Sentencing Law & Policy

The remearkable saga of former US Congressman George Santos closed one chapter in the same manner as many federal criminal prosecutions, namely with a guilty plea to a few of many charged counts. But what sentence should shape the next... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Federal Sentencing Guidelines White-collar sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this new paper recently published in the journal Crime, Law and Social Change and authored by Benedikt Fischer, Tessa Robinson and Hans-Jörg Albrecht. Here is its abstract: Cannabis policies are increasingly... Douglas A. Berman Marijuana Legalization in the States National and State Crime Data

I flagged in this recent post the US Sentencing Commission's latest release of new sets of its terrific "Quick Facts" publications with updates drawing on the USSC's full fiscal year 2023 data. But I did not want to forget that... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Alexandra Harrington and Guyora Binder now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: America’s peculiar institution of felony murder liability has long been criticized as cruel... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Race, Class, and Gender

Both former Prez Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris have lengthy and nuanced criminal justice histories and records as politicians, and Trump also has recent experiences as a criminal defendant and Harris has past experiences as a criminal... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this recent paper available via SSRN and authored by Jessica Steinberg and Elenore Wade. Here is its abstract: Expungement has an uptake problem. A recent explosion of state-level rights allows people... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Reentry and community supervision Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

I am pleased to see that the US Sentencing Commission is continuing to release new sets of its terrific "Quick Facts" publications with updates drawing on the USSC's full fiscal year 2023 data. Long-time readers know I cannot praise the... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Federal Sentencing Guidelines

As reported here in The Hill, "Former President Trump asked the New York judge who oversaw his recent criminal trial to delay his sentencing until after November’s presidential election." Here is more: Judge Juan Merchan previously agreed to push the... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this recent article available via SSRN authored by Shima Baradaran Baughman. Here is its abstract: We know very little about why prosecutors charge a given case, how frequently they charge, and... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Scope of Imprisonment Who Sentences

"Where you stand depends on where you sit" and "All politics is local" are two old chestnuts in the political world. This new Politico article, headlined "Why a tough-on-crime initiative is splitting California’s Democrats," tells a variation on this story... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Elections and sentencing issues in political debates Offense Characteristics Who Sentences

The Sentencing Project released today this new version of a report titled, “Youth Justice By The Numbers.” The first two sentences of this ten-page report spotlights its main themes: "Between 2000-2022, there was a 75% decline in youth incarceration. However,... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Offender Characteristics Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

In this post late last week, I highlighted the encouraging midyear 2024 violent crime data in this lastest report from the Major Cities Chiefs Association. That report shows declines in four major violent crime categories in the first half of... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this notable keynote speech delivered this week by Jeremy Travis at the annual conference of the National Criminal Justice Association. I recommend reading the speech in full, as Travis explains in... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data Scope of Imprisonment Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this lengthy new report released today by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Here is part of the report's executive summary: Marsy’s Law is the colloquial name for a model... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) has this notable new analysis of death row exonerations. Here is how the report, which is titled "New Analysis: Innocent Death-Sentenced Prisoners Wait Longer than Ever for Exoneration," gets started: On July 1, after... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Lee Kovarsky now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: A puzzling mismatch lurks inside victims’ rights law. Victims’ rights are most easily justified when held... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Victims' Rights At Sentencing Who Sentences

This new Bloomberg Law piece, headlined "Biden Public Defenders Turned Judges Begin to Make Mark on Bench," details what might be Prez Biden's most significant legacy in his judicial nominations. I recommend the piece in full, and here is its... Douglas A. Berman Who Sentences

The Miami Herald has this notable and lengthy new article about juvenile sentencing headlined "‘Very disturbing’: Florida teens get longer prison sentences than adults." Here are some of the details: Florida is one of 13 states that give prosecutors unfettered... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Offender Characteristics

The title of this post is the title of this relatively short piece just out in the Columbia Law Review Forum and authored by Kempis Songster, Terrell Carter & Rachel López. Here is how it starts: In his compelling new... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

This Politico piece, headlined "‘Political violence personified’: Jan. 6 defendant gets 20 years for string of vicious attacks on police," reports on the handing down of the longest sentence given to any person actually involved in the Jan 6 riot.... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics