Sentencing Law & Policy

The title of this post is the headline of this new Washington Post article. I recommend the full piece, and here are excerpts: Standing in front of a crowd outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 6 defendant Brian Mock... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Prisons and prisoners Who Sentences

Prez Trump made historic use of his clemency powers during his first few days in office this year, and he clearly continues to enjoy to exercising his broad executive authority to grant pardons and commutations. Consider all this federal clemency... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Benjamin Levin now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: In this Article, I argue that the U.S. criminal system and debates about criminal justice reform... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this forthcoming book chapter authored by Isabella Polito and Colleen M. Berryessa. Here is its abstract: High rates of recidivism in the age of mass incarceration have prompted efforts for more... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered

I am going to be off-line more than usual in the coming days, and so a round-up of some piece catching my eye that I won't have time to cover in distinct posts seems in order. And so: From Bolts,... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading

The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN and authored by Bryna Godar. Here is its abstract: Under federal law, states decide whether people lose their voting rights as a result of... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Who Sentences

The Supreme Court this morning decided the so-called "ghost gun" case, Bondi v. Vanderstok, No. 23-852 (March 26, 2025) (available here), which addressed the lawfulnees of an ATF rule interpreting the Gun Control Act of 1968 to cover weapon parts... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

As reported in this local article, "El Paso District Attorney James Montoya campaigned for the job saying he would pursue the death penalty against the 26-year-old gunman who killed 23 people in a local Walmart in 2019 and said he... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

As reported in this AP piece, "President Donald Trump on Tuesday pardoned a former business partner of Hunter Biden who was convicted of participating in a conspiracy to defraud a Native American tribe." Here is more: Devon Archer later became... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article by Clark Neily that serves as the cover story of the latest issue of the Cato Institute's Free Society magazine. Here is how the article begins: The Bill... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

Law360 has this lengthy new piece, headlined "La.'s First Nitrogen Execution Reflects Broader Method Shift," which discusses recent state execution method trends. Here are a few excerpts: Louisiana's adoption of the nitrogen gas method is part of a broader shift... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

In the (decidedly non-originalist) opinion in Williams v. New York, 337 U.S. 241 (1949), the Supreme Court rejected arguments that a defendant had a right to confront witnesses whose testimony was used against him by a judge at sentencing. The... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

In this post last month, I flagged lots of encouraging data from a number of big cities about homicide trends at the start of 2025. That post cautioned about drawing strong conclusions or having firm expectations based on "early" crime... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this notable new article from multiple authors just published in the journal Criminology. Here is its abstract: Based on a 2023 national YouGov survey (N = 800), we explored public support... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Reuters article headlined "Exclusive: Thousands of agents diverted to Trump immigration crackdown." Here are a few excerpts from a lengthy article: Federal agents who usually hunt down... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Offense Characteristics Who Sentences

This morning the US Supreme Court handed down an opinion in favor of the government on a statutory issue in Delligatti v. US, No. 23–825 (S. Ct. March 21, 2025) (available here). The opinion for the Court, authored by Justice... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

This morning the US Supreme Court handed down a unanimous opinion in favor of a federal criminal defendant on a statutory issue in Thompson v. US, No. 23–1095 (S. Ct. March 21, 2025) (available here). The opinion for the Court,... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

As detaled in this local article, "Oklahoma carried out its first execution of 2025 on Thursday, giving a lethal injection to a confessed killer who had said in his first interview with police that he wanted the death penalty." Here... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

As reported in this AP piece, a "Florida man who killed an 8-year-old girl and her grandmother on a night in which he drank heavily and used drugs was executed Thursday evening." Here is more: Prison officials said Edward James,... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

As reported in this new Hill piece, the "Justice Department (DOJ) plans to create a process for those with criminal convictions to restore their gun rights." Here is more: The interim rule, posted in the Federal Register Thursday, follows a... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Second Amendment issues Who Sentences