(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense
Find a Local Lawyer
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402
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.
Tough questions about what's next after the Keith capital commutation in Ohio
Posted on September 05, 2010Andrew Cohen has an interesting follow-up commentary to this past week's commutation by the Governor of Ohio of the death sentence that had been facing Kevin Keith despite his claims of innocence (basics here). The commentary is titled "Death Row...
"What Might Retributive Justice Be?"
Posted on September 05, 2010The title of this post is a question I often enjoy asking my students. It is also the title of this new piece from Professor Dan Markel available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: There are many conceptions of retributive...
"Prison for pot? What message does that send?"
Posted on September 04, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this commentary authored by Vidda Crochetta, who is Vermont's coordinator for Marijuana Resolve, Inc. Here are excerpts: The 2008 Vermont Young Adult Survey reports that "just over 74 percent of respondents...
South Carolina county now producing sex offender newspaper
Posted on September 04, 2010As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "A new way to keep tabs on sex offenders hits newsstands," at least one county in South Carolina is not content to place sex offender registration information only online. Here are...
"Of Rebels, Rogues and Roustabouts: The Jury's Second Coming"
Posted on September 03, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new piece from Professor Jenny Carroll now appearing on SSRN. As its abstract reveals, this paper would be a timely read for anyone eager to think about the labors of...
Seventh Circuit rejects Second Amendment arguments against § 922(g)(3)
Posted on September 03, 2010Today through its decision in US v. Yancey, No. 09-1138 (7th Cir. Sept. 3, 2010) (available here), a Seventh Circuit panel provides yet another example of the disinclination of lower courts to extend the reach or applicability of the Supreme...
Split Sixth Circuit rejects habeas appeal for arson defendant serving LWOP
Posted on September 03, 2010Michigan does not have the death penalty, and thus nobody need worry about whether the defendant who lost his habeas appeal in Babick v. Berghuis, No. 08-1376 (6th Cir. Sept. 3, 2010) (available here), will be wrongfully executed. Ironically, though,...
US Sentencing Commission releases proposed amendments to implement FSA and final priorities
Posted on September 03, 2010Though I will certainly need the long weekend to consume and assess and comment on all of the new materials that emerged this week from the US Sentencing Commission, I wanted to spotlight these important new USSC documents ASAP. So,...
"Death Penalty Advocate Is a Challenge for the Defense"
Posted on September 03, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable article in the New York Times reporting on an interesting capital case in Connecticut. Here are excerpts from the piece: In the three years since his wife and two...
State judge responds to mom's request for leniency after fratricide
Posted on September 03, 2010As revealed by this local sentencing article, which is headlined "Mother persuades judge to go easy on son in fatal shooting," a mother's enduring love can sometimes help at sentencing. Here are the details: Nine months ago, Ruth Nichols lost...
"Cooperation's Cost"
Posted on September 02, 2010The title of this post is the title of this great-looking new piece from Professor Miriam Baer. Here is the abstract: This Article explores the costs and benefits of criminal cooperation, the widespread practice by which prosecutors offer criminal defendants...
Notable Ninth Circuit ruling concerning garbage and the rule of lenity
Posted on September 02, 2010Though not a sentencing case, I could not resist posting about an interesting split criminal statutory law ruling from the Ninth Circuit today in US v. Millis, No. 09-10134 (9th Cir. Sept. 2, 2010) (available here). The start of the...
Can and should we try to research sentencing law and policy in actual laboratories?
Posted on September 02, 2010Especially in the context of criminal justice reform, I love Justice Louis Brandies' notion of state legislatures serving as "laboratories of democracy" for improving national crime and punishment law and policies. However, the question in the title of this post...
California state appeals court finds unconstitutional 84-year prison term for 16-year-old car-jacker
Posted on September 02, 2010As detailed in this San Francisco Chronicle piece, which is headlined "Teen's 84-year sentence overturned by court," at least one California appeals court has extended the Supreme Court's ruling in Graham to a (long) term-of-years sentence. Here is the start...
Ohio Governor commutes death sentence of Kevin Keith based on innocence concerns
Posted on September 02, 2010As detailed in this local news report, "Gov. Ted Strickland spared Kevin Keith's life today, concluding that it is "far more likely" he is a murderer than he is not, but there are too many 'real and unanswered questions' to...
Is community service really a punishment? Should it be ordered more?
Posted on September 01, 2010The questions in the title of this post, which I asked my 1L students yesterday, are worth some collective reflection in light of this notable new Slate column headlined "Riches to Rags: What's with all the celebrities serving community service?...
"Prison is too good for Blago"
Posted on September 01, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this column by Phil Luciano in the Peoria Journal Star. Here are some excerpts: How would you like to see Rod Blagojevich punished? I'd like to see him do something that...
