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Criminal Law

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

"Century knocked off man's terror-support sentence"

Posted on January 27, 2011
The title of this post comes from the headline of this AP story, which gets started this way: In the shadow of 9/11, the conviction and 155-year sentence handed down to Hezbollah supporter Mohamad Hammoud was considered a milestone in...

"Ohio Mom Kelley Williams-Bolar Jailed for Sending Kids to Better School District"

Posted on January 26, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this new piece from ABC News covering a crime and punishment story that has been generating controversy in northeast Ohio and now is becoming a topic of national discussion. Here are...

Virginia state senator urging study of physical castration for sex offenders

Posted on January 26, 2011
As detailed in this AP piece, a "Virginia legislator is proposing castrating sex offenders as an alternative to the increasing costs to detain and treat them after they've served their prison sentences." Here is more: Republican Sen. Emmett Hanger's bill...

Federal fiscal discipline at DOJ might mean increases in good-time credits

Posted on January 26, 2011
A helpful reader pointed me to this notable new Wall Street Journal article headlined "Budget Cutting Starts at Justice Department." Here are excerpts that ought to intrigue sentencing law and policy fans: As President Barack Obama finalizes his proposals to...

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Pedophile who claimed child porn kept him from molesting kids gets two (consecutive!) life sentences for the porn

Posted on January 26, 2011
Especially in the wake of the recent robust debate on this blog concerning police stings and on-line child sex offenses (following this post), I found this new state sentencing story out of Texas quite intriguing. The piece is headlined "Child...

Notable comments about federal sentencing trends from Senator Charles Grassley

Posted on January 26, 2011
A helpful reader pointed out to me that US Senator Charles Grassley had these notable comments about federal sentencing law and practice at the end of this lengthy statement prepared for today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on fraud prosecutions: Finally,...

Iowa legislature considering response to Graham allowing juve parole eligibity after 25 years

Posted on January 26, 2011
This local story, headlined "Bill changes Iowa?s sentencing laws for some juvenile felons; Legislation would put state in compliance with a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling," indicates that the Iowa legislature is working on what sounds like a sound response...

States figuring out that helping ex-cons find jobs can be a budget boon

Posted on January 25, 2011
This New York Times piece, headlined "States Help Ex-Inmates Find Jobs," spotlights another benefit of states trying to get smarter on crime in the face of budget crunches. Here is how the piece begins: Faced with yawning budget gaps and...

Former GTMO detainee gets LWOP federal sentence despite jury acquittal on hundreds of counts

Posted on January 25, 2011
As detailed in this CBS News report, which is headlined "Ghailani Gets Life Sentence for Embassy Plot," a high-profile defendants high-profile acquittal on lots and lots of charges did not do him much good at sentencing in federal court today....

"Florida Senators Look to Texas for Prison System Cuts"

Posted on January 25, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting local article, which also carries the (somewhat amusing) sub-headline of "But money-saving programs could be too costly in tight budget year." Here is how piece starts: Florida legislators were...

Some news and notes from the medical marijuana world

Posted on January 25, 2011
I have not be following the news and debates surrounding pot policy since the defeat of legalization proposition in California back in November. Still, as evidenced by these recent headlines and stories, medical marijuana debates and practices still are raising...

Ohio swiftly announces change to drug to be used in its lethal injections

Posted on January 25, 2011
As detailed in this AP story, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction today announced that it is "switching its lethal injection drug from a scarce anesthetic to one commonly used in surgery as a shortage of the drug normally...

Sixth Circuit rejects constitutional attacks on 10-year mandatory minimum for kiddie cruising

Posted on January 24, 2011
The first two paragraphs of today's Sixth Circuit decision in US v. Hughes, No. 09-5787 (6th Cir. Jan. 24, 2011) (available here), tells a story that is as depressing as it may be common. In reverse order, here are these...

Lots of interesting prison and prisoner law activity by SCOTUS today

Posted on January 24, 2011
The Supreme Court Justices have started a month break from oral argument this week. But, on their way out of town, the Court gave prison jurisprudence fans a going away gift. Specifically, the Justices via a summary reversal in Swartout...

Should Justice Scalia urge Congress members to work on Booker and ACCA fixes at the inaugural Conservative Constitutional Seminar?

Posted on January 24, 2011
As detailed in this New York Times piece, "United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is scheduled to speak Monday on Capitol Hill in a closed-door session with a group of conservative lawmakers that has drawn scrutiny for its ideological...

