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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.
Could all the mistakes in Kennedy be corrected?
Posted on July 03, 2008Linda Greenhouse spotlights in this new article that a key legal mistake in the Kennedy child rape ruling is drawing attention and a notable admission of error: In a highly unusual admission of error, the Justice Department acknowledged on Wednesday....
One (of many) brewing Heller test cases?
Posted on July 03, 2008The New York Sun has this interesting report on what could be an interesting Heller test case: In a sign that federal courts here in New York will defend New York City's restrictive gun regulations, a judge is allowing the...
Reflections on the (criminal justice) blawgosphere
Posted on July 03, 2008Here are three very interesting and thought-provoking posts about the history and state of the blawgosphere from the "practical blawgosphere": From Simple Justice, Are Law Professors Afraid of the Practical Blawgosphere? From CrimLaw, A Brief History of Blogging: Is It...
A Reagan era irony in Senator McCain's recent judge-bashing
Posted on July 02, 2008Reflecting more on Senator John McCain's notable crime speech yesterday (first blogged here), I realized there was an interesting irony as a result of his praise for Ronald Reagan and his critique of the federal judiciary. Let me explain. McCain...
Some Heller thoughts from around the blogosphere
Posted on July 02, 2008I see these new notable new Heller posts from around the law professor blogosphere: At Balkinization from Sandy Levinson, Does the Constitution protect a substantive right to hunt? At The Volokh Conspiracy from Dale Carpenter, Don't tase Heller, Bro At...
FSR issue focused on crack retroactivity now on-line
Posted on July 02, 2008I am pleased to report that, just in time for the start of the summer sentencing dog days, the latest issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter focused on white-collar cases is now available here on-line. The issue is titled "Debates...
Extended sentence review discussions in Sixth and Ninth Circuits
Posted on July 02, 2008For whatever reason, Wednesdays tend to be busy days in the circuit courts, and today's sentencing action includes two lengthy opinions affirming lengthy sentences in the Sixth and Ninth Circuits. In both opinions noted below there are extended discussions of...
Ineffective assistance (by prosecutors) in Kennedy child rape case?
Posted on July 02, 2008Linda Greenhouse has this fascinating follow-up to the Supreme Court's ruling in the Kennedy case declaring unconstitutional state efforts to make child rape a capital crime. The article is headlined "In Court Ruling on Executions, a Factual Flaw," and here...
Justice Department releases final SORNA guidelines
Posted on July 02, 2008As effectively spotlighted by Sex Crimes and TalkLeft, the US Department of Justice released the final Sex Offender Registration and Notification ACT (SORNA) Guidelines, which are designed to assist local jurisdictions with efforts to implement the sex offender registration rules...
Seeking better sentencing through better technology Down Under
Posted on July 02, 2008This article from Austrailia highlights another country that is using modern technology to try to achieve a more fair and effective sentencing system. Here are some of the details from the article: Magistrates and judges are likely to have access...
Hey, big spender: John McCain's ambitious (and expensive?) crime-fighting agenda
Posted on July 01, 2008The headline of this news report effective summarizes a big crime speech that Senator John McCain gave today: "McCain Talks Tough on Crime at Sheriffs' Convention." The full text of McCain's speech is available here, and it has lots and...
Florida back in execution business
Posted on July 01, 2008As detailed in this Reuters article, "Florida executed a death row inmate by lethal injection on Tuesday for the 1991 kidnapping, sexual battery and murder of an 11-year-old boy, marking the state's first execution since a Supreme Court ruling ended....
Will Kennedy have any cross-over impact for non-capital cases?
Posted on July 01, 2008A week after it was handed down, I am now re-reading the Supreme Court's work in the Kennedy child rape case to ponder whether any aspects of the majority's Eighth Amendment holding or dicta might have an impact in non-capital...
SCOTUS gets first look at CVRA
Posted on July 01, 2008As detailed in this great SCOTUSblog post, some of the fascinating issues that surround the federal Crime Victims' Rights Act (CVRA) have now come before the Supreme Court in the form of an application for a stay. Here is the...
Will any Prez candidate promise to get us out of a failed war ... on drugs?
Posted on July 01, 2008Though many remain eager to use gun debates as a political talking point in the election season, I would like the talk to be about a failed war that has lasted far too long, has cost lots of money and...
