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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.
"A no-pardon Justice Department"
Posted on November 06, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this potent new commentary in the Los Angeles Times authored by Samuel Morison, a former staff attorney in the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney. Here are excerpts: The Times'...
"Using Graham v. Florida to Challenge Juvenile Transfer Laws"
Posted on November 05, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new article by Neelum Arya, the Research and Policy Director at the Campaign for Youth Justice. Here is an excerpt from the introduction: This Article suggests that lawyers consider using...
State judge declares California sex offender residency restriction unconstitutional
Posted on November 05, 2010As detailed in this Los Angeles Times article, " a Los Angeles judge issued an opinion this week blocking enforcement of provisions a state law restricting how close those offenders can live from parks or schools." Here is more: Superior...
Overcrowded jail lacks room for non-violent offender who keep trying to get in
Posted on November 05, 2010A helpful reader altered me to this amusing local article, which is headlined "Thief can't get in, now won't go to jail." Here are the basics: Despite being a criminal, Carla Freeman's persistence paid off Wednesday when a judge decided...
US Sentencing Commission report on mandatory minimums coming in Fall 2011
Posted on November 05, 2010As noted in this prior post, in October 2009, Congress directed the US Sentencing Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of mandatory minimum sentencing penalties and to report its findings and recommendations to Congress within a year. I learned today...
"Former lawmaker gets 5 years for child porn"
Posted on November 05, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this AP article about a New Jersey state child porn sentencing decision, which gets started this way: A former Democratic state assemblyman who championed legislation to fight child pornography was sentenced....
Eleventh Circuit punts Troy Davis case up to SCOTUS
Posted on November 05, 2010As detailed in this AP article, a "federal appeals panel [has] dismissed an appeal from Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis ... [saying] he should appeal the case only to the U.S. Supreme Court." The Eleventh Circuit ruling is available...
"Memory and Punishment"
Posted on November 04, 2010The title of this post is the title of this interesting looking new piece from O. Carter Snead that is now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article is the first scholarly exploration of the implications of neurobiological...
Looking closely at the tougher sentences approved by Oregon voters in Measure 73
Posted on November 04, 2010As detailed in this local commentary, which is headlined "Aftermath of Measure 73: Voters tell state to sober up on DUII," the citizens of Oregon used direct democracy to get tougher on drunk drivers and sex offenders. Here are the...
Eleventh Circuit to review en banc notable pro-defendant habeas ruling in Gilbert
Posted on November 04, 2010As reported in this prior post, which I titled "Eleventh Circuit gives the 'Great Writ' some notable life," back in June a panel handed down a notable federal habeas ruling in Gilbert v. US, No. 09-12513 (11th Cir. June 21,...
Off to DC to participate in ABA's "Sentencing & Reentry Institute and Criminal Justice Legal Educators Colloquium"
Posted on November 04, 2010I am closing out a exciting (but really long) week by heading inside the Beltway this evening in order to attend and participate all day tomorrow in the the American Bar Association's "Third Annual Sentencing & Reentry Institute and Criminal...
Why pot legalization fans are likely to try again in 2012
Posted on November 04, 2010This new piece from the Los Angeles Times, which is headlined "Despite rejecting Prop. 19, Californians lean toward legalizing marijuana, poll finds," highlights why the marijuana legalization debate is not likely to stop in California anytime soon. Here is how...
Seeking the best pitches (and pitchers) for the start of clemency season
Posted on November 03, 2010The election season of 2010 is official over, and we probably have at least a few weeks before the start of the 2012 season start. That fact alone, plus the coming holidays and the lame duck status of many Governors...
Proposition 19 losing based on early reporting of precincts ... and ultimately falls short
Posted on November 03, 2010This CNN page seems to be providing the most up-to-date information about voting on California's marijuana legalization proposition. And, as of this writing, the Proposition is losing 56% to 44% with about one sixth of all precincts reporting results...
What death penalty tea leaves might be read from the 2010 election cycle?
Posted on November 03, 2010This local story from about a state race impacted by the high-profile capital case, which is titled "Death Penalty Politics Weigh on Connecticut Election," has me thinking out loud in this space about what the 2010 might mean in terms...
