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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.
DOJ trying to identify "victims" of serious identity fraud sentencing snafu
Posted on April 13, 2009Perhaps readers with a literary bent can help me figure out whether this story reported by Marcia Coyle in the National Law Journal reads more like a tale from Dickens or Kafka or Orwell. Here are the basics: The Department...
Vermont legislature considering "sexting exception" to child porn prohibitions
Posted on April 13, 2009The Burlington Free Press had this recent coverage of the latest notable "sexting" legal development. The article is headlined "Legislature considers legalizing teen 'sexting': Bill would exempt teens from child-porn laws for consensual image exchange," and starts this way: Vermont?s...
Are state child abuse sentences often too low?
Posted on April 12, 2009This long local article from South Carolina, headlined "Child abusers escape jail time," prompts the question in the title of this post. Here are snippets from the article: Since 2002, S.C. judges have given no prison time in at least...
"Killer who tore out own eyes fuels Texas debate on insanity defense"
Posted on April 11, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this piece from the Dallas Morning News. Here are some excerpts from the piece: Everyone agrees Andre Thomas is crazy. In 2004, he cut out the hearts of his wife and...
Lots of news and notes from the US Sentencing Commmission
Posted on April 11, 2009There are lots of new items of interest appearing on the official website of the US Sentencing Commission. Here are the particulars: Notice of Public Meeting of the United States Sentencing Commission: Pursuant to Rule 3.2 of the Rules of...
A reality TV twist on federal supervised release
Posted on April 11, 2009Thanks to How Appealing, I saw this local article headlined "Hatch asks if he can serve end of sentence in Argentina." Though political junkies might first think of Senator Hatch, TV junkies know that this article is about the first...
First Circuit finds plain error when sentence based on inaccurate facts
Posted on April 10, 2009The First Circuit handed down a notable little sentencing opinion dealing with plain error yesterday in US v. Gonzalez-Castillo, No. 07-2134 (1st Cir. April 9, 2009) (available here). Here is how the opinion starts: In this sentencing appeal, appellant, Ynocencio...
Illinois public defenders plead poverty to try to thwart capital prosecution
Posted on April 10, 2009The Chicago Tribune has this notable article today, headined "Death penalty fund: Public defenders say they're out of money and can't defend man in death penalty case: State funds for this year have already run out." Here are some excerpts:...
"Man with urine fetish to serve 60 days in jail"
Posted on April 10, 2009I will flush a long week away with this local Ohio sentencing story that has the same headline as the title of this post. Here are the particulars: A man with a urine fetish will begin serving a 60-day jail...
Some of the latest "sexting" news and notes
Posted on April 09, 2009It is now almost impossible to keep up with all the media coverage being given to "sexting" lately, but here a few notable stories on the topic I have seen recently: From CNN here, "'Sexting' lands teen on sex offender...
Eighth Circuit formally rejects heightened burden of proof in modern federal sentencing
Posted on April 09, 2009The Eighth Circuit today in US v. Villareal-Amarillas, No. 07-3616 (8th Cir. April 9, 2009) (availabe here), formally rejects a defendant's claim that a higher burden of proof should apply to fact-finding that significantly increase applicable guideline sentencing ranges...
"6-year-old sentenced to traffic school"
Posted on April 09, 2009The title of this post is the title of this local article I found via a link from CNN. Here are the notable particulars: Even though mom got the ticket a Los Lunas magistrate judge isn't letting her child off...
Notable Sixth Circuit reversal for procedural unreasonableness
Posted on April 09, 2009The Sixth Circuit today has an interesting little reasonableness decision in US v. Garcia-Robles, No. 07-2209 (6th Cir. April 9, 2009) (available here). Here is how the decision starts, and a few key lines from the ruling: In June 2007,...
A telling and troubling gubenatorial veto in New Mexico after death's repeal
Posted on April 09, 2009This local story out of New Mexico, headlined "Governor vetoes teen sentencing change," provides further support for my enduring concerning that anti-death penalty advocacy and developments have a way of sapping political energy and interest in other progressive sentencing reforms...
"Disentangling the Sixth Amendment"
Posted on April 09, 2009The title of this post is the title of this interesting-looking new piece by Sanjay Chhablani that I just noticed via SSRN. Here is the abstract: The Sixth Amendment, framed in an atmosphere of deep mistrust of a potentially oppressive...
