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Criminal Law

Sentencing Law and Policy Sentencing Law and Policy

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
By Douglas A. Berman

Post Frequency: 77.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24

Recent Entries: 4815

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Might pot prohibition come to an end in the next decade?

Posted on December 29, 2009
This postby Jonathan Adler at Volokh, which is headlined "A Marijuana Tipping Point?", prompts the question in the title of this post. That post notes this recent AP article discussing increased state-level efforts to decriminalize marijuana possession and use...


Seventh Circuit requires "some minimal explanation" for sentencing modification ruling

Posted on December 29, 2009
The Seventh Circuit has issued a notable little opinion today in US v. Marion, No. 09-2525 (7th Cir. Dec. 29, 2009) (available here), concerning a district court's obligations when ruling on a federal defendant's motion for a sentence reduction under...


Is repeat offender Charlie Sheen potentially facing a long prison sentence?

Posted on December 29, 2009
This article from the Los Angeles Times, which is headlined "Charlie Sheen's 1996 domestic violence incident in L.A. could become factor in new case," should prompt fans of "Two and a Half Men" to worry about the fate of the...


China creates international row by executing Brit for drug offense

Posted on December 29, 2009
As detailed in this Wall Street Journal article, which is headlined "China Ignores Appeals, Executes Briton," the death penalty is making some interesting international news these days. Here are the details: China executed a British national for drug smuggling, sparking...


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New Duke study claims $11 million in yearly savings if NC eliminated death penalty

Posted on December 28, 2009
This effective local article, which is headlined "Study: End death cases, save money," reports on a new study coming out of Duke University claiming that North Carolina could save millions by eliminating the death penalty. Here are some of the...


First Circuit debates applicability of child porn trafficking sentence enhancement

Posted on December 28, 2009
Today's opinion from the First Circuit in US v. Dyer, No. 08-1343 (1st Cir. Dec. 28, 2009) (available here), confirms not only that some federal courts are working this week, but also that downloading child porn in the wrong way...


New lows for murders and the crime rate in New York City

Posted on December 28, 2009
Police and prosecutors and lots of others must be doing something right when it comes to criminal justice policy in the Big Apple because, as detailed in this AP report, new figures released today "show overall crime in the nation's...


A thoughtful defense of the SCOTUS docket status quo

Posted on December 27, 2009
Thanks to this postat Concurring Opinions, I saw that Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III has a great new essay assailing arguments that assail the current docket and case selection process of the Supreme Court. This piece, which is titled "If...


The same old debates about a new federal sentencing bill

Posted on December 27, 2009
A helpful reader forwarded to me this effective local newspaper article reporting on two "classic" sentencing perspectives concerning a new federal sentencing bill. The piece is headlined "Gang-prevention bill hits a snag with a co-sponsor's criticism," and here are excerpts:...


"Smart Answers to Recidivism"

Posted on December 26, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this notable New York Times editorial. Here are excerpts: Faced with soaring prison costs, states are finally focusing on policies that would help former prisoners stay out of jail after they...


Rough first holiday season for Bernie Madoff in prison

Posted on December 26, 2009
This ABC News report permits an extra little bit of Bernie Madoff schadenfreude this holiday season: Bernie Madoff fell out of bed and suffered facial injuries, according to ABC affiliate WTVD in North Carolina. The affiliate had initially reported that...


"Md. girl's death sharpens criticism of sex offender laws"

Posted on December 26, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this new local article reporting on the unsurprising response to the latest brutal high-profile crime by a registered sex offender in Maryland. Here are excerpts: Not even a full day after...


Obama as Scrooge: no Christmas clemency grants

Posted on December 24, 2009
As I complained in posts here and here and here around Thanksgiving, it was sad and telling that President Barack Obama's first use of his historic clemency power was to continue the modern (silly?) tradition of pardoning a turkey. At...


No happy ending in sentencing appeal by defendant involved in (illegal) happy endings

Posted on December 24, 2009
A panel of the Seventh Circuit issued an interesting little sentencing opinion yesterday in US v. Young, No. 08-2357 (7th Cir. Dec. 23, 2009) (available here). The start of the Young opinion helps explain the title of this post: Bok...


Two notable end-of-year appeals to SCOTUS

Posted on December 24, 2009
Thanks to How Appealing, I saw these two articles reporting on notable new sentencing appeals come from state officials to the US Supreme Court: From the San Jose Mercury News here, "Schwarzenegger makes last plea to U.S. Supreme Court in...


Second Circuit amends Stewart sentencing ruling to suggest need for longer sentence

Posted on December 24, 2009
As detailed in this New York Law Journal article, which is headlined "Amended Ruling Could Mean Tougher Term for Disbarred Terror Case Lawyer," the Second Circuit has tweaked its recent ruling in the Lynne Stewart case to suggest even more...


"Judges seek flexibility in child porn cases"

Posted on December 23, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this new article in USA Today discussing a facet of post-Booker federal sentencing well-known to regular readers of this blog. Here are excerpts: People convicted of possessing child pornography are getting...


Maine's high court finds part of sex offender registration law unconstitutional

Posted on December 23, 2009
As detailed in this local press report, the "Maine Supreme Judicial Court has found some of the provisions of Maine's sex offender registry law are unconstitutional." Here are more details: Attorney General Janet Mills says the court upheld most of...


Sentencing chapter of balloon boy hoax

Posted on December 23, 2009
I fear we are not yet done hearing about the balloon boy parents. But today they were each sentenced to a few weeks in jail for their hoax. Was justice served, dear readers? UPDATE: Now back at my desktop, I...


Federal prosecutions reach record high in FY 2009

Posted on December 22, 2009
As detailed in this New York Times article, which is based on this report from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), federal prosecutions "reached a record high in the 2009 fiscal year, with the surge driven by a sharp increase...


Are federal prosecutors acting worse or are judges just starting to notice?

Posted on December 22, 2009
Two new and notable stories of federal prosecutorial misconduct have caught my attention the last few days. And these headlines discussing these stories prompt the question in the title of this post: From the Fulton County Daily Report here, "Judge...


Tenth Circuit affirms (way-below-guideline) probation sentence for sympathetic drug mule

Posted on December 22, 2009
A panel of the Tenth Circuit today in US v. Sayad, No. 08-1366 (10th Cir. Dec. 23, 2009) (available here), affirms a sentence of probation for five years for a first-offender drug mule over the government's complaints of procedural and...


A nose-for-a-nose and an ear-for-an-ear punishment in Pakistan

Posted on December 22, 2009
Though not exactly involving the biblical punishment of an eye-for-an-eye, this CNN story reports on a sentence imposed in Pakistan that gets pretty close: A court in Lahore, Pakistan, has ordered that two men have their noses and ears chopped...


"Family Reluctantly Accepts Plea Bargain That Spares A Killer's Life"

Posted on December 22, 2009
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting local story that tells the tale of what sometimes happens after a state death sentence is reversed by a federal habeas court. Here are some of the details: He...


Was justice done in the New York state sentencing of Astor's heir?

Posted on December 22, 2009
I have not followed closely the crime and prosecution of Brooke Astor's son Anthony Marshall for stealing for his rich mother. But, yesterday's sentencing of Marshall leads me to wonder aloud in this space whether justice was done. For some...


Good news on 2009 crime rates from the FBI

Posted on December 21, 2009
As detailed in this Reuters report, the FBI released some exciting data concerning crime rates for the first half of 2009. Here are the details: Violent crime in the United States, including murder and robbery, dropped 4.4 percent in the...


A novel (and constitutionally questionable?) dating restriction as a probation condition

Posted on December 21, 2009
This local story from Wisconsin, which is headlined "Appleton teen convicted of fleeing Wisconsin with his girlfriend not allowed to date girls for three years," reports on a novel condition of probation imposed in a local court. Here are the...


A form of cruel and unusual punishment for java junkies

Posted on December 21, 2009
As this local piece reports, tight budget times have led an Ohio jail to deprive inmates of what is a life-saving elixir for some of us: coffee. Here are the details: Tight budgets mean no more java at the jail...


Israel now having well-worn debate over sentencing guideline system

Posted on December 21, 2009
As detailed in this article from Israel, the usual suspects are having the usual debate over a proposal to adopt sentencing guidelines for that country. Here are the details: A proposal to standardize prison sentences is expected to generate stormy...


Notable prediction that prison population may decline in 2009

Posted on December 20, 2009
This AP article speculates, perhaps accurately, that the total US prison population may decline in 2009 for the first time in decades. Here are the details from the article: The United States may soon see its prison population drop for...


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