Sentencing Law & Policy

In this post last month, I flagged (and threw some shade on) one of a series of "roadmap" documents ALCU has produced on various issues looking toward the next presidential administration. That document, titled "Trump on the Criminal Legal System,"... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Who Sentences

As reported in this AP article, a "A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping the murder victim’s older sister while the siblings camped in a national forest 30 years ago was executed Thursday." Here is more:... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

The Pew Research Center released today this big new survey/report intended to enable us "to better understand how U.S. adults get local crime news and information" and based on a "survey of 5,146 U.S. adults [that] was conducted from January... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this recent paper authored by Amy Schmitz and Cynthia Alkon availabke via SSRN. Here is its abstract: This article explores the potential of technology to improve access to justice (A2J) in... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The US Sentencing Commission is continuing to release new sets of its "Quick Facts" publications with updates drawing on the USSC's full fiscal year 2023 data. I have flagged these new updated Quick Facts in recent posts here and here,... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines Offense Characteristics White-collar sentencing

I flagged here last week some issues surrounding the federal sentencing of the persons who founded and helped run the website Backpage. This AP article reports on how these issues played out, and here are excerpts: Michael Lacey, a founder... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

A Fifth Circuit panel today declared unconstitutional a federal gun possession prohibition as applied to a "non-violent, marijuana smoking gunowner." The unanimous panel ruling in US v. Connelly, No. 23-50312 (5th Cir. Aug. 28, 2024) (available here), starts and ends... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Gun policy and sentencing Marijuana Legalization in the States Second Amendment issues

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Justin Murray now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The American prosecutor’s legitimacy faces unprecedented challenges. A new wave of reformist prosecutors has risen to... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

A range of criminal justice issues are starting to get a range of media attention with now less than 10 weeks until Election Day 2024. I have recently noticed a number of newer pieces with various folks giving advice to... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this recent publication from the Center for Justice Innovations (CJI) authored by Sruthi Naraharisetti. Here is how the CJI website describes the work: Public defense attorneys play a pivotal role in... Douglas A. Berman Race, Class, and Gender Who Sentences

The top court in Massachusetts handed down a notable (and unanimous) new Second Amendment ruling today in Commonweath v. Canjura, No. SJC- 13432 (Mass. Aug. 27, 2024) (available here). Here is how it starts: Since 1957, G. L. c. 269,... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Second Amendment issues

The quoted portion of this post title is the title of this new briefing published by the Prison Policy authored by Eric Seligman and Brian Nam-Sonenstein. Here is how the discussion starts: Money is power in the United States, and... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Race, Class, and Gender Scope of Imprisonment

As reported in this new AP piece, the "South Carolina Supreme Court won't allow another execution in the state until it determines a minimum amount of time between sending inmates to the death chamber." Here is more: The state's next... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this interesting new YouGov entry discussing its latest polling regarding various all sorts of aspects of the use and reach of the federal clemency power. There are a number of notable... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The Ninth Circuit handed down a notable little opinion late last week in US v. Trumbull, No. 23-912 (9th Cir. Aug. 22, 2024) (available here), discussing whether the federal sentencing guidelines' commentary regarding the "definition of 'large capacity magazine' Warrants... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

Walter Pavlo has this interesting new commentary in Forbes looking at the federal prison system, headlined "The High Price Of Minimum Security Federal Prisoners." I recommend this piece in full, and here are excerpts: There are four security levels in... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

A panel of the Sixth Circuit handed down an interesting and intricate opinion in US v. Williams, No. 23-6115 (6th Cir. Aug. 23 , 2024) (available here), which rejects a Second Amendment challenge to a federal illegal gun possession charge... Douglas A. Berman Gun policy and sentencing Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Second Amendment issues Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new briefing from Prison Policy Initiative authored by Emmett Sanders. The subtitle of the discussion highlights its main themes: "Louisiana lawmakers are eliminating discretionary parole and implementing regressive truth-in-sentencing laws.... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Scope of Imprisonment Sentences Reconsidered State Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

Politico has this informative new piece, headlined "Justice Department signals plan to salvage obstruction charges in some Jan. 6 cases," which details some of the echoes of the Supreme Court's Fischer ruling a couple of months ago. I recommend the... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Alexandra Giannidi available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Although punishment theories have overall been slow to incorporate the move towards victims’ rights, Braithwaite & Pettit’s... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Victims' Rights At Sentencing