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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

"Neuroscientific Challenges to Retributivism"

Posted on March 25, 2011
The title of this post is the title of this notable book chapter by Professors Michael Pardo and Dennis Patterson available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: We examine two recent challenges to retribution-based justifications for criminal punishment based on...

Is a "drunk tank" a wise and humane alternative sanction for public intoxication?

Posted on March 24, 2011
The question in the title of this post is inspired by this interesting piece from the Houston Chronicle, which is headlined "Sober up, receive help and avoid a jail record; Drunk tank is humane, cheaper aid for alcoholics, some in...

Former state judge laments "The Injustice of Sentencing Guidelines"

Posted on March 24, 2011
Glenna Hall, a retired superior court judge from Washington state, has this new commentary in The Atlantic headlined "The Injustice of Sentencing Guidelines." Here is a snippet: For me, sentencing, particularly for drug crimes, was in many ways the hardest...

New report from The Sentencing Project on "Cracked Justice"

Posted on March 24, 2011
Via e-mail I received this report on this notable new report from The Sentencing Project: A new report from The Sentencing Project, Cracked Justice, ... addresses disparities in cocaine sentencing in 13 states and documents efforts at the federal and...

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Seventh Circuit gives some teeth to parsimony principle in reversing life sentence for crack

Posted on March 24, 2011
The Seventh Circuit shows yet again that it is willing and able to give some real meaning to reasonableness review after Booker, this time by reversing a within-guideline crack sentence of life imprisonment in US v. Johnson, No. 10-1737 (7th...

Divided Kentucky Supreme Court upholds stay on executions in state

Posted on March 24, 2011
As detailed in this AP article, a "ban on executions in Kentucky may stay in place while a judge decides if the state's lethal injection protocol is adequate, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled Thursday." Here are more of the details:...

Fifth Circuit rules in child porn case that no proximate causation needed to get restitution under CVRA

Posted on March 23, 2011
As Paul Cassell details in this post at The Volokh Conspiracy, on Tuesday "the Fifth Circuit gave victims of child pornography who are seeking restitution a significant victory [by accepting Paul's] arguments that the relevant restitution statute does not contain...

Victim complains about Lawrence Taylor getting probation for sex crime

Posted on March 23, 2011
As detailed in this USA Today piece, the "underage girl who Lawrence Taylor admitted having sex with before a guilty plea to a sex charge said Tuesday that the sentence of probation given to the Pro Football Hall of Famer...

"Hardened Criminals Held in Freedom: Doing Time on Norway's Island Prison"

Posted on March 23, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting, lengthy piece from Germany's Spiegel Online. Here is how it gets started and a few notable passages: No bars. No walls. No armed guards. The prison island of Bast�y...

"Lawyers ask for review of ex-judge Camp's rulings, sentences"

Posted on March 23, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this new article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Here are excerpts: Before he was sentenced for crimes he committed with a stripper, Jack Camp made a striking disclosure: The former federal judge...

Is it really surprising that some prison treatment programs are now run poorly?

Posted on March 22, 2011
The question in the title of this post is inspired by this editorial in today's New York Times, which is headlined "New York?s Prisons Fall Short, Again" and goes like this: Perhaps as many as three-quarters of New York State?s...

"Sale of prisons, fewer inmates part of budget plan"

Posted on March 22, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting article from my own Columbus Dispatch this morning. Here is how it gets started: Sell five prisons, and privatize two. Reduce the population by 2,000 inmates. Save $10 million...

Noting Justice Alito's lack of empathy for criminal defendants

Posted on March 22, 2011
I just got around to reading Emily Bazelon's interesting profile of Justice Samuel Alito from this past weekend's New York Times magazine. The piece, headlined "Mysterious Justice," is not especially kind as Bazelon contends that Justice Alito provides ?a window...

Defense lawyers in three states urging DOJ to look into execution drug sources

Posted on March 22, 2011
As detailed in this AP article, "attorneys in Arizona and Kentucky joined a lawyer in Georgia on Tuesday, calling on the Justice Department to investigate how the states acquired a key lethal injection drug that is in short supply in...

Will the spectacle of the Barry Bonds trial be good or bad for perceptions of federal criminal justice?

Posted on March 21, 2011
As noted in this San Francisco Chronicle article, which is headlined "Barry Bonds trial: Expect a 'heavyweight' fight," a federal district court in California is getting a running start on baseball season with the start today of Barry Bonds' federal....

Notable new forthcoming book on juve crime and punishment

Posted on March 21, 2011
I am pleased to see that Professors Christopher Slobogin and Mark Fondacaro have a new forthcoming book on juvenile justice which is titled "?Juveniles at Risk: A Plea for Preventive Justice." I am also pleased to have discovered that the...

"State jobs cut due to end of death penalty"

Posted on March 21, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this local piece out of Illinois. Here are the details: The state of Illinois' decision to eliminate the death penalty means about three dozen state employees will soon be out of...

Some interesting criminal justice action from the SCOTUS order list

Posted on March 21, 2011
As detailed in this SCOTUSblog post, the Supreme Court came back to work today with an order list heavy on criminal justice activity. Here are some of the particulars via SCOTUSblog: This morning, the Court issued orders from the Justices?...

Programmer sentenced to eight years for taking code from Goldman Sachs

Posted on March 19, 2011
Though some might hope that lots of people who once worked for Goldman Sachs would be facing prison, this New York Times story is about just the notable sentencing a former Goldman programmer. Here are the details: A former Goldman...

Judge Hornby discusses "Speaking in Sentences"

Posted on March 19, 2011
A helpful reader alerted me to this interesting piece in the Winter 2011 issue of The Green Bag by D. Brock Hornby, a District Judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maine. The work is titled...

USSC hearing testimony about federal prison overcrowding and new release plans in works

Posted on March 19, 2011
Thanks to a helpful e-mail, I discovered that the statement of Harley Lappin, the director of the US Bureau of Prisons, delivered to the US Sentencing Commission this week during its public hearing includes some very interesting passages about federal...

"Do the crime, pay more than time"

Posted on March 18, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this article appearing today on the front-page of my own Columbus Dispatch. Here is how the piece begins: When it comes to budget sacrifices, it appears no one is exempt in...

Swift answer to my blog prayers seeking information on faith-based prisons

Posted on March 18, 2011
Yesterday I asked this post "What is the current status and latest research on faith-based prisons?". Today, thanks to Professor Sasha Volokh my blog prayers have been answer via this article available now on SSRN titled "Everything We Know About...

DPIC director assails our "thoroughly modern death penalty"

Posted on March 18, 2011
Richard Dieter, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, has this notable commentary on a blog from The Hill publication. The piece is headlined "A thoroughly modern death penalty," and here is how it starts: On March 10,...

Latest chapter in notable federal acquitted conduct case from DC

Posted on March 18, 2011
As detailed in this local piece from the Washington Times, which is headlined "D.C. man gets 18 years for $600 drug deal," a notable federal criminal case involving acquitted conduct finally resulted in a sentencing outcome yesterday. Here are some...

Important US Sentencing Commission hearing today on FSA and guideline amendments

Posted on March 17, 2011
As detailed in this official notice, today the US Sentencing Commission is conducted a full-day public hearing "to gather testimony from invited witnesses regarding proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines." Helpfully, this official agenda not only lists the invited...

What is the current status and latest research on faith-based prisons?

Posted on March 17, 2011
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this local news article from Florida headlined "Faith-based prison in Riverview to close." Here are the details from this piece: Hillsborough County's only state prison is among several corrections...

"Shepherds lead, but flocks diverge on morality of death penalty"

Posted on March 17, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this new piece in the Houston Chronicle. Here is how it gets started: Last week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law abolishing the death penalty in his state, adding the...

Fifth Circuit distinguishes departures and variances to uphold appeal waiver

Posted on March 17, 2011
An intriguing little issue of sentencing procedures is addressed by the Fifth Circuit today in US v. Jacobs, No. 10-20043 (5th Cir. March 17, 2011) (available here), which gets started this way: Federal prisoner Marcus Eugene Jacobs pled guilty to...

More prosecutions but fewer criminal appeals in federal courts in FY 2010

Posted on March 16, 2011
Thanks to How Appealing, I now see that the Administrative Office of the US Courts has published this news release, headlined "Filings in the Federal Judiciary Continued to Grow in Fiscal Year 2010," which documents the latest case statistics concerning...

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