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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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"Larger Inmate Population Is Boon to Private Prisons"

Posted on November 19, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this new article from the Wall Street Journal. Here is how it starts: Prison companies are preparing for a wave of new business as the economic downturn makes it increasingly difficult...


Fascinating amicus brief filed in Polizzi case

Posted on November 19, 2008
Regular readers may recall US District Judge Jack Weinstein's fascinating Polizzi decision earlier this year, in which he ruled that he should have informed the jury of which counts in a child pornography case carry mandatory minimum sentences (basics here,...


Around the blogosphere

Posted on November 19, 2008
Lots of notable new posts of interest for sentencing fans to be found at: Crime and Consequences Pardon Power Sex Crimes StandDown Texas Project


Lots of buzzing around Eric Holder as the next US Attorney General

Posted on November 18, 2008
In this afternoon post, Newsweek has reported today that "President-elect Obama has decided to tap Eric Holder as his attorney general." But this BLT post has this bold update on the story: The Associated Press and The New York Timesare...


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A birthday update for a high-profile federal defendant

Posted on November 18, 2008
As detailed in this CNN political post, today "may not be the happiest of birthday's for Ted Stevens. As the longtime Republican Senator from Alaska marks his 85th birthday, he's fighting for his political life." Here's more from this new...


USSC public meeting this week

Posted on November 18, 2008
As detailed in this public notice, a public meeting of the US Sentencing Commission is scheduled for Thursday, November 20, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. The public notice reveals that the USSC has a less-than-inspiring formal agenda, including a "Briefing on...


Busy pre-holiday weeks for executions

Posted on November 18, 2008
Among many holiday season traditions is a traditional slow down in the number of executions nationwide. For various reasons, executions are rarely scheduled for the week of Thanksgiving or during the 12 days of Christmas. But this reality can often...


A structural attack on mandatory minimum sentencing statutes

Posted on November 18, 2008
Writing for the Connecticut Law Tribune, Norm Pattis has this effective commentary headlined "Mandatory Sentences Lead To Major Injustices." The piece closes with this effective structural attack on mandatory minimum sentencing statutes: Mandatory minimum sentences make a mockery of the...


Update on a notable post-Booker en banc case in the Third Circuit

Posted on November 18, 2008
As detailed in this new article from The Legal Intelligencer, the Third Circuit is due to hear en banc this week another notable post-Booker sentencing appeal. Here is how the article begins: In a pair of en banc arguments on...


Oral argument tips for appellate judges

Posted on November 18, 2008
Thanks to Howard Bashman, we can all access this terrific little article from the October 2008 issue of The Federal Lawyer by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman of the District of Oregon. The article is about how judges might improve...


Important new paper on modern criminal procedure

Posted on November 17, 2008
Though it apparently has been on SSRN for a little while, I just found my way to this abstract and draft of Professor David Alan Sklansky's new paper titled "Anti-Inquisitorialism." Here is one part of the abstract that highlights why...


"Begging Bush's Pardon"

Posted on November 17, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this blog entry by Dan Froomkin over at the Washington Post. Here is how he invites folks to play a classic lame-duck parlor game: Who will President Bush pardon on his...


Notable US Attorney transitions and the Obama administration

Posted on November 17, 2008
Though not a core sentencing issue, who serves as the US Attorney in a federal district certainly can have an impact of a variety of sentencing issues. Thus, I am intrigued to see this news from the WSJ Law Blog...


SCOTUS takes the DIG route to capital habeas case

Posted on November 17, 2008
As reported here at SCOTUSblog, the Supreme Court this morning dismissed Bell v. Kelly, a capital habeas case heard just last week, as ?improvidently granted.? Kent at C&C provides this helpful explanation: Sometimes "improvidently granted" is a term of art,...


A smorgasbord of reporting and opinion on the death penalty

Posted on November 17, 2008
A lot of death penalty headlines jumped out at me during my morning media review. Here is just a sampling of notable item: From Gallup, Americans Hold Firm to Support for Death Penalty From Califorina, California death row dysfunction From...


Does Mommy not-so-dearest merit an extra harsh sentence?

