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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.
Interesting sentencing issues covered as Second Circuit affirms peonage conviction
Posted on March 25, 2010The Second Circuit has a lengthy opinion today in the intriguing case of US v. Sabhnani, No. 08-3720 (2d Cir. Mar. 25, 2010) (available here), which ends with 20+ pages discussing a variety or intriguing sentencing issues. Here is the...
"What if Jesus had been tried under Texas law?"
Posted on March 25, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this item in the Dallas Morning News, which sets up a Q&A interview with Baylor lawprof Mark Osler this way: What if Jesus were sentenced under Texas laws? Would he still...
"Jail or no jail? Fateful day arrives for Arenas"
Posted on March 25, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new AP piece focused on the high-profile sentencing question that will be answered at a court proceeding in DC on Friday. Here is some background to help readers opine on...
"Hacker Gets 20 Years in Largest Identity-Theft Case"
Posted on March 25, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this Bloomberg news report. Here are the details: Miami man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for charges linked to computer hacking in what prosecutors called the largest identity-theft case...
Interesting sentencing enhancement case from Washington state
Posted on March 25, 2010Thanks to How Appealing, here is a little report on an interesting split state Supreme Court sentencing ruling today: Should someone who is arrested for drunk driving, then taken immediately to jail, where a search reveals a small bag of...
California continues to struggle with corrections costs
Posted on March 24, 2010The San Jose Mercury News has this effective new report headlined "California finds that prison costs aren't so easy to cut." Here is how it starts: The billions of dollars that California pours into its troubled prisons ? a number...
"Fraudster appeals whopping 845 year sentence"
Posted on March 24, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new AP piece. Here are the basics: Financial fraudsters have racked up huge prison sentences before, but few if any white collar sentences top the eye-popping 845 years that New...
Another vet, claiming PTSD contributed to child porn downloading, gets big sentencing break
Posted on March 24, 2010This remarkable local story out of Montana, which is headlined "Man blames PTSD for child pornography downloads," reports on another notable sentence break given to a notable child porn offense. Here are the details, which spotlight many of the hottest...
A sentence of 15 years for trying to break into jail!?!?
Posted on March 23, 2010This local story from Florida, which is headlined "After outburst, man who tried to break into jail gets 15 years," reports on a remarkable case with a remarkable (final?) sentencing chapter. Here are the basics: Obscenities and claims of injustice...
"Russia to Alter System of Penal Colonies"
Posted on March 23, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this fascinating piece from this morning's New York Times. Here is how it starts: In Russian prisons, the inmates are divided into barracks housing a hundred or so men without regard...
Different editorial perspectives on crack reform compromise
Posted on March 23, 2010Anyone inclined to conclude and lament that the ("left-wing") media always see issues the same way should be sure to check out the distinct editorials from the New York Times and the Washington Post concerning last week's compromise bill passed...
"Apprendi Land Becomes Bizarro World"
Posted on March 23, 2010The title of this post is part of the cool title of this new paper now on SSRN from Benjamin Priester. The full title of the piece is "Apprendi Land Becomes Bizarro World: ?Policy Nullification? and Other Surreal Doctrines in...
Federal prosecutors recommend 3-month prison sentence for gun possession by Gilbert Arenas
Posted on March 23, 2010As detailed in this new post at a Washington Post blog, "Prosecutors recommended on Tuesday that Wizards star guard Gilbert Arenas spend three months in jail for bringing guns into the Verizon Center locker room." Here's more: Prosecutors also proposed...
"Argentina province OKs chemical castration for rapists"
Posted on March 22, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this recent CNN piece. Here are the details (with emphasis added by me on one key aspect of this story): Officials in Argentina's Mendoza province have authorized chemical castration for rapists...
SCOTUS back in action, with lots of new Stevens speculations
Posted on March 22, 2010The Supreme Court is back to work this morning, though this SCOTUSblog post spotlights that we are not going to get opinions in argued cases until Tuesday and that the only criminal justice case on the docket this week is...
Big indigent defense lawsuit about to be heard by New York Court of Appeals
Posted on March 22, 2010Via the New York Civil Liberties Union, I received a press release headed "NY?s Highest Court to Hear Argument in Case that Charges State with Failing its Constitutional Duty on Public Defense." Here is part of the text: New York?s...
