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Criminal Law

Sentencing Law and Policy

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
By Douglas A. Berman

Post Frequency: 77.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24

"Connecticut Wants Liquor, Pot and Death Penalty"

Posted on March 10, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this Wall Street Journal piece reporting on a new public opion poll from Connecticut. Here are some of the notable specifics: Booze on Sundays, decriminalization of pot and the death penalty...

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to sign bill abolishing the state's death penalty

Posted on March 09, 2011
According to this new AP articlefrom Chicago, "Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn intends Wednesday to abolish Illinois' death penalty more than a decade after one of his Republican predecessors enacted a moratorium that has prevented executions for the last 11 years,...

Federal child porn sentencing for former Maine prosecutor bringing out divergent recommendations

Posted on March 09, 2011
I am in Washington DC this morning because I have the honnor of speaking this afternoon at U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces 2011 Judicial Conference on the topic of "Federal Sentencing Law and Policy for Child Pornography...

Illinois Governor Quinn commutes all death sentences as he signs state's death penalty repeal

Posted on March 09, 2011
As detailed in this Reuters piece, as he was signing a state bill to abolish the death penalty, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn "also commuted to life in prison the death sentences of all 15 inmates currently on the state's Death...

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"Sotomayor emerges as force in criminal cases"

Posted on March 09, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of a new piece by Marcia Coyle via the Supreme Court Insider at The National Law Journal. Here is how the piece starts: If there were any doubts that Justice Sonia Sotomayor...

The new challenges of new "child porn" in a new media world

Posted on March 08, 2011
Regular readers know the many sentencing challenges posed by the proliferation of child porn resulting from the internet and related technologies. And this New York Times article, headlined "Michigan Town Split on Child Pornography Charges," highlights some of the new...

"Double Jeopardy as a Limit on Punishment"

Posted on March 08, 2011
The title of this post is the title of this great-looking new piece by Professor Carissa Byrne Hessick and F. Andrew Hessick III. Here is the abstract: One of the most common reasons for a sentencing enhancement is that the...

Texas apparently not planning to comply with federal AWA sex offender rules

Posted on March 08, 2011
The Houston Chronicle has this notable piece about Texas's resistance to implementation of the federal Adam Walsh Act. The piece is headlined "Sex offender list in the middle of a showdown; Federal mandate costs too much to implement, Texas officials...

"The Case for Discriminatory Sentencing: Why Identical Crimes May Deserve Different"

Posted on March 08, 2011
The title of this post is the title of this interesting-looking new paper by Professors Alon Harel and Eyal Winter taking a law-and-econ perspective on sentencing disparity. Here is the abstract: The traditional premise of criminal law is that criminals...

Effective coverage of Iowa's challenges operationalizing Graham ruling

Posted on March 08, 2011
The Iowa Independent has this really interesting new piece headlined "Iowa courts struggling with application of U.S. Supreme Court ruling; Family of man convicted in 1994 when he was 17 hope federal decision can lead to parole." (Hat tip: How...

SCOTUS issues opinions on AEDPA timelines and DNA requests

Posted on March 07, 2011
This morning the Supreme Court issued opinion on two criminal justice procedure issues of note. Here are the details via the fine folks at SCOTUSblog: Wall v. Kholi (09-868) -- In a unanimous opinion by Justice Alito, The Court affirmed...

New report taking "the long view" on Ohio's crowded prisons notes Blakely's impact

Posted on March 07, 2011
The Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission has released this fascinating new report titled "Prison Crowding: The Long View, With Suggestions." There are lots of interesting part of this document, but these parts from the executive summary strike me as especially blog-worthy:...

Ninth Circuit thoughtfully rejects attack on lifetime supervised release for repeat sex offender

Posted on March 07, 2011
Based on "easy" facts, a Ninth Circuit panel today in US v. Williams, No. 10-30084 (9th Cir. Mar. 7, 2011) (available here) took the time to talk through thougthtfully its rejection of various challenges brought by a sex offender to...

'Death Penalty: Should Cost Be A Factor?"

Posted on March 07, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this article from the Hartford Courant, which also reports on today's discussions by the Connecticut legislature as it is again considering a death penalty repeal bill. Here are excerpts: Should legislators...

Judge Jack Weinstein takes a field trip to aid his sentencing efforts

Posted on March 06, 2011
US District Judge Jack Weinstein, who long ago secured a place in my Sentencing Hall of Fame, garners still more appreciation from me based on this new AP article. The article, headlined "Veteran federal judge visits drug gang's NYC turf,"...

