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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.
Lots of criminal cases on the SCOTUSblog watch list
Posted on May 11, 2009I see from this new post at SCOTUSblog that the folks over there have about a half-dozen criminal law cases among the group on their list of ?Petitions to Watch? that are up for consideration at the Justices? private conference...
Notably different new capital statements from state governors
Posted on May 11, 2009These two afternoon headlines noting statements from Governors in Connecticut and Kansas caught my eye in light of never-ceasing public discussions of death penalty law and policy: From Connecticut here, "Rell reaffirms support of death penalty" From Kansas here, "Kansas...
More (disturbing?) details emerging about crimes and sentencing of former Judge Kent
Posted on May 11, 2009The US Department of Justice has this official press release concerning today's federal sentencing of former federal judge Samuel Kent. It provides this summary review of the charges involved in Kent's indictment and plea: U.S. District Judge Samuel B...
Lots of ink spilled about denial of en banc review in California capital case
Posted on May 11, 2009Today the Ninth Circuit officially denied en banc review in a high-profile capital case from California, and some of the judge involved felt compelled to write over 100 pages of dense text about the decision. All this discussion concerning the...
Any predictions on former Judge Sam Kent's sentence? UPDATE: 33 months
Posted on May 11, 2009This article in today's Houston Chronicle indicates that former federal judge Samuel Kent has his sentencing hearing today: Samuel Kent, who wielded power as a federal judge for 18 years, is very likely to be sentenced to prison today for...
California bill seeks to eliminate juve LWOP
Posted on May 11, 2009As detailed in this Sacramento Bee article, which is headlined "Calif. bill would give young killers rehab chance," a California state legislator is seeking to eliminate LWOP sentences for juveniles. Here are some of the interesting particulars: State Sen...
A favorite footnote of the day
Posted on May 11, 2009Though not of any consequence to the ruling in the case (or really to anything else), I could not resist a little monkeying around by spotlighting here a favorite footnote from a Third Circuit panel ruling in a capital case...
"Ohio lawmakers mull sweeping reform to cut prison populations"
Posted on May 10, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this local article providing a window into the ways in which lean economic times are impacting prison nation and the usual debates over balancing budgets and public safety. Here is an...
The arrested development of the death penalty in Connecticut
Posted on May 10, 2009As detailed in this article from the Hartford Courant, the administration of the death penalty (or the lack thereof) has nearly everyone in the Nutmeg state frustrated. Here is a snippet from the article: Many on both sides of the...
Blagojevich gets a bargain rate for his defense team
Posted on May 10, 2009This interesting article, headlined "Blagojevich Lawyers Agree to $110-an-Hour Fee Limit ," explains how former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich is getting some top-shelf legal help at cut-rate prices: Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's lawyers have reluctantly agreed to be paid...
"A new Texas? Ohio's death penalty examined"
Posted on May 09, 2009The title of this post is the title of this article in The Ohio State University's campus newspaper, The Lantern. The article interviews the author of a new book on Ohio's death penalty, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, who will be the featured...
Long prison term in Peoria for child porn "librarian"
Posted on May 09, 2009This local story, headlined "Peoria man gets 19 years for child pornography library," provides an effective account of another notable federal sentencing for a child porn downloader. Here are some details: Michael D. Dupoy ... was sentenced to 220 months...
A closer look at the pros and cons of GPS tracking for abusers
Posted on May 09, 2009As regular readers know, I believe GPS tracking and other forms of technocorrections are certain to be a larger and larger component of the criminal justice future. I was thus pleased and intrigued to see this new piece in the...
Human Rights Watch calls for federal legislation to eliminate juve LWOP
Posted on May 08, 2009I was intrigued and pleased to see this press release from Human Rights Watch discussing its efforts to convince Congresss (rather than just the Supreme Court) to elimimate LWOP sentences for juveniles in the United States. Here are some of...
"Ice cream man awaits sentencing"
Posted on May 08, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this local articlethat I thought might provide the basis for a little friday tomfoolery. Here are the basics: An ice cream truck driver that admitted to exposing himself in front of...
