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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.
Will the 2008 Prez candidates ever seriously discuss modern incarceration realities?
Posted on May 05, 2008I have largely given up my hope that the 2008 presidential campaign will even give sustained attention to crime and punishment issues. Nevertheless, this morning's front-page Washington Post article highlights how prison spending is not just a crime and punishment...
Second Circuit rejects sundry challenges to CVRA
Posted on May 05, 2008The Second Circuit this morning issues an intriguing little opinion in USA v. Eberhard, No. 05-3431 (2d Cir. May 5, 2008) (available here), which rejects a number of constitutional challenges to the Crime Victims Rights Act. Here is one sentence...
"Fiscal Pressures Lead Some States to Free Inmates Early"
Posted on May 05, 2008The title of this post is the title of this front-page Washington Post article in today's edition. Here is how the article starts: Reversing decades of tough-on-crime policies, including mandatory minimum prison sentences for some drug offenders, many cash-strapped states...
Victim rights amendments on Oregon ballot
Posted on May 05, 2008This local AP article spotlights that criminal justice fans should be interested in the Oregon primary for reasons beyond the one that will be covered by most of the media: Crime victims and their families could play a bigger role...
Two potent new reports on race and the drug war
Posted on May 05, 2008As detailed in this news article, "two studies published today conclude that the battle has been pitched largely in African American communities and that African Americans bear a disproportionate brunt of its collateral damage." The two new studies come from...
Food for crime-fighting thought
Posted on May 04, 2008These two recent notable article provide reasons to ponder the possibility that sentencing policies need not, and perhaps should not, be the primary way in which we try to fight crime: From The Economist, this piece describes success in the...
The haze and litigation maze after Baze
Posted on May 03, 2008The first few weeks after the US Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Kentucky's lethal injection protocol have been relatively calm. But, as documented by lots of new media stories, the post-Baze legal haze and litigation maze is about to...
The latest news on California sentencing reform
Posted on May 03, 2008The Sacremento Bee has this new piece, headlined "California lawmakers consider new sentencing laws," which provides an update on the seemingly endless debate in California over sentencing reforms. Here are excerpts: Lawmakers have revived a pair of bills to overhaul...
Should Michigan be willing to forgive and forget long-ago drug crime?
Posted on May 02, 2008A new drug sentencing story from Michigan sounds like the script of a Lifetime TV movie. Here are the basics from this piece in The Saginaw News: A southern California family is standing by the wife and mother who lived...
Examining prison costs in Michigan
Posted on May 02, 2008This story from the Detroit News, headlined "Prison costs on agenda: Experts to discuss reforms to help state handle Corrections spending," highlights why Michigan and so many other states have to think seriously about prison costs (even if courts aren't...
Ohio getting tough on no-snack-sharing rules
Posted on May 02, 2008I can sleep a little sounder after reading this local article about how tough my state is on its miscreants: He slept through a fire drill, had loose tobacco in his possession and didn't show up for kitchen duty. Then...
A (record-setting?) long white-collar sentence
Posted on May 01, 2008This local report from Denver has me wondering whether a new record has been set for the longest white-collar federal sentence. Here are the basics: U.S. District Court Judge Robert Blackburn sentenced a man to 330 years in prison Tuesday...
New report on recidivism rates in the Bay State
Posted on May 01, 2008A helpful reader pointed me to a new study released today by the Urban Institute looking at recidivism rates in Massachusetts. The study can be accessed at this link, and here is its abstract: The Massachusetts Recidivism Study is a...
Horrid case in Austria creates buzz over sentencing in Europe
Posted on May 01, 2008The AP has this new piece, headlined "Austria case revives European debate on light prison terms," which highlights how one gruesome case has raised new questions about European sentencing attitudes and outcomes. Here are excerpts: Police say Josef Fritzl left...
DOJ criminal division needs a new top prosecutor
Posted on May 01, 2008As detailed in this official press release, the head of the criminal division of the DOJ has announced her resignation: "Today, the Department of Justice announced that Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Alice S. Fisher will end her....
Another sad story in the sex offender panic universe
Posted on May 01, 2008This local story, headlined "Plan for sex offender center scuttled by death threat," spotlights the challenges of even providing treatment for low-level sex offenders: A woman who planned to open a treatment center for sex offenders said she's decided not...
