this New York Post article discussing the possible consequences of the Second Circuit's important ruling earlier this week that declared unconstitutional New York state's Persistent Felony Offender sentencing law (basics here)...
Should sexting lead to sex offender registration?
Posted on April 02, 2010The question in the title of this post is inspired by this long ABC News piece from a segment on Nightline, which is headlined "'Sexting': Should Child Pornography Laws Apply?; Legal Debate Springs Up After Man Put on Sex Offender...
Another court exressly embraces 1-to-1 sentencing ratio for all crack sentencings
Posted on April 02, 2010While Congress is in the midst of considering how to adjust the mandatory minimum statutory sentencing terms for crack offenses (background here and here), another federal district judge earlier this week formally explained in US v. Greer, No. 6:09-CR (E...
Pre-teen accused killer to be tried as an adult in Pennsylvania
Posted on April 01, 2010As explained in this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a state judge earlier this week puts Pennsylvania on track to try perhaps the youngest ever defendant as an adult. The article is headlined "12-year-old boy to be tried trial as...
The latest data on the shrinking death row in Ohio
Posted on April 01, 2010This article from the Columbus Dispatch, which is headlined "Ohio's Death Row growing smaller," details that Ohio's recent execution successes has helped reduce the size of the state's death row. Here are some of the numbers: Anthony Kirkland of Cincinnati...
Is the Padilla ruling as profound as it seems?
Posted on April 01, 2010I have now had a chance to read closely all the Justices opinions in Padilla concerning the application of the Sixth Amendment to how an attorney advises a defendant prior to a plea (basics here), and I am now thinking...
"Justice Kennedy prods Obama to commute sentences"
Posted on March 31, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable partial report on one of today's oral arguments from by Josh Gerstein over at Politico. Here is how it starts: During arguments at the Supreme Court today, Justice Anthony...
Telling(?) distractions during Dillon SCOTUS oral argument
Posted on March 31, 2010I have now had a chance to review quickly the transcript from yesterday's Supreme Court oral argument in Dillon, which can be accessed here. I am eager to here reader reactions, and this piece in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which is...
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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?
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