Sentencing Law & Policy

Prez Trump's considerable clemency activity last week (basics here and here) not only has engendered considerable commentary about his recent efforts (some assembled here), but also has various major press outlets covering various clemency-related stories. Here is a partial round... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

Around this time two years ago in this post, I flagged that the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at The Ohio State University had just released Season One of a new podcast, "Drugs on the Docket." All six full episodes... Douglas A. Berman Booker and Fanfan Commentary Federal Sentencing Guidelines

The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN authored by Ji Seon Song. Here is its abstract: Studies of the institutional actors in the criminal legal system have revealed critical insights on... Douglas A. Berman Criminal Sentences Alternatives Reentry and community supervision

The Surpreme Court handed down this new order list this morning to kick off what should be an eventful SCOTUS month. The list is not all that eventful for sentencing fans, but at least one grant, one denial and one... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) recently released this notable new report titled "Federal Prosecution of White-Collar Crimes Receiving Less and Less Attention." The report captures all sort of data about federal white-collar prosecutions, and is worth a read in... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Offense Characteristics White-collar sentencing

Unsurprisingly, Prez Trump's recent significant clemency work (basics here and here) has already engendered notable critical commentary. I have rounded up some pieces on that topic, though I am still looking for commentary actively supporting his latest grants. In addition,... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Recommended reading Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN authored by Seema Saifee. Here is its abstract: Scholars and reformers who aim to reduce reliance on incarceration offer different visions for how to... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

As reported in this local article, "Oklahoma is now one of the states with the harshest penalties for child sex offenses after lawmakers paved the way for the death penalty for crimes against children." Here is more: Gov. Kevin Still... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Kennedy child rape case Sex Offender Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by David Abrams and Priyanka Goonetilleke now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Each year, millions of Americans rely on public defenders to fulfill their Sixth... Douglas A. Berman Who Sentences