A few criminal justice cert grants from SCOTUS today
Posted on March 22, 2010This post at SCOTUSblog provides all the details on cert grants news from the Supreme Court this morning, including these descriptions of the two cases taken up by the Justices that involve criminal justice issues: Title: Connick v. Thompson Issue:...
Interesting new paper on prosecutorial discretion in "easy" cases
Posted on March 22, 2010Thanks to SSRN here, I see that Josh Bowers has a very interesting looking new paper concerning prosecutorial discretion. The piece is titled "Commonsense Discretion," ans here is its abstract: Charging discretion is no monolith. Instead, prosecutors consider three sets...
Notable NYU event on solitary confinement
Posted on March 22, 2010I am pleased to see here that an important prison issue which I fear gets too little attention, solitary confinement, will be the focus of a panel discussion hosted by New York University?s Wagner?s Students for Criminal Justice Reform on...
"Ex-Offenders and the Vote"
Posted on March 22, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this editorial in today's New York Times. Here are excerpts: Millions of ex-offenders who have been released from prison are denied the right to vote. That undercuts efforts to reintegrate former...
Notable op-ed assailing Texas judge's peculiar recent death penalty ruling
Posted on March 21, 2010Professor Adam Gershowitz has this notable op-ed in the Houston Chronicle, which is headlined "Rethink death penalty: Judge?s ill-timed ruling invites irrationality in public?s views about capital punishment." Here is how it gets started: State District Judge Kevin Fine sparked...
Latest new federal sentencing statistics from the US Sentencing Commission
Posted on March 21, 2010The US Sentencing Commission has some fresh new sentencing data now up on its website. The USSC's latest data report, which can be accessed here, is described this way: First Quarter FY10 Quarterly Sentencing Update: An extensive set of tables...
"Rethinking Sex Offender Laws for Teenage Texting"
Posted on March 20, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new New York Times article. Here is an excerpt: In most states, teenagers who send or receive sexually explicit photographs by cellphone or computer ? known as ?sexting? ? have...
Questions about the "when" and "now what" for crack/powder sentencing reform
Posted on March 19, 2010Though there is still much to say about the virtues and vices of this week's compromise bill passed by the Senate to cut the quantity ratio of powder to crack triggering statutory mandatory minimums to roughly 18:1 (basics here and...
Growth and costs of federal prisons lamented in House hearing
Posted on March 19, 2010As detailed in this Courthouse News Service report, which is headlined "Prisons Swollen by Foreigners, Druggies," the size and nature of the national (and federal) prison population was a topic of discussion during a House hearing yesterday. Here are some...
"Polanski lawyers appeal, demand sentencing in absence"
Posted on March 19, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this Reuters piece reporting the latest news in the Roman Polanski legal saga. Here are excerpts from the piece: Lawyers for Roman Polanski filed an appeal on Thursday demanding the fugitive...
Virginia electrocutes murderer who taunted prosecutors after first death sentence was reversed
Posted on March 19, 2010As detailed in this local article, "Paul Warner Powell, whose taunting letter to prosecutors led to his conviction, was electrocuted tonight at 9:09 for the 1999 murder of a 16-year-old girl in her Manassas-area home." Here are more details: Powell's...
Third Circuit upholds bar on sexting prosecution threatened by state DA
Posted on March 18, 2010The National Law Journal has this new piece, headlined "3rd Circuit Bars Prosecution Threat for Teen 'Sexting': Panel also found former DA had violated parents' rights by usurping their roles," which reports on this notable ruling today from the Third...
Some local coverage of the new prison numbers from Pew
Posted on March 18, 2010The report on state prison populations released yesterday by the folks at Pew (covered here) has prompted lots of notable and valuable local coverage of state prison realities. Here is a sampling: Alabama inmate numbers on rise California's prison population...
Full Senate passes bill to reduce (but not eliminate) crack/powder disparity
Posted on March 18, 2010As detailed in this AFP report, the full "US Senate Wednesday unanimously approved legislation to reduce 20-year-old sentencing disparities for offenders caught with crack cocaine versus the drug in its powder form." Here are more of the basics: The bill,...
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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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