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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.
"California marijuana vote draws unlikely foes, allies into ring"
Posted on September 14, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new CNN piece. Here are snippets from a lengthy and effective piece: California is hardly homogenous, but marijuana legalization makes politics downright confusing in a state where the sides are...
"The Concept of Evil in American and German Criminal Punishment"
Posted on September 13, 2010The title of this post is the title of this very interesting new article by Joshua Kleinfeld appearing on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The gap in harshness between American and German criminal punishment represents a moral disagreement between the...
Interesting judicial perspective on prison overcrowding in Alabama
Posted on September 13, 2010This local story from Alabama, which is headlined "Overcrowded prisons open Madison County judge's eyes," provides interesting background with how the state's judiciary is looking at the problems of prison overcrowding. Here are excerpts: With state prisons stuffed beyond capacity...
Eleventh Circuit extends(?!) Padilla to misadvice about potential civil commitment of sex offender
Posted on September 13, 2010I happen to be traveling back today from Florida where I had the honor and pleasure to speak to a group of Florida state appellate judges about the work and possible impact of the Supreme Court in recent cases such...
Hitler's dog makes sentence procedurally unreasonableness, according to Seventh Circuit
Posted on September 13, 2010The headline of this post is a bit inaccurate and perhaps unduly inflammatory. Nevertheless, it is the presence of Hitler's dog that in part makes blog-worthy the Seventh Circuit's work today US v. Figueroa, No. 09-3333 (7th Cir. Sept. 13,...
"Obama backs off strict crime policy"
Posted on September 12, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this extended new piece from Josh Gerstein from Politico. The piece covers a lot of federal sentencing law and policy ground that should be familiar to readers of this blog, and...
John Grisham finds mysterious Virginia's application of the death penalty
Posted on September 12, 2010Famed lawyer-author John Grisham has this long commentary in Sunday's Washington Post, which is headlined "Teresa Lewis didn't pull the trigger. Why is she on death row?". Here are excerpts: The Commonwealth of Virginia already has a serious relationship with...
Would and should the feds sue California if it legalizes marijuana through Prop 19?
Posted on September 11, 2010As detailed in this CBS News piece, which is headlined "Ex-DEA Administrators Call on Obama to Sue if CA Voters Legalize Pot," the prospect of California's voters legalizing marijuana this fall already has fans of big government talking about a...
Should we embrace and even enhance the prospect of "Jury 2.0"?
Posted on September 11, 2010The question in the title of this post is inspired by a new article, which is titled simply "Jury 2.0" and available here, authored by Professor Caren Myers Morrison. Here is the abstract: When the Framers drafted the Sixth Amendment...
Washington becomes second state to find success with one-drug lethal injection protocol
Posted on September 10, 2010As detailed in this AP article, the state of Washington carried out an execution early this morning. As the article details, this was the state's first execution in nearly a decade and it was completed using the same one-drug lethal...
"Budget Woes Hit Defense Lawyers for the Indigent"
Posted on September 10, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this article in today's New York Times. Here are a few excerpts: Some public defenders in Missouri say the stressed state budget is interfering with their ability to provide poor defendants...
New York Times editorial urges "tough as possible" prison rape policies
Posted on September 10, 2010This morning's New York Times includes this editorial headlined "Make Prisons Safer," which gets started this way: Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. has spent nearly 15 months weighing new mandatory rape prevention policies for federal prisons and state correctional institutions...
Sex offenders fleeing to Puerto Rico ... and feds bringing them back
Posted on September 09, 2010This new AP story, which is headlined "US sex offenders see sanctuary in Caribbean sun," suggests that Puerto Rico may be starting to become something of a penal colony for sex offenders trying to avoid onerous restrictions in other jurisdictions....
"At 90, what does 17 years in prison mean?"
Posted on September 09, 2010The question in the title of this post is the headline of this article from The Buffalo News about a (stiff?) sentence given to an elderly murderer. The piece also discusses the prison realities for very old criminals, and here...
The potential echoes of California's pot proposition in Mexico
Posted on September 09, 2010This new report, headlined "Weary of drug war, Mexico debates legalization," provides yet another interesting perspective on the debate over possible marijuana legalization in California. Here is how the piece starts: A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs...