Posted on November 16, 2008
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new article from the New York Times. The piece is headlined "Seeing Failure as Mother as Factor in Sentencing," and here are some excerpts: As the prosecutor asked...


More evidence that prison crowding will prompt sentencing reform and/or more technocorrections

Posted on November 16, 2008
Regular readers know how many states are struggling with overcrowded prisons and the lack of ready or easy solutions (especially in tough fiscal times with budgets getting tighter and tighter). Two effective articles this morning from very different part of...


Is immigration reform a critical criminal justice priority?

Posted on November 16, 2008
The question posed by this post title is prompted by this sobering article in today's Houston Chronicle. The piece is headlined, "A system's fatal flaws: Thousands of inmates admit they're in the U.S. illegally, but even those convicted of violent...


Ohio's experience implementing new crack guideline retroactivity

Posted on November 16, 2008
My local paper this morning had this effective little article about the implementation of the new reduced crack federal sentencing guidelines in the Southern District of Ohio. Here are some particulars: The federal probation office has determined that 256 crack-cocaine...


Friday's news full of mixed blessings for Senator Ted Stevens

Posted on November 16, 2008
As detailed in this local news report, Alaska's Senator Ted Stevens got some bad political news on Friday when more vote counting put him further behind in his race with Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. However, there are tens of thousands...


"Changing Lives, Changing Minds"

Posted on November 15, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this intriguing new blog, which I learned about through this e-mail (which I have received permission to reprint): I am the marketing assistant for Changing Lives Through Literature, an incarceration alternative...


More proof that pardon scandals rarely get completely forgotten

Posted on November 15, 2008
The latest proof that bad pardoning actions can cast a long shadow comes from this new article at Politico, headlined "Clinton scandal figure on Justice team." Here are a few details: President-elect Barack Obama tapped a major campaign bundler and...


Another notable example of capital plea bargaining

Posted on November 15, 2008
Thanks to this post at C&C, I saw this news article from Utah describing another case in which the threat of the death penalty helped secure a ready and efficient resolution to a murder charge. Here are the basics from...


SCOTUS takes up three new criminal cases

Posted on November 14, 2008
The Supreme Court today, as detailed in this SCOTUSblog post, took up three new federal criminal cases. Though none of the cases seem to be blockbusters, they all merit watching in 2009. Here are the basic thanks to Lyle Denniston's...


Friday federal sentencing lesson: do not trust a Quaker ... a U Penn Quaker, that is

Posted on November 14, 2008
Because I graduated from two rival institutions, I may get too much schadenfreude from stories about University of Pennsylvania Quakers getting into serious federal sentencing trouble. Still, I cannot help but wonder what Ben Franklin might say, in the wake...


DC Circuit splits over reasonableness of probation sentence for tax cheat

Posted on November 14, 2008
The DC Circuit issues relatively few sentencing decisions, but those it hands down tend to be quite thoughtful. Today's split panel decision in US v. Gardellini, No. 07-3089 (DC Cir. Nov. 14, 2008) (available here), is no exception. Here is...


As goes Maryland, so goes the nation on capital punishment?

Posted on November 14, 2008
The stories surrounding Maryland's policy debates over the death penalty have been dynamics and interesting for quite sometime. But now that a commission appointed by Maryland's governor has formally recommended abolishing capital punishment, any and everyone interesting in death penalty...


Developing criminal justice "wish list" for the Obama Administration

Posted on November 14, 2008
Over at the White Collar Crim Prof Blog, Ellen Podgor has this terrifically interesting "Wish List to President Barack Obama & The Next AG." Ellen's wish list is lengthy (even though only focused on white-collar topics), and here are a...


As more Alaskan votes are counted, Senator Stevens may have more time to focus on his sentencing

Posted on November 13, 2008
As documented by this Alaska webpage and as further explained in this post at 538, the counting of additional votes in Alaska has led to a new "leader in the clubhouse" in the Senate race between Ted Stevens and Mark...


"Distributive Principles of Criminal Law: Who Should be Punished How Much?"

Posted on November 13, 2008
Via e-mail, I just received an announcement about Paul Robinson's new book, which is titled "Distributive Principles of Criminal Law: Who Should be Punished How Much." This Amazon entry provides links to small parts of the book and this product...


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