Scholarly exploration of applying Apprendi to juve transfer decisions
Posted on April 09, 2009I just noticed on SSRN this new paper by Jenny E. Carroll, titled "Rethinking the Constitutional Criminal Procedure of Juvenile Transfer Hearings: Apprendi, Adult Punishment and Adult Process." This looks like a must-read for not only for those who enjoy...
"Teens locked up for life without a second chance"
Posted on April 08, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this new extended CNN piece focused on juve LWOP sentences. Here are snippets: [There are at] least 73 U.S. inmates ? most of them minorities ? who were sentenced to spend...
Little Sixth Circuit ruling flags enduring question over Kimbrough's reach
Posted on April 08, 2009The Sixth Circuit today has a seemingly minor ruling today in US v. Vandewege, No. 07-2250 (6th Cir. April 8, 2009) (available here), in which the court remands for resentencing in a crack case. The case is blog-worthy, howevere, because...
Should we blame bad apples or a bad culture for federal prosecutors gone wild?
Posted on April 08, 2009In the wake of Judge Emmet Sullivan's strong rebuke of federal prosecutors when setting aside the conviction of former Senator Ted Stevens (basics here), the media are starting to talk more broadly about misconduct by federal prosecutors. For example, the...
Interesting report on a Heller argument in the Seventh Circuit
Posted on April 08, 2009I received today via e-mail this interesting report from a helpful federal public defender: Some time ago, I advised you of a decision in the Western District of Wisconsin on my motion to dismiss in a 922(g)(9) case based on...
Advice for prosecutors in an advisory guidelines world
Posted on April 08, 2009A thoughtful readers sent me this BePress link to what seems to be a thoughtful article about post-Booker prosecutorial discretion. The article by Alex Whiting is titled, ?How Prosecutors Should Exercise Their Discretion Now that the Sentencing Guidelines are Advisory,?...
Seventh Circuit notes, but dodges, attacks on federal child porn guidelines
Posted on April 07, 2009In a new per curiam ruling in US v. Huffstatler, No. 08-2622 (7th Cir. April 6, 2009) (available here), a Seventh Circuit panel discusses the attacks being made on federal child porn guidelines in the course of affirming an above-guideline...
Iraqi shoe thrower gets prison sentence cut by appeals court
Posted on April 07, 2009This BBC News article provides some additional evidence that crime and punishment in Iraq is very different than crime and punishment in the US: The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at former US President George W Bush has had...
Strong words and actions as Stevens conviction set aside
Posted on April 07, 2009As detailed in this CNN report, the formal dismissal of former Senator Ted Stevens's prosecution came with some verbal fireworks today: A federal judge Tuesday set aside the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens. He also initiated criminal contempt...
States looking to capture fees through criminal justice systems
Posted on April 07, 2009The New York Times has this interesting piece on real-world economics in some state courts. The piece is headlined, "Pinched Courts Push to Collect Fees and Fines," and here is how it starts: Valerie Gainous paid her debt to society,...
Should Atkins impact non-capital sentences for mentally retarded defendants?
Posted on April 06, 2009This article in the Chicago Tribune, headlined "Mentally retarded Texas teen serving 100-year prison term for sex assault of boy: He admitted assaulting 7-year-old, but his retardation was not considered," raises interesting and important questions as to whether and how...
Split Third Circuit debates crack guideline retroactivity following binding sentencing plea
Posted on April 05, 2009In a complicated ruling on Friday, a divided Third Circuit in US v. Sanchez, No. 08-1847 (3d Cir. April 5, 2009) (available here), seemed to create a circuit split on whether a district court can reduce a previously imposed crack...
"States pull back after decades of get-tough laws"
Posted on April 05, 2009The title of this post is the headline of this extended AP report from this weekend. Here are some excerpts from an effective piece that details legal reform developments in numerous states: For the last four decades, the laws of...
Two notable new papers on the death penalty
Posted on April 05, 2009I never get tired of reading what Professor Deborah Denno has to say about the death penalty, and thus I was pleased to discover that she has two new papers posted on SSRN. Both appear to be chapters from new...
Potential Ohio AG candidate talking about speeding up capital appeals
Posted on April 04, 2009On the heels of this week's official state report on Ohio's capital cases come this local news of a potential Ohio Attorney General candidate talking about his commitment to speed the path of condemned killers to the execution chamber: Delaware...
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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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