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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.
The messy realities of Ohio's adoption of AWA sex offender registration rules
Posted on July 22, 2010A helpful reader altered me to this local article which provides a window into just some of the many messy issues involved in Ohio's on-going effort to get conform its sex offender registration rules to comply with the federal Adam...
"Eric Holder Must Investigate Sentencing Disparities"
Posted on July 22, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable new commentary authored by Bob Barr at the (now notorious?) website Big Government. Here are excerpts: A few months ago, Attorney General Eric Holder took an important step in...
New poll shows support for death penalty still very strong even in blue California
Posted on July 22, 2010This local news report, headlined "Death penalty still gets overwhelming support: 70% of voters favor it, split when given choice," highlights that the nation's biggest state still has a big number of people supportive of the death penalty. Here are....
Eighth Circuit approves most, but not all, broad supervised release restrictions for sex offender
Posted on July 22, 2010Yesterday the Eighth Circuit handed down a notable opinion in US v. Simons, No. 09-2142 (8th Cir. July 21, 2010) (available here), concerning a set broad supervised release restrictions on a sex offender convicted for failing to register. Here is...
SCOTUS appoints former Alito clerk to defend Eighth Circuit's work in Pepper
Posted on July 22, 2010As detailed in this new post by Lyle Denniston over at SCOTUSblog, the "Supreme Court on Thursday named a New York City lawyer and former Supreme Court clerk to argue the side of a criminal sentencing case that the federal...
Third Circuit requires prosecutors to do more with less in Fumo sentencing appeal
Posted on July 21, 2010As noted in this post last week, defense attorneys in an appellate fight over the proper federal sentence for a high-profile state politician objected to prosecutors' request to file a super-sized brief. Now, as detailed in this piece in The...
NY Times editorial praising new laws on hiring former offenders
Posted on July 21, 2010The New York Times this morning has this notable new editorial headlined "Hiring and Fairness." Here are snippets: Boston, Chicago and San Francisco set a welcome example earlier in the decade when they abandoned counterproductive policies that often barred former...
"Oakland council OKs plan to set up pot factories"
Posted on July 21, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this notable report from the Los Angeles Times. Here are the details: Oakland's City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance that could make it the first city in the state to...
Eighth Circuit declares Begay retroactive and provides relief in 2255 motion
Posted on July 21, 2010While I was on the road yesterday, the Eighth Circuit handed down a significant opinion in Sun Bear v. US, 09-2992 (9th Cir. July 20, 2010) (available here). Here is the unofficial summary of the ruling from the Eighth Circuit's...
"House can reduce powder cocaine vs. crack sentencing disparity"
Posted on July 21, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this editorial from today's Washington Post urging the House of Representatives to take steps to pass the compromise reform of federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws that got Senate approval way back...
Wealthy sex offender reduces(?) prison sentence through plea deal giving $1.6 million (payoff?) to victim
Posted on July 21, 2010I just came across this fascinating state sentencing story from The Oregonean, which is headlined "Portland multimillionaire pleads guilty to molesting neighbor boy, agrees to pay victim $1.6 million." Here are the details of a story that raises a host...
Just another (average?) week in incarceration nation...
Posted on July 21, 2010with Lindsay Lohan entering jail apparently for only two weeks, and Lord Conrad Black getting to go free on bail from federal prison after having already served well over two years. Anyone want to make predictions on likelihood of recidivism...
Elena Kagan recommended for SCOTUS confirmation by Senate Judiciary Committee
Posted on July 20, 2010I am off-line most of today to talk about the Eighth Amendment at the annual conference for the National Association of Appellate Court Attorneys. But a lunch break allows for a post on this SCOTUS news from the AP: Pushing...
Photoshop effort to manufacture mitigating evidence proves aggravating to federal judge
Posted on July 20, 2010I just came across this amusing recent article from the New York Daily News, which reports on a novel (and highly ineffectual) effort by a fraud defendant to build a case for sentencing leniency: A career fraudster was sent to...
Effective review of New Jersey's recent significant prison population declines
Posted on July 20, 2010Thanks to The Crime Report, I saw this effective local article from New Jersey discussing the Garden State's significant reduction in its prison population over the last decade. The piece is headlined "N.J.'s inmate population declines, officials credit less crime,...
"Are Lindsay Lohan, other celebs glorifying jail time?"