Illinois judge calls Governor Pat Quinn "grossly irresponsible" for dithering on death penalty

Posted on January 24, 2011
A state judge in Illinois has called out Governor Pat Quinn for having dithered so long concerning the bill to repeal the death penalty passed by the Illinois legislature nearly two weeks ago. This local story provides the interesting details:...

President Obama nominates Donald Verrilli for Solicitor General position

Posted on January 24, 2011
As detailed in this post from The BLT, "President Barack Obama has tapped White House Deputy Counsel Donald Verrilli Jr. to serve as Solicitor General of the United States." Here is more about the nomination and an account for why...

"President Obama: Why no clemency for Hamedah Hasan?"

Posted on January 23, 2011
The question in the title of this post is from the headline of this commentary from the Washington Times. Here are excerpts: More than two years into his term, President Obama has granted only nine pardon requests and no petitions...

Tough discussions in California about how to handle serious juve offenders

Posted on January 23, 2011
This piece via the New York Times, which is headlined "Whither Young Offenders? The Debate Has Begun," spotlights the challenging discussions in California of what to do with a distinct set of challenging offenders. Here is an excerpt: Gov. Jerry...

Long, thoughtful (and wrong?) new opinion on FSA application to pending cases

Posted on January 21, 2011
As regular readers may recall, aided by a helpful lawyer in NYC litigating a Fair Sentencing Act issue for a defendant awaiting initial sentencing in a multi-defendant case, I had the opportunity and honor to serve as an amicus in...

"A killer deal: Be a star witness, escape execution"

Posted on January 21, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting article from the Washinton Times. Here is how it gets started: Not long after Timothy Heaphy was nominated to be U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, he...

Victims sue in California to try to undo controversial commutation by former Gov Schwarzenegger

Posted on January 21, 2011
The notable controversy in California over a last-day commutation by the last governor has taken an interesing legal turn, which is detailed in this Los Angeles Times piece headlined "Family sues Schwarzenegger over commutation of Nu�ez's sentence; The parents of...

Last call for submission of commentaries for FSR providing "Advice to the Commissioners"

Posted on January 21, 2011
As explained in this post a few weeks ago, the Federal Sentencing Reporter is devoting its April 2011 issue to publishing a series of short commentaries ? ranging in length from a few paragraphs to a few pages ? on...

US company, pressured by Italy, suspends production of lethal injection drug

Posted on January 21, 2011
As detailed in this new AP story, which is headlined "US drug maker discontinues key death penalty drug," a notable new corporate decision could have a great impact on future plans for lethal injection executions. Here are the basics: The...

"Inside-Trading Convicts Avoid Prison Term in 44% of New York Court Cases"

Posted on January 20, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this notable lengthy new article from Bloomberg News. Here is how it starts, along with some other stats from the piece: Almost half of the 43 defendants who were sentenced in...

Notable new letter to AG Eric Holder concerning application of the FSA

Posted on January 20, 2011
This morning I received a copy of a letter that the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights sent to Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to issue guidance instructing all federal prosecutors to apply the modified mandatory minimums in...

Notable defense of parole focused on prosecutorial discretion

Posted on January 20, 2011
Writing in The Atlantic, Wendy Kaminar has this interesting new commentary, headlined "Why Granting Parole Helps Us Stay Tough on Crime," which stresses the too-often ignored issue of prosecutorial discretion. Here are excerpts: Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick recently secured the...

Outstanding local media coverage of the crime, prosecution and punishment of kiddle porn downloaders

Posted on January 19, 2011
As regular readers know, I find the modern debates surrounding the law, policy and practice of child porn downloading offenses to be extremely interesting, important and challenging. Consequently, I am always grateful when the media gives sustained attention to these...

SCOTUS unanimously reverses two Ninth Circuit habeas grants on IAC claims

Posted on January 19, 2011
The Supreme Court handed down three opinions this morning, and two of them involved unanimous rulings authored by Justice Kennedy (with Justice Ginsburg concurring separately and Justice Kagan not participating) reversing grants of habeas relief by the Ninth Circuit based...

Indiana prosecutors oppose state sentencing reform proposals

Posted on January 19, 2011
As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Prosecutors group assails proposal to cut prison sentences," discussion of sentencing reform to cut prison terms and associated costs has prompted the usual suspects to speak out in opposition. Here are...

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