"States Prosecute Fewer Teenagers in Adult Courts"

Posted on March 06, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this interesting front-page article from today's New York Times. Here is how it gets started: A generation after record levels of youth crime spurred a nationwide movement to prosecute more teenagers...

"Louisiana child molester undergoes castration for parole"

Posted on March 05, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this notable local story about an offender willing to go to great lengths to facilitate release from prison. Here are the details: A convicted child molester has undergone surgical castration to...

Is the death penalty the only real matter in doubt in the Loughner prosecution?

Posted on March 05, 2011
The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new CBS News piece headlined "Expert: Only question is will Loughner get death." Here are excerpts from the interesting piece: Federal prosecutors on Friday announced new charges against...

Third Circuit thoughtfully considers and rejects as-applied Second Amendment challenge to � 922(g)(1)

Posted on March 04, 2011
The Third Circuit today has handed down a very interesting opinion in US v. Barton, No. 09-2211 (3d Cir. Mar. 4, 2011) (available here), concerning a Second Amendment challenge to the federal crime of felon-in-possession under 18 U.S.C � 922(g)(1)....

Is Pepper starting to add spice to federal sentencing proceedings?

Posted on March 04, 2011
The significant ruling by the Supreme Court this week in Pepper (basics here) has already impacted a on-going federal sentencing articles and projects of mine, and I am wondering if and how the Pepperruling is impacting on-going federal sentencing proceedings...

Budget woes might get in way of California's plans for "Cadillac" death row

Posted on March 04, 2011
This interesting new Bloomberg piece, headlined "California's 'Cadillac' Death Row Complex Target in Budget Talks," spotlights an interesting on-going debate about costs for the state with the largest death row in the nation. Here are excerpts: California is set to...

Former Chair of US Sentencing Commission urging "presumptive guideline" Booker fix

Posted on March 03, 2011
Federal district judge William K. Sessions III, who served on the US Sentencing Commission for more than a decade and who was its Chair through the end of last year, has authored an important new paper about the present and...

The latest news on the (soon-to-end) uncertainty of the death penalty in Illinois

Posted on March 03, 2011
The AP has this lengthy new story about the death penalty in the Prairie State, which is headlined "Ill. governor mulls bill to abolish death penalty." Here are snippets: Nearly a decade after a former governor dramatically cleared the state's...

New Jersey report finds recidivists driving up prison costs

Posted on March 03, 2011
This lengthy local article, headlined "Repeat offenders in N.J. prison system are draining state budget, report finds," highlights that concerns about state spending and budgets in New Jersey is getting focused on corrections. Here are excerpts: New Jersey?s prison system...

The high costs created by very sick prisoners in California

Posted on March 03, 2011
The Los Angeles Times has this interesting report, headlined "Despite medical parole law, hospitalized prisoners are costing California taxpayers millions," highlighting the high health-care costs for an especially sick portion of the California prison population...

"Gov. Beshear signs bill aimed at lowering Kentucky prison population"

Posted on March 03, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this local article from Kentucky, which starts this way: In a bipartisan flourish, Gov. Steve Beshear on Thursday signed into law a measure aimed at reversing the fast-rise in Kentucky?s prison...

Ninth Circuit rejects effort to get review of BOP decisions about RDAP under the APA

Posted on March 03, 2011
Though the alphabet soup of abbreviations in the title of this post may only make sense to some federal sentencing practitioners, all sentencing fans ought to be somewhat intrigued by the little ruling today by the Ninth Circuit in Reeb...

"Are Sexual Offense Laws Too Harsh? And Do They Work?"

Posted on March 02, 2011
The questions in the title of this post comes from the heading of this new press release via the Univesity of Buffalo as part of a promotion for a new book by one of its law faculty. Here are some...

"Prosecutors to pursue dealth penalty in abortion doctor case"

Posted on March 02, 2011
The title of this post is the headline of this CNN article discussing a high-profile prosecution in a very disturbing case from Pennsylvania. Here are details: Philadelphia prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty against abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell,...

SCOTUS opinion in Pepper shows how/when/why courts can reject the FSG

Posted on March 02, 2011
I am working my way through the opinion of the Court in Pepper, and I am consistent impressed with how Justice Sotomayor's opinion is weaving its way through a range of post-Booker issues and various other aspects of modern federal...

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