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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.
Notable discussion of the impact of civil commentment on sentencing sex offenders
Posted on August 05, 2010The Eighth Circuit handed down an interesting little ruling in a sex offender sentencing case today in US v. Jeffries, No. 09-3377 (8th Cir. Aug. 5, 2010) (available here). These excerpts from the opinion provides the highlights of the interesting...
Seventh Circuit rejects as-applied Second Amendment challenge to § 922(g)(1), but suggests a non-violent felon might previal
Posted on August 05, 2010The Seventh Circuit handed down today another intriguing Second Amendment opinion in which it finds unavailing an as-applied challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the federal felon-in-possession criminal prohibition. There are lots of interesting aspects of the panel's ruling in...
Elena Kagan is now officially Justice Kagan
Posted on August 05, 2010As detailed in this AP article, the US "Senate confirmed Elena Kagan Thursday as the Supreme Court's 112th justice and fourth woman, selecting a scholar with a reputation for brilliance, a dry sense of humor and a liberal legal bent."...
A comment on comments
Posted on August 05, 2010One of my favorite real-world lawyer readers, who is also one of the most thoughtful and helpful commentors, wrote me this note via e-mail today: Doug, is there anything you can do to eliminate comments from folks who are deterring...
Crooked local politician seeking sentencing help from fatherhood and Facebook
Posted on August 04, 2010An upcoming federal sentencing for a local Pennsylvania politician convicted of taking kickbacks is raising a bunch of interesting issues. First, as detailed in this local story, the defendant is seeking leniency based on his fatherhood: Former Luzerne County commissioner...
"Rep. Mike Rogers: Execute WikiLeaks leaker"
Posted on August 04, 2010This title of this post is the headline of this new piece from Politico. Here is how the piece begins: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) believes the death penalty should be applied in the case of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning if...
New "Just Say Now" campaign suggests growing marijuana legalization coalition
Posted on August 04, 2010As detailed in this Huffington Post report, which is headlined "'Just Say Now': Left-Right Coalition Launches Campaign To Legalize Pot," there is a new coaltion that is making a forceful push for marijuana legalization. The new group has taken on...
Second Circuit amends (slightly) its important Dorvee child porn sentencing decusion
Posted on August 04, 2010A helpful reader alerted me to the news that the Second Circuit handed down today this amended version of its important Dovree ruling from a few months ago that reversed as too long a below-guideline sentence for a child porn...
"Private Plea Bargains"
Posted on August 04, 2010The title of this post is the title of this great forthcoming piece from my Ohio State colleague Ric Simmons, which is now available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: This article analyzes the phenomenon of private criminal settlements; that...
Fair Sentencing Act about to alter crack sentencing ... with lots of transition issues to follow
Posted on August 03, 2010As noted in this new Washington Post editorial, President Obama is expected to sign the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 into law on Tuesday. As detailed in prior posts, the FSA reduces somewhat the disparity between crack and powder cocaine...
Will litigation over California's lethal injection protocol ever end?
Posted on August 03, 2010As detailed in this new Los Angeles Times article, there is fresh litigation concerning the latest version of California's lethal injection protocol even though the same basic litigation has been going on now for nearly five years. Here are the...
Another capital test case concerning defendant's fate after lawyers' failings
Posted on August 03, 2010Adam Liptak's always interesting Sidebar column in the New York Times this week is focused on a capital appeal from Alabama under the headline "A Mailroom Mix-Up That Could Cost a Life." Here are excerpts: Sullivan & Cromwell is a...
Massachusetts partially reforms its mandatory drug sentencing laws
Posted on August 03, 2010As detailed in this press release from Families Against Mandatory Minimums, over the weekend "Massachusetts lawmakers passed legislation that includes limited but promising reform of the state?s harsh mandatory drug sentencing laws." Here are the specifics: Drug offenders who are...
An original response to "A Brief and Modest Proposal" from another US District Judge
Posted on August 03, 2010Regular readers may recall this engaging post from last week concerning providing federal sentencing data for particular judges, titled "'A Brief and Modest Proposal' ... an original essay from US District Judge Richard Kopf." I am pleased now to be....
"Department of Justice Releases First National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction"
Posted on August 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new press release from the US Department of Justice. Here is how the release starts: Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Department of Justice released its first-ever National...