The latest judicial hold-up of executions in California
Posted on September 01, 2010The state with the largest death row in the US appears to be trying, by may not be likely, to be able to resume executions soon. At least that's what I take away from this report in the San Jose...
Notable tussle between federal judge and federal defenders in Pittsburgh
Posted on September 01, 2010This new story from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, which is headlined "Federal judge may remove himself from public defender cases," reports on an interesting federal criminal justice brouhaha. Here are the basics: A federal judge today issued an opinion saying...
"N.Y. Judge Vacates Deportation Plea Due to Changing Legal Landscape"
Posted on September 01, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this piece in the New York Law Journal, which gets started this way: A judge's warning that a defendant could be subject to deportation if he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor...
Second Circuit weighs in thoughtfully on post-Booker ex post facto issues
Posted on September 01, 2010Today in a relatively short opinion in US v. Ortiz, No. 08-2648 (2d Cir. Sept. 1, 2010) (available here), a Second Circuit panel addresses the (circuit-splitting) issue of whether the ex post facto clause limits application of the latest version...
Serial knife slasher gets 433 years in prison PLUS 11 life sentences
Posted on August 31, 2010If anyone ever wonders what kind of sentence the villians in slasher movies might face, this CNN report on a real case from California provides some clue. Here are the details: A transient, who was nicknamed "the box cutter," was...
Quantifying the "Worst of the Worst" in Alabama
Posted on August 31, 2010I just came across this interesting looking empirical piece by Jennifer Leigh Adger, which is titled "Quantifying the ?Worst of the Worst?: Victim, Offender and Crime Characteristics Contributing to ?Heinous, Atrocious, or Cruel? Findings in Alabama." Here is the abstract:...
NC's local prosecutors urging full audit of suspect state criminal lab work
Posted on August 31, 2010There's lots of interesting and important criminal justice action and debate in North Carolina these days. In addition to racial disparity debates roiling the administration of the death penalty, there is a broader on-going controversy involving the state's criminal justice...
Wondering about the state and fate of the federal death penalty
Posted on August 31, 2010A high-profile federal death penalty case that concluded earlier this week in Detroit, which is covered in this local piece headlined "Legal experts say no death penalty is no surprise: Doubtful Detroit jurors didn't put killer in the 'worst of...
A few notable medical marijuana headlines
Posted on August 31, 2010These two major media headlines about medical marijuana developments caught my eye this afternoon: From CBS News here, "Pot, Chronic Pain Relief: New Study Says Marijuana Can Help" From CNN here, " Medical Marijuana Ad on Television"
Two little and notable Ninth Circuit sentencing opinions
Posted on August 31, 2010The Ninth Circuit handed down two notable little sentencing opinions this afternoon. Here are links to the unanmious panel rulings, along with snippets from the decisions: United States v. Wipf, No. 09-50291 (9th Cir. Aug. 31, 2010) (available here): Appellant...
Roger Clemens in federal court to be arraigned today
Posted on August 30, 2010This AP article, headlined "Clemens heads to DC, this time for court," reports on today's (legal) sports news. Here is how it starts: On this trip to Washington, Roger Clemens will be in a courtroom, not in Congress. His defiant...
"Obama Takes a Crack at Drug Reform"
Posted on August 30, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable new piece appearing the The Nation by Ethan Nadelmann that discusses the Fair Sentencing Act and related issues. Here are excerpts: For those of us who fought long and...
A thoughtful call for Congress to slightly increase federal good-time credit
Posted on August 29, 2010Steve Sady, the public defender who for years argued for a defendant-friendly interpretation of the federal statute providing for 15% good time credit for prisoners, has this new commentary in the National Law Journal. The piece is headlined "Too much...
Previous | Next
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...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-25 at 15:46PM
Acute perpendicular parking #NYPD #NYFD
On 08-18 at 22:18PM
Parallel parking gone bad. Too much gas UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:41PM
UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:25PM
Twitter suspends journalist critical of broadcast partner's coverage on dubious grounds @guyadams #nbcfail #twitterfail
On 07-30 at 17:57PM
Model example of 1st Amendment suppression by the People of New York City's Michael Bloomberg #OWS #NYPD
On 07-12 at 21:07PM
AG Holder lackadaisical on Operation in our Sites domain name seizures & RIAA lobbied free speech suppression @dajaz1
On 06-08 at 22:44PM
Why is the Catholic Church going to court over Obama contraception policy? @NewYorker commentary
On 05-31 at 10:08AM
Monks sue Louisiana for right to sell caskets made from forrest destroyed by Katrina
On 05-31 at 07:47AM
Are the abortion ultrasound laws headed for the Supreme Court?
On 05-15 at 21:52PM
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...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material � 1999-2011 by USLaw.com. |