Sentencing Law & Policy

This new Daily Signal article, headlined "Trump Pledges Death Penalty for Criminal Illegal Aliens Found Guilty of ‘Child or Woman Sex Trafficking’," reports on some of the sentencing comments today of former Prez Donald Trump when he was speaking at... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Death Penalty Reforms

The title of this post is the title of this new paper available via SSRN authored by Ronald Wright and Kay Levine. Here is its abstract: Recent legislation, exemplified in statutes from California and Washington, creates new methods for resentencing... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

HuffPost has this notable new piece noting a notable new shift in one party's platform on a notable old punishment. The piece headlined "Democrats Scrub Death Penalty Opposition From Campaign Platform: For the first time in more than a decade,... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Death Penalty Reforms Who Sentences

A lengthy new opinion by a Third Circuit panel in Kalu v. Spaulding, No. 23-1103 (3d Cir. Aug. 21, 2024) (available here), covers a lot of notable federal prison law and federal prison realities. Here is how the opinion for... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

I have not closely followed the legal sagas that have surrounded the website Backpage, which was the huge classified advertising website shut down and seized by federal law enforcement in April 2018. But next week the Backpage saga has a... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Federal Sentencing Guidelines Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Sex Offender Sentencing White-collar sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Gregory Antill available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: It is a foundational assumption of the traditional mens rea hierarchy that the commission of intentional harm... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing

The New York Times has this new piece, headlined "Prosecutors to Face Off Over Innocence Claim by Prisoner on Death Row," reporting on the people behind a notable legal fight surrounding a defendant scheduled to be executed by the state... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

I was pleased to see today that the Brennan Center for Justice released this short new "analysis" on the First Step Act titled "Analyzing the First Step Act’s Impact on Criminal Justice." Though I was hoping that the piece might... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Who Sentences

I generally do not keep up with international crime and punishment stories, but this new story and headline from across the pond caught my eye: "Union warns of probation officer shortage ahead of prisoners’ early releases; Up to 2,000 offenders... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment Sentencing around the world

The title of this post is the title of this new article posted to SSRN authored by Stevie Leahy. Here is its abstract: This article explores the disparities in juvenile sentencing across the United States, with a focus on the... Douglas A. Berman Assessing Miller and its aftermath Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

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