"Marvin Frankel?s Mistakes and the Need to Rethink Federal Sentencing"
Posted on May 08, 2009The title of this post is the title of a new article by Judge Lynn Adelman and Jon Deitrich, which will soon appear in the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law. I am pleased and hornor to have permission to post...
Stanford Law Review issue on "Media, Justice, and the Law"
Posted on May 07, 2009This past January I had the pleasure of participating as a panelist at the Stanford Law Review's symposium titled "Media, Justice, and the Law." The major papers presented at the live event were all distinctive and fascinating, and they are...
NJ Supreme Court finds local residency restrictions preempted by state's Megan's law
Posted on May 07, 2009As detailed in this press coverage, "The New Jersey Supreme Court today upheld a lower court ruling invalidating ordinances in Cherry Hill and Galloway Township that severely restricted where registered sex offenders could live." Here is how the brief ruling...
An op-ed call for a district judge to become a Justice
Posted on May 07, 2009Echoing a point I made in this 2005 post and this 2008 post, US District Judge Ann Aldrich and her law clerks call for President Obama to nominate a trial judge for SCOTUS in this New York Times op-ed, headlined...
A (third-hand hearsay) report on how DOJ is now dealing with crack sentencings
Posted on May 07, 2009In prior posts, I have been wondering how local federal prosecutors would approach crack sentencings in the wake of advocacy from the new Justice Department last week in Congress urging the complete elimination of any crack/powder disparity. This afternoon, I...
Republican governor signals openness to legalizing marijuana
Posted on May 06, 2009Coincidentally, on the same day that I engendered a robust debate when suggesting that the GOP might start considering a new set of approaches to crime and punishment, a prominent Republican governor has indicated a willingness to consider legalizing and...
Another example of victim calling for a reduced sentence
Posted on May 06, 2009Regular readers know I like to spotlight cases in which a crime victim has been a voice for sentencing leniency rather than toughness. This new article from the Philadelphia Inquirer, headlined "Victim's forgiveness keeps embezzler out of prison," provides another...
"Why Neuroscience Matters for a Rational Drug Policy"
Posted on May 06, 2009The title of this post is the title of this interesting new piece I found via SSRN. Here is the abstract: Drug addiction reflects abnormal operation of normal neural circuitry. More than physical dependence, addiction represents changes in the brain....
Michael McConnell leaving Tenth Circuit to return to academy
Posted on May 06, 2009As detail in this post at The BLT and in this official announcement, "Michael McConnell, one of the most influential federal appeals court judges in the nation, is stepping down from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit...
"Wal-Mart pays $2M to avoid charges in death probe"
Posted on May 06, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this new AP article. Here are some of the details of an interesting story that raises interesting issues related to corporate criminal liability, the purposes of punishment and prosecutorial discretion: Wal-Mart...
Should pending legislation worry federalist and Supremacy Claus?
Posted on May 06, 2009This new postat the "Threat Level" blog at Wired.com, which is titled "Prison Awaiting Hostile Bloggers," might give pause to some of this blog's most frequent commentors. Here are the details: Proposed congressional legislation would demand up to two years...
Who will get the first e-book into the law school classroom?
Posted on May 06, 2009Thanks to this post by Jonathan Alder at Volokh, I see from this article that Case Western Reserve University will soon have students in certain classes getting their their textbooks via the Amazon Kindles. This Wall Street Journal report explains...
Very different sentencing recommendations in the Lori Drew cyberbullying case
Posted on May 06, 2009Thanks to posts at Wired.com, I see that the upcoming sentencing in the Lori Drew case could be very interesting. The basic debate is revealed in the titled of these posts: Probation and $5,000 Fine Recommended for Lori Drew Prosecutors...
Procedural reasonableness reversal leads to big substantive sentence reduction
Posted on May 06, 2009Thanks to a reader, I noticed a local article updating the interesting sentencing story of US v. Maynor. As detailed in this February post, the Fourth Circuit (in an unpublished opinion!) found an above-guideline sentence given to a former local...
Effort to repeal death penalty in Colorado now faltering
Posted on May 05, 2009According to this New York Times article, the on-going efforts to repeal the death penalty in Colorado had a rough day in the state senate. Here are some details: An effort to repeal Colorado?s death penalty law stumbled Monday in...
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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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