"Death penalty remains big issue in California"
Posted on September 08, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this lengthy new piece at Stateline.org, which is focused on how the issue of the death could impact the election for attorney general in California. Here is how the piece begins:...
The story of prisons becoming nursing homes in Virginia
Posted on September 08, 2010This new piece in the Washington Post, headlined "Virginia's prison system struggles to handle the surge in elderly inmate," provides a look into some of the consequences of an aging prison population in Virgina. Here are excerpts: Since the General....
"When freeing criminal defendants is conservative"
Posted on September 08, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this terrific commentary by Marie Gryphon in the "Supreme Court Insider" section of The National Law Journal. here is how it starts: Criminal defendants can't get a break from conservative judges,...
Latest supplement for Sentencing Law and Policy casebook now available
Posted on September 08, 2010As a new school year gets underway, I am happy to be able to share an updated electronic supplement providing additional materials to accompany the second edition of the Sentencing Law and Policy casebook. Anyone can download this 2010-2011 supplement...
"Federal Judges Go Easy On Tax Cheats, Pornographers And Prostitutes"
Posted on September 08, 2010The title of this post is the provocative heading give to this post at a Forbes blog called "Taxing Matters" and authored by Janet Novack. Here is an excerpt of the analysis of the latest US Sentencing Commission data (previously...
Eighth Circuit (gleefully?) rejects Second Amendment challenge to § 922(g)(3)
Posted on September 08, 2010The Eighth Circuit today in US v. Seay, No. 09-2778 (8th Cir. Sept. 8, 2010) (available here), rejects yet again a federal defendant's effort extend the reach of the Supreme Court's Second Amendment work in Heller. That fact alone is...
State judge expressing concerns about Kentucky's capital procedures
Posted on September 08, 2010As detailed in this AP article, a state judge "expressing concerns about how Kentucky's execution procedures handle issues of mental retardation and insanity." Here are more details: Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd said during a hearing that Kentucky's execution regulations...
Reviewing some of the rare women who end up on death row
Posted on September 07, 2010This local story from Virginia, which is headlined "Two women's death row cases share similarities," highlights the kinds of murders that get a few female defendants condemned to die. Here is how the piece begins: Marilyn Kay Plantz, executed in...
Two notable new policy papers on the failings of indigent defense systems
Posted on September 07, 2010This past week saw the release of two interesting and important new policy papers addressing indigent defense systems in the United States. One piece is this Issue Brief from the folks at the American Constitution Society authored by Erica Hashimoto....
American democracy getting a contact high from pot prohibition debate
Posted on September 07, 2010As detailed in this effective new ABC News story, which is headlined "Politics of Pot: Marijuana on Four Ballots Energizes Political Debate," it appears that the institutions of American democracy are getting a buzz from recent debates over pot policy...
The local impact of a little Second Chance Act funding
Posted on September 07, 2010I just noticed that this weekend's Cincinnati Enquirer had this notable story, headlined "Grant to help ex-inmates get jobs," reporting on the biggest local funding winner to date from the federal Second Chance Act. Here are the details: Hamilton County...
Mining (and spinning?) the latest, greatest sentencing data from the US Sentencing Commission
Posted on September 07, 2010The US Sentencing Commission has some fresh new sentencing data just up on its website. The USSC's latest data report, which can be accessed here, is described this way: Third Quarter FY10 Quarterly Sentencing Update: An extensive set of tables...
"Anchors Away: Why the Anchoring Effect Suggests that Judges Should Be Able to Participate in Plea Discussions"
Posted on September 06, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new article available via SSRN from Professor Colin Miller. Here is the abstract: The ?anchoring effect? is cognitive bias by which people evaluate numbers by focusing on a reference point...
Could and should vehicle crash deaths and costs be deterred by tougher punishments?
Posted on September 06, 2010Regular readers know that, ever the utilitarian punishment fan, I have long thought that the many significant harms that result from drunk driving could and should justify a tougher criminal justice approach to this seemingly deterrable and very costly crime...
Is blogging now officially a "mainstream medium"?
Posted on September 06, 2010The question in the title of this post is inspired by this new piece in The National Law Journal, which is headlined "Law School Report: A look at professors who have made blogging a mainstream medium." I am flattered and...
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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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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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