Reviewing all the (Tenth) Circuit sentencing action during SCOTUS distractions
Posted on July 01, 2008While I was focused on the Supreme Court's work last week, there were a lot of notable circuit rulings that I did not have a chance to cover. Helpfully, a friendly reader provided me with this amazing summary of the...
Pondering a response to protection of juve trial rights
Posted on July 01, 2008As detailed in this post, a few weeks ago the Kansas Supreme Court held In the matter of LM, No. 96, 176 (Kan. June 20, 2008) (available here), that "juveniles have a right to a jury trial under the Sixth...
New report assails California's death penalty system
Posted on June 30, 2008These headlines from the major California papers highlight the heart of a major report documenting flaws with California's death penalty system. From the Los Angeles Times, California's death penalty process is 'dysfunctional,' panel finds From the Sacremento Bee, Death penalty...
Georgia Supreme Court examines banishment punishment
Posted on June 30, 2008As detailed in this AP article, headlined "Ga. court upholds partial banishment for offenders," the Georgia Supreme Court in this decision today discusses at some length the constitutionality under state precedents of an offender subject to this sentence: ?The Defendant...
Great SCOTUSblog review of criminal side of SCOTUS docket
Posted on June 30, 2008Writing at SCOTUSblog, Kristina Moore has this great post reviewing the Supreme Court's criminal justice work in the term just finished. Here is how it starts: While the Supreme Court?s opinions this Term produced sweeping rulings on the death penalty...
Prosecutorial headaches after Heller
Posted on June 30, 2008Before the ink was dry on the Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment ruling in Heller, prognosticators, pundits and politicians were predicting what types of gun control laws and regulations were now constitutionally suspect. But I keep thinking about how the...
A Sunsteinian death penalty puzzle
Posted on June 30, 2008Professors Cass Sunstein and Justin Wolfers have this notable commentary in the Washington Post, headlined "A Death Penalty Puzzle: The Murky Evidence for and Against Deterrence." Here is how it starts and ends: Although the Supreme Court banned capital punishment...
Some world-wide perspectives on sentencing
Posted on June 30, 2008A few headlines from papers in distant lands provides a glipse into sentencing debate going on around the world: From Australia, Oppn unveils new mandatory sentencing policy From the UK, Judges scorn American-style sentencing to control prison overcrowding
Extended examination of ugliness of acquitted conduct enhancement
Posted on June 29, 2008The Washington Times has this lengthy piece examining the use of acquitted conduct to enhance federal sentences in a high-profile DC case. The article is headlined, "A $600 drug deal, 40 years in prison: Acquitted of murder, convicted of drug...
Doesn't Kennedy suggest life in prison for failing to register is unconstitutional?
Posted on June 29, 2008This new Atlanta Journal-Constitution article highlights an appeal of an extreme state sentence that is another reflection of the modern sex offender panic. The piece is entitled "Fairness of law to be judged -- Mandatory sentences: Georgia's Supreme Court will...
Tangled up in cites
Posted on June 29, 2008Over at Race to the Bottom, Jay Brown has this very kind and cool post, headlined "Law Blogs v. Rockers: CItations in Court Opinions." Riffing off this list from the New York Times, which details court citation counts from renown...
Defense lawyers win: initial reflections on the SCOTUS term that was
Posted on June 29, 2008How Appealing collects here links to a lot of Supreme Court end-of-term discussions. Because the Term truly was a mixed bag, it defies ready summary (though Linda Greenhouse rightly spotlights that Justice Kennedy remained a swing vote in the biggest...
Former SG Ted Olson suggests Heller could impact broad prohibitions on felon gun rights
Posted on June 28, 2008As regular readers know, I have long been suggesting that a broad ruling in the Heller Second Amendment case could and should impact the broad federal prohibition on felons possessing guns (see old posts here and here and here and...
Noticing the religious right's prison awakening and a new politics
Posted on June 28, 2008This New York Times piece, headlined "Unlikely Allies on a Former Wedge Issue," discussus the political activism of some evangelical Christians concerning prison reform. Here are snippets from an effective piece: During his years as the attorney general of Virginia,...
Historic new head of Florida courts talking criminal justice reform
Posted on June 28, 2008How Appealing links here to all the news coverage of the swearing in of Florida's historic new Chief Justice. Especially interesting among the articles is this local piece headlined, "New Chief Justice Quince becomes first black woman to head branch....
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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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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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