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I have failed to flag here that the US Sentencing Commission has released recently a bunch more of its terrific "Quick Facts" publications. As regular readers know, I find so very interesting all the these short data documents, which are... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics

In this post a few weeks ago, titled "Starting to gear up for lots of criminal law and sentencing cases during SCOTUS OT'25," I highlighted that the Supreme Court is already scheduled to hear many criminal law cases, including many... Douglas A. Berman Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Joshua Davis and Whitney Taylor now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: This article examines the rise and politicization of prosecutorial reforms in the United... Douglas A. Berman Elections and sentencing issues in political debates Who Sentences

I do not know why this platform was down yesterday, but I do know I have seen a wide array of intriguing pieces about matters of crime and punishment in recent days. So, making up for lost blogging time, here... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading

As reported in this local article, headlined "State chipping away at SCOTUS ruling that outlawed death sentences for juvenile offenders," Louisiana's Attorney General is taking steps to seek reconsideration of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence precluding the death penalty for juvenile... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Offender Characteristics Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

A few weeks ago, via this post, I flagged an effective press piece that detailed some ugly aspects of how New Jersey has been implementing a new state compassionate release law. Today I just saw this similar press piece regarding... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Mark William Osler now avaialble via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The crack epidemic of the 20th century and the fentanyl epidemic of the 21st century... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Federal Sentencing Guidelines Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes Offense Characteristics Race, Class, and Gender

Last week, a divided Tenth Circuit panel handed down yet another a notable new Second Amendment opinion regarding the (un)constitutionality of federal law’s criminal prohibition of gun possession by anyone "who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any... Douglas A. Berman Second Amendment issues Who Sentences

The quirky question in the title of this post is prompted by the latest essay by Jonathan Wroblewski over at the Sentencing Matters Substack. The essay, which should be read in full, is titled, "An AI Experiment — Part 1:... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Technocorrections White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

Adam Gelb, who heads the Council on Criminal Justice, has this intriguing new Newsweek commentary concerning the term "early release." I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts (links from the original): "Early release" is used casually and... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Prisons and prisoners

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Michael Smith now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Defendants in criminal cases are routinely detained pending trial because they are deemed dangerous. In some... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

A couple of years ago, as noted in this post,the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at The Ohio State University released all of Season One of a new podcast, "Drugs on the Docket." All six full episodes of this first... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Scope of Imprisonment Who Sentences

As reported in this AP article, a "man convicted of killing his girlfriend, her mother and a man he claimed owed him $2,000 was put to death Thursday in a record 11th execution this year by the state of Florida."... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip cases and execution methods Death Penalty Reforms

The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN and authored by Tobie Smith. Here is its abstract: The Supreme Court has revitalized the jury’s role in criminal sentencing over the past quarter... Douglas A. Berman Almendarez-Torres and the prior conviction exception Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

This press piece, headlined "US Prosecutors Challenge 'Unusually Lenient' Sentence in HashFlare Mining Fraud," reports that federal prosecutors were quick to appeal this notable federal sentencing decision in a cryptocurrency fraud handed down this week. Here is a bit of... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing White-collar sentencing