Posted on July 20, 2010Today's question of the day comes via this lengthy article with the same headline as my post title in the Detroit Free Press. Here is how the piece it begins: Lindsay Lohan is scheduled to go to jail today. While...
California struggling with new challenges posed by GPS technocorrections
Posted on July 19, 2010Regular readers know that I view technocorrections like GPS tracking as a common punishment of the future, and that is one reason I find especially notable this local piece detailing California's problems with this form of technocorrections now. The piece...
California Democratic Party punts on potent politics of pot policy
Posted on July 19, 2010This Los Angeles Times piece, headlined "California Democratic Party decides not to endorse marijuana legalization initiative," reports on the latest interesting political move in the state with the most robust on-going debate on pot policy. Here are the basics: The...
"In many cases the judges who diverge from the advisory Guidelines ranges will do so for the wrong reasons"
Posted on July 19, 2010The title of this post is a sentence from this intriguing new commentary now on SSRN from Professor Jonathan Masur, which is titled simply "Booker Reconsidered." There is a lot worth saying about this must-read piece, and to start I...
Sixth Circuit provides some intriguing advice during plain error sentence reversal
Posted on July 19, 2010A sixth Circuit panel does some interesting work this morning in US v. Wilson, No. 08-1963 (6th Cir. July 19, 2010) (available here), which gets started this way: Lashawn Wilson (?Wilson?) pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud,...
US Sentencing Commission seeking comment on reduced criminal history guideline being retroactive
Posted on July 19, 2010As detailed in this official Federal Register Notice of request for public comment, the US Sentencing Commission is formally seeking input on whether to make its new defendant-friendly amendment to the criminal history sentencing guidelines retroactive...
Seventh Circuit grants bail to Lord Conrad Black after his SCOTUS win
Posted on July 19, 2010As detailed in this Bloomberg report, "Conrad Black, the former Hollinger International Inc. chairman jailed since March 2008 following a conviction for fraud, was granted bail" by the Seventh Circuit this afternoon. The brief order is available at this link,...
Effective report on the ratcheing back of Georgia's sex offender residency restrictions
Posted on July 19, 2010The AP has this effective new report on the legislative softening of Georgia's sex offender residency restriction. (Hat tip: C&C) The piece is headlined "Ga. softens once lauded strict sex offender law," and here are excerpts: Georgia was lauded four...
"Five Things You Need to Know About Lindsay Lohan's Pending Jail Stint"
Posted on July 19, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this hard-hitting new piece at E! Online. Here is the piece's intro and the heading of those important "five things you need to know": Lindsay Lohan is going to do the...
An Open thread
Posted on July 18, 2010Though lacking big names on the leader board, my weekend is still being consumed by my love for The Open Championship at the home of golf. I figured an open thread to let readers discuss any sentencing topics of interest...
Effective press coverage of recent DOJ letter to the US Sentencing Commission
Posted on July 18, 2010Marcia Coyle has this lengthy and effective piece due to appear in tomorrow's National Law Journal under the headline "Justice Department Calls for Probe of Federal Sentencing Patterns; Prosecutors see disparity in fraud, child pornography punishments...
Interesting account of "Five myths about the death penalty"
Posted on July 18, 2010NYU Professor David Garland has this intriguing piece in today's Washington Post under the headline "Five myths about the death penalty." Here is how the Post's editors set up the piece and the five myths set out by Garland: The...
"Trial and Error in Criminal Justice: Learning from Failure"
Posted on July 16, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new book authored by Greg Berman (no relation) and Aubrey Fox available from the Urban Institute Press. Here is a brief summary from the press website: When it comes to...
Seventh Circuit reinforces importance of adequate sentencing explanations
Posted on July 16, 2010Two relatively minor rulings from the Seventh Circuit today, US v. Arberry, No. 09-2668 (7th Cir. July 16, 2010) (available here), and US v. Johnson, No. 09-3247 (7th Cir. July 16, 2010) (available here), reinforce a major post-Booker principle that....
Split Sixth Circuit expressly holds that fast-track disparity is proper basis for variance
Posted on July 16, 2010In an important ruling in favor of broad post-Booker sentencing discretion, a split Sixth Circuit panel today in US v. Camacho-Arellano, No. 07-5427 (6th Cir. July 16, 2010) (available here), holds that fast-track dispartiy provides a sound basis for a...
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Japan's International Child Abduction Policy
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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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