Stuntz nails (some) reasons why Democrats are perhaps most responsible for modern mass incarceration
Posted on May 01, 2008Providing a very valuable set of political insights during this political season, Bill Stuntz has this must-read post titled "Who is Responsible for America's Swollen Prison Population?". Here are excerpts: Who is responsible for the now-famous "punitive turn" in American...
Deep thoughts about cost-benefit analysis in federal sentencing
Posted on May 01, 2008The Ninth Circuit issued an interesting little sentencing decision today in US v. Tapia-Romero, No. 05-50121 (9th Cir. May 1, 2008) (available here). Here is how the decision starts and a key passage: In this opinion, we hold that the...
The loss-culpability connection (or disconnect) in white-collar sentencing
Posted on April 30, 2008Especially in the federal sentencing system, where the (now advisory) guidelines place so much emphasis on the concept of "loss," the relationship in white-collar sentencing cases between loss amounts and criminal culpability is an extremely important and largely under-examined topic...
Could an individually enforceable Second Amendment right impact debates over tort liability for guns?
Posted on April 30, 2008The Second Circuit today issued a split opinion in City of New York v. Beretta, No. 05-6942 (2d Cir. April 30, 2008) (available here) concerning a civil suit against gun manufacturers. Though the ruling is far afield from core sentencing...
Examining what the Chief and Justice Ginsburg might do in Kennedy
Posted on April 30, 2008Sherry Colb has this notable new essay at FindLaw, titled "Kennedy v. Louisiana and the Lessons of a Supreme Court Oral Argument." Here is how it starts and ends: On April 16, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argument in Kennedy...
Judge Walton expresses concerns about commutation for Scooter Libby
Posted on April 30, 2008Reminding me of an issue that I wish would get a lot more play on the campaign trail, this article from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel makes clear than not everyone has forgotten the special sentencing justice that Scooter Libby received last...
This is why your brain, after being on drugs, cannot go to college
Posted on April 29, 2008This post at How Appealing lead me to this post at the School Law Blog providing this report on a new Eighth Circuit ruling: A federal appeals court has rejected a constitutional challenge to a federal law that restricts, and...
Long Ninth Circuit opinion on variety of child porn sentencing issues
Posted on April 29, 2008Through a long opinion that is not easily summarized, the Ninth Circuit speaks to a range of child porn federal sentencing issues today in in US v. Stoterau , No. 07-50124 (9th Cir. Apr. 30, 2008) (available here). Here is...
More evidence that race infects the death penalty
Posted on April 29, 2008The New York Times has this new piece from Adam Liptak titled "New Look at Race When Death Is Sought." Here is how it starts: About 1,100 people have been executed in the United States in the last three decades....
The state-specific realities of post-Baze execution timelines
Posted on April 28, 2008This new local AP article from Ohio highlights that each death penalty state is going to move at its own pace concerning when and how to try to move forward with lethal injection executions after Baze. Here are some excerpts...
Another sound attack on Eighth Amendment jurisprudence
Posted on April 28, 2008In this post last week, I noted Benjamin Wittes attack on modern Eighth Amendment jurisprudence this thoughtful article in the December 2005-January 2006 issue of Policy Review. Today, I see that Wittes is keeping up his justified attack with this...
A strong argument for limiting prosecutorial immunity
Posted on April 26, 2008In this commentary over at Reason, titled "Suing the DA: Should prosecutors be immune from civil lawsuits?", Radley Balko makes a strong case for affording prosecutor only qualified immunity, rather than absolutely immunity, for their official behavior...
"Fixing our criminal sentencing system"
Posted on April 26, 2008The title of this post is the title of this op-ed from the Boston Globe today. Here are some excerpts: A number of news stories this spring have shown us that the criminal sentencing system is out of line -...
Looking at post-Baze realities in Florida
Posted on April 26, 2008Yesterday's broadcast of NPR's "All Things Considered" had this segment titled "Opponents Challenge Death Penalty in Florida." Here is the summary: Florida officials are eager to resume carrying out death penalties following this month's Supreme Court decision, which found that...
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you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
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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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