Sentencing Law & Policy

The First Step Act (FSA), which was signed into federal law on December 21, 2018, by then-Prez Donald Trump, celebrates its sixth birthday tomorrow. Well-timed for a well-justified celebration, the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) have produced two updated data... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Prisons and prisoners Reentry and community supervision Scope of Imprisonment

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by James Stone now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: For incarcerated people litigating pro se, the civil discovery process is of vital importance. Without meaningful... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The folks at The Sentencing Project today released this new report reviewing a number of state criminal justice reform developments in this past year. Though the report is not detailed or comprehensive, I still recommend the short report in full... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading Who Sentences

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has a tradition, following the final scheduled execution of a calendar year, of releasing a year-end report with lots of data and other information about capital punishment's administration in the US. DPIC is institutionally... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Detailed sentencing data

As previously noted here, the US Sentencing Commission held a public meeting this afternoon which included unanimous votes to "Publish Proposed Guideline Amendments and Issues for Comment." Interestingly, before the vote on the proposed amendment, the "Report from the Chair"... Douglas A. Berman Advisory Sentencing Guidelines Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

As reported in this AP piece, an "Oklahoma man who killed a 10-year-old girl in a cannibalistic fantasy died by lethal injection Thursday in the nation’s 25th and final execution of the year." Here is more: Kevin Ray Underwood was... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Death Penalty Reforms

The folks at Reason have devoted the new issue of their magaziine to "giving performance reviews of Joe Biden's presidency." The issue includes ten review articles, and at least two ought to be of particular interest to criminal justice fans.... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Biden Administration

The title of this post is the title of this new substack entry from Jeff Asher reporting (a bit prematurely) on various data on crime trends in the year 2024 with two weeks to go. Here is some of the... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

As reported in this USA Today article, "Indiana has executed its first inmate in 15 years, as Joseph Edward Corcoran was declared dead before sunrise on Wednesday morning." Here is more: Corcoran, 49, was convicted in 1999 for the 1997... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Steffen Seitz now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The rule of lenity is undergoing a renaissance. Lenity requires courts to construct ambiguous penal statutes... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

I have been (somewhat inconsistently) highlighting here the weekly posts at the Sentencing Matters Substack that some colleagues and I host to publish longer-form essays on an array of sentencing topics. I am especially pleased that this month we have... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Recommended reading Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this notable new essay authored by Chad Flanders just posted to SSRN. Here is its abstract: In Erlinger v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that finding that an offender... Douglas A. Berman Almendarez-Torres and the prior conviction exception Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

I am disinclined to have this blog drone on with non-stop clemency coverage, but this is the season for grace and today marked the end of one Garden State mystery with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy finally discovering his clemency... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Offender Characteristics Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

This new AP piece details some notable capital punishment data from the Show Me state and eleswhere. This article's headline notes its themes: "Missouri's death row had nearly 100 inmates in the 1990s. Now, it has eight." Here are excerpts... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Death Penalty Reforms

I am behind on flagging notable new entries posted over at the Prison Policy Initiative in part because PPI has posted three new items in just the past week. Here they are: How journalists can push back on prison and... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

This new USA Today piece, headlined "Who was pardoned in Biden's clemency? Data breakdown of demographics, ages," reports on some general characteristics of the 1499 persons serving time on home confinement who received commutations from Prez Biden last week. Here... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Data on sentencing Offender Characteristics Who Sentences

A helpful colleague alerted me to a notable recent sentence reduction ruling/opinion handed down last week in US v. Evans, No. 93-00123-CR (SD Fla. Dec. 10, 2024) (available download below). The case inolves a defendant who was initially sentenced three... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered

In prior posts (some linked below), and also in this recent post over at the Sentencing Matters Substack, I have mused in various ways about what the Supreme Court's originalist turn could and should mean for various sentencing doctrines and... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper now on SSRN authored by Brian Grenadier and Steven R. Grenadier. Here is its abstract: Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are now a standard tool used by prosecutors to... Douglas A. Berman Criminal Sentences Alternatives Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

I had clemency on the mind this morning even before seeing the news of Prez Joe Biden's notable new clemency work because I was due to drive up to Cleveland for an exciting state pardon event. This news release, titled... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Reentry and community supervision Who Sentences