Ninth Circuit adopts invented exception victims' right to restitution
Posted on November 03, 2010A helpful reader altered me to an interesting little unanimous panel opinion from the Ninth Circuit today in US v. Lazarenko, No. 08-10185 (9th Cir. Nov. 3, 2010) (available here). Here is how the opinion starts: Defendant Pavel Ivanovich Lazarenko,....
Seeking ground reports on the FSA's application to not-yet-sentenced cases
Posted on November 02, 2010To my knowledge and as of this writing, the opinion by US District Judge D. Brock Hornby last week in US v. Douglas, No. 09-202-P-H (D. Maine Oct. 27, 2010) (available here), is the only written district court decision expressly...
When will the US Sentencing Commission's (now overdue?) mandatory minimum report come out?
Posted on November 02, 2010As noted in this recent post, in October 2009, Congress directed the US Sentencing Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of mandatory minimum sentencing penalties and to report its findings and recommendations to Congress within a year. I had marked...
"Lincecum?s Endorsement Potential Clouded by Past Marijuana Use"
Posted on November 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new entry over at a Forbes blog. Spotlighting parts of this Forbes post strikes me as a fitting way to simultaneously congratulate the new World Series champions and to pass...
"UK group says it's suing over US execution drug"
Posted on November 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this AP article, which gets started this way: A group opposed to the death penalty filed suit Tuesday to try to prevent a British company from exporting a drug that could...
A sentencing fan's Election Day guide
Posted on November 02, 2010Today's elections (in which I have already voted) do not present numerous major crime and punishment story lines to follow. But there is one super-duper important direct democracy initiative to watch and plenty of major (and minor) federal and state....
"Battle Over California Marijuana Initiative Goes Down to the Wire"
Posted on November 01, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this article from today's New York Times, which provides some pre-election analysis of Proposition 19. Here are snippets: [W]ith a growing number of Americans favoring legalization ? a Gallup poll released...
The new guidelines are here, new guidelines are here!
Posted on November 01, 2010Among other exciting developments this November is the official effective date for both the newly amended sentencing guidelines put forth by the US Sentencing Commission back in May (discussed here) and the supplemental guidelines amendments implementing the Fair Sentencing Act's...
"The Quality of Mercy in New York: A Different Kind of State Challenge to Federal Immigration Policy"
Posted on November 01, 2010The title of this post is the title of this great guest post by Margaret Love over at the ASC blog. Here is how that posts starts and ends: On October 21, The New York Times reported that Governor David...
New SCOTUS cert grants on a number of criminal procedure issues
Posted on November 01, 2010As detailed in this order list, the Supreme Court this morning granted cert in five new cases and it appears that at least three involve criminal justice matters. Sentencing fans should not get too excited, however, as it appears that...
Los Angeles Times calls out our "no-pardon president"
Posted on November 01, 2010The reference to President Obama quoted in the title of this post comes from the headline of this editorial which ran in the Los Angeles Times over the weekend. The full headline with the subhead was "A no-pardon president; So...
"Convicted Felons Want The Right To Vote"
Posted on November 01, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this timely Election Day eve story from National Public Radio. Here is the set up: A new study by the Sentencing Project shows that some 800,000 people with felony convictions have...
Effective examination of the politics of crime in the gubernatorial setting
Posted on October 31, 2010Writing an original piece for The Crime Report, Steve Yoder provides an extensive and effective discussion of modern crime and justice politics and policies in this article headined "Crime and the Governors." Here are excerpts: If national legislators think they?ve...
Will the US Sentencing Commission's forthcoming mandatory minimum report make any big news?
Posted on October 31, 2010In October 2009, Congress directed the US Sentencing Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of mandatory minimum sentencing penalties in one provision of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and report its findings and recommendations to...
FAMM amicus brief assails life (with parole) sentence for woman who let teen touch breasts
Posted on October 31, 2010As detailed in this press release, which is titled "FAMM Urges Nevada Supreme Court to Reverse Mandatory Life Sentence for Michelle Lyn Taylor," the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums has filed an amicus brief in a notable sentencing case is...
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Japan's International Child Abduction Policy
By Kirsten Brown (AXcess News) Washington - Four fathers quietly f...
Eminent domain, demographics and immigration policy
On the face of it, you may be wondering what eminent domain,...
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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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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