Are we ready for decades of "Roberts v. Kagan"?
Posted on August 02, 2010The question in the title of this post is inspired by this interesting commentary from Dahlia Lithwick at Slate, which asks "Will there be friction between the chief justice and Elena Kagan on the Supreme Court?". Here is how the...
Interesting commentaries on pot politics and practices
Posted on August 02, 2010There are a couple interesting new commentaries today on how the politics and practicalities of pot prohibition: From the Huffington Post here, "Could Pot Drive Turnout In Key Elections? From Salon here, "Young, overeducated and selling pot: Squeezed by college...
"Lindsay Lohan Leaves Jail, Enters Rehab"
Posted on August 02, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new ABC News report on the latest LiLo news. Here are the basics: After 13 days in jail, Lindsay Lohan is taking her next steps; 12, to be precise. The...
Investigative report indicates California's prisoner rights poorly regarded
Posted on August 02, 2010A helpful reader altered me to this lengthy article from the Sacremento Bee, headlined "The Public Eye: California prisoners' rights often trampled," that reports on how guards have abused prisoners through disciplinary hearings. The piece, which ran on Sunday's front...
Charlie Sheen cuts a plea deal to avoid any prison time for domestic violence offense
Posted on August 02, 2010Anyone who was concerned that Lindsay Lohan got treated a bit too well by the criminal justice system now has another celebrity sentencing about which to complain. Here are all the details thanks to this new story at E! Online,...
Interesting reads at the NY Times Opinionator blog
Posted on August 01, 2010There are these two new lengthy pieces over at the New York Times' Opinionator blog that criminal justice fans will surely want to check out: "Arizona?s Law, Activist Judges and Anchor Babies" "Voting Behind Bars" The second piece is by...
"Prosecutor looks back on 3 decades of battling drugs"
Posted on August 01, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this interesting local article from Pennsylvania. Here are some excerpts: Assistant U.S. Attorney John McCann has given half his life to prosecuting criminals, and for most of them he's focused on...
Will Virginia go forward with first US execution of a woman in five years?
Posted on July 31, 2010As detailed in this local press report, which is headlined "Execution date set for Va. woman in Pittsylvania slayings," Virginia is now on track to execute a female murderer this September. Here are the basics: Teresa Wilson Lewis would be...
A must-read take on American justice courtesy of now-free Lord Conrad Black
Posted on July 31, 2010As detailed in this news report, "media baron Conrad Black, released from jail this month on a two-million-dollar bond, lashed out at the US justice system Saturday in a column written for Toronto's National Post." This first-person column is available...
"?Pukemon? apologizes, then goes to jail"
Posted on July 30, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this breaking news story from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which reports on the sentencing in what because a high-profile case of fan misbehavior. Here are the particulars: A Cherry Hill man who...
Washington state on track to be second jurisdiction to use one-drug lethal injection protocol
Posted on July 30, 2010As detailed in this local story, headlined "State Supreme Court lifts stay of execution for convicted murderer," it appears that Washington may soon join Ohio on the list of states actually using a one-drug lethal injection protocol to execute condemned...
"The slow fade of Len Bias' ghost"
Posted on July 30, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this commentary in today's Dallas Morning News by Mark Osler. In addition to providing a useful reminder of the way the 100-1 crack/powder ratio came to be, it also ends with...
California's three-strikes law and its 2010 race for state attorney general
Posted on July 30, 2010Thanks to the always great Prison Law Blog, I just saw this interesting article from The Economist, which is headlined "Cooley's law: A Republican district attorney seeks to make three-strikes more humane." Here are excerpts: The current [Los Angeles DA],...
"Are Opponents of Marijuana Legalization Getting Dumber?"
Posted on July 29, 2010The title of this post is the heading of this amusing new item over at Stop the Drug War on the challenges experienced by those challenging the proposed legalization of marijuana in California. Here is the full text: The opposition...
Interesting chart of world-wide execution numbers for 2009
Posted on July 29, 2010The Economist has this interesting chart which spotlights various nations' execution numbers for 2009. The chart comes from this little article, which is headlined "China and the death penalty: High executioners." Here is the text that accompanies the graphic: China...
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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...

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...








