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Tue, 07/29/2025 - 22:49
When SCOTUS is winding down a term in late June/early July, I typically find myself over at SCOTUSblog multiple times a day. During the Court's summer recess, though, I will not always make a habit of checking out SCOTUSblog regularly....
Douglas A. Berman
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
Tue, 07/29/2025 - 11:02
The question in the title of this post is prompted by remarkable federal criminal justice developments in the District of New Jersey. This New York Times piece, headlined "N.J. Criminal Cases Screech to a Halt as Habba’s Authority Is Challenged,"...
Douglas A. Berman
Criminal justice in the Trump Administration
Who Sentences
Mon, 07/28/2025 - 22:27
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Michael Tonry now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Three things foster European moderation in relation to crime and punishment. The first is the influence...
Douglas A. Berman
Sentencing around the world
Mon, 07/28/2025 - 13:27
I recall a number of public health researchers and others expressing concern back in summer 2022, right after the Supreme Court's landmark Second Amendment ruling in Bruen, that new changes and challenges to gun control laws could possibly contribute to...
Douglas A. Berman
Second Amendment issues
Who Sentences
Mon, 07/28/2025 - 09:43
In this post last month, I flagged two essays from the Sentencing Matters Substack discussing the Supreme Court's work this past Term in Esteras v. United States addressing federal supervised release decision-making. I am pleased now to continue to highlight...
Douglas A. Berman
FIRST STEP Act and its implementation
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
Sun, 07/27/2025 - 20:23
There is no shortage of stories about immigration detention faciltiies these days, but that coverage has not entirely crowded out other prison pieces in recent weeks. Here is a quick round up of some that recently caught my eye: From...
Douglas A. Berman
Prisons and prisoners
Sun, 07/27/2025 - 09:04
The title of this post is the title of this article authored by Rhys Hester in the June 2025 issue of the Criminal Law Forum. (As noted in this prior post, this journal issue is devoted to celebrating the work...
Douglas A. Berman
Advisory Sentencing Guidelines
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
Who Sentences
Fri, 07/25/2025 - 10:18
As reported in this post, the US Sentencing Commission released in early June this Federal Register notice of its possible policy priorities for the guideline amendment cycle ending May 1, 2026, which came with a request for public comment on...
Douglas A. Berman
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Who Sentences
Fri, 07/25/2025 - 09:38
I noted in this post last week that the new Direcotr of the federal Bureau of Prisons has created a new First Step Act Task Force. This new Forbes article by Walter Palvo, headlined "Bureau Of Prisons Task Force Taking...
Douglas A. Berman
FIRST STEP Act and its implementation
Prisons and prisoners
Who Sentences
Thu, 07/24/2025 - 12:58
This morning the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics released this latest report on national data on the administration of the death penalty in the United States through the end of 2023. As I have noted in prior posts, though...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Death Penalty Reforms
Detailed sentencing data
Thu, 07/24/2025 - 09:30
The Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) today released its latest accoutning of recent crime trends through this new report titled "Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2025 Update." Here are some of the encouraging details from the the report's "Key...
Douglas A. Berman
National and State Crime Data
Wed, 07/23/2025 - 22:34
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Spencer Cooper now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: I estimate the causal effect of mandatory minimum (MM) eligibility on federal drug sentencing using a...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes
Wed, 07/23/2025 - 10:01
The title of this post is the title of this new article published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice and authored by Tracy Sohoni, Sylwia Piatkowska and Briana Paige. Here is its abstract: Although US courts regularly sentence individuals...
Douglas A. Berman
Offender Characteristics
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
Race, Class, and Gender
Tue, 07/22/2025 - 22:40
Anyone keeping an eye on crime trends will want to be sure to read these two new Substack posts: From Jeff-alytics, "Assessing Crime At Midyear: The trends aren't set in stone but they are clearly established." Excerpts: Crime almost certainly...
Douglas A. Berman
National and State Crime Data
Tue, 07/22/2025 - 14:37
The Justcie Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics today released this new data report titled "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2023." Here is how this report begins and a few "highlights" noted onits first page: An estimated 3,772,000 adults...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Detailed sentencing data
Reentry and community supervision
Tue, 07/22/2025 - 10:18
I am not sure I would describe criminal justice articles from Law360 as "beach reading," but I am sure that I have noticed a number of notable pieces on that site should not be overlooked amid summer fun. So here...
Douglas A. Berman
Recommended reading
Tue, 07/22/2025 - 08:49
Via this inauguration executive order, Prez Trump called the death penalty the "only proper punishment for the vilest crimes" and asserted that his "Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
Offense Characteristics
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
Mon, 07/21/2025 - 21:42
As reported in this Reuters piece, "former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed." The US Justice Department,...
Douglas A. Berman
Offender Characteristics
Offense Characteristics
Mon, 07/21/2025 - 14:42
A few days ago, Slate ran this new commentary from Frank Bowman discussing the latest reporting on Prez Biden's clemency actions on his way out of the Oval Office. I recommend the piece in full, and here is how it...
Douglas A. Berman
Clemency and Pardons
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
Mon, 07/21/2025 - 10:54
The title of this post is the title of this new article published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and authored by Noy Assaraf and Roni Factor. Here is its abstract: Objectives While many studies have examined the impact of...
Douglas A. Berman
Prisons and prisoners
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