Sentencing Law & Policy

Though California’s Proposition 36, the "Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative," is arguably the biggest 2024 sentencing-related ballot initiative (discussed here), voters in Colorado also have a notable sentencing-related initiative to consider this fall. Proposition 128 in... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment State Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

The Supreme Court formally kicks off its new term, October Term 2024, with oral arguments in two cases this morning. But its first official product of OT 2024 is this 50-page order list with more cert denials than I can... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As detailed in this official announcement released Friday afternoon by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the BOP "is introducing several important updates to its phone call policies and time credit systems, reflecting its commitment to improving the well-being of Adults... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Prisons and prisoners

The title of this post is the title of this essay authored by Douglas Husak recently posted to SSRN. Here is its abstract: I present the following challenge to retributivists (including myself). I stipulate that retributivism is the claim that... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing

The US Supreme Court's new season, known as October Term 2024, officially gets started on Monday with oral arguments in two cases raising technical procedural issues. But, for SCOTUS watchers, today feels like openning day because the Justices this morning... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

Inquest has this notable new essay on a topic that I think merits a lot more attention, namely on the needs of the incarcerated for legal assistance. The piece, authored by Jennifer Soble, is headlined "Lawyerless No More: Once a... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As reported in this new NBC News piece, "Prosecutors in California are reviewing the convictions of the Menendez brothers, who were found guilty in the 1989 killing of their parents, to determine whether they should be resentenced and potentially released,... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Gregory Brazeal now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Criticisms of American mass incarceration have generally focused on urban areas, and especially large, racially segregated... Douglas A. Berman Race, Class, and Gender Scope of Imprisonment

The most significant sentencing-related ballot initiative in the 2024 election cycle is California’s Proposition 36, titled "Drug and Theft Crime Penalties and Treatment-Mandated Felonies Initiative." This initiaitive is summarized by Ballotpedia this way: A "yes" vote supports making changes to... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Drug Offense Sentencing Elections and sentencing issues in political debates Who Sentences

As detailed in this local article, in the past week a "federal judge in Detroit has ruled parts of Michigan’s Sex Offenders Registration Act are unconstitutional." (Disclosure: I have worked with a group of law professors on amicus briefing in... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Criminal Sentences Alternatives Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Sex Offender Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new essay available via SSRN and authored by Ian Ayres and Fredrick Vars. Here is its abstract: Lower federal courts are struggling to determine the constitutionality of longstanding federal laws... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Second Amendment issues Who Sentences

To close out September, the US Sentencing Commission released yet another new set of its terrific "Quick Facts" publications. Regular readers are now used to my praise for the USSC's production of these convenient and informative short data documents, which... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines

As reported in this AP article, a "Texas man convicted of fatally stabbing twin 16-year-old girls more than three decades ago was executed on Tuesday evening." Here is more: Garcia Glenn White was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m. CDT following... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

In recent weeks, I have noticed and blogged about a number of notable recent sentencing stories involving aninals (see links to prior posts below). This local story out of Montana, headlined "Vaughn man who cloned, bred and sold illegal sheep... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics

This brief press release, titled "FBI Releases 2024 Quarterly Crime Report and Use-of-Force Data Update," reports on the FBI's latest data on crime. Here is how it starts: On Monday, September 30, 2024, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this book chapter that I just noticed on SSRN and authored by Emily Greberman and Colleen Berryessa. Here is its abstract: The United States (U.S.) and its criminal-legal system have had... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing

A helpful colleague made sure I did not miss an interesting new opinion from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Commonwealth v. Berry, No. 16 EAP 2023, J-9A-2024 (Pa. Sept. 26, 2024) (available here). Here is how the unanimous 24-page ruling... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

I have noted before that I thought then-candidate Donald Trump's decision in May 2016 to release a "short list" of people he would consider as potential Supreme Court appointments was a clever and consequential campaign strategy. Such short lists also... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Who Sentences

In this post a couple of years ago, I flagged the historical and statistical reality that it is likely that, among any significant cohort of clemency recipients, some number are to face some future legal difficulties. I made the point... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Who Sentences

The highest-profile corrections stories of this week were surely the four executions in four US states. But, as is always the case in our big nation with lots of prisons and jails, there were also lots of lower-profile incarceration stories... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners