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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

As noted in this post, on Tuesday of this week, Missouri and Texas completed executions of condemned murderers. Today, it was Alabama and Oklahoma carrying out executions. Here are press accounts: From AL.com, "Alabama inmate Alan Miller executed with nitrogen... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

I just saw this week this (new?) website, called "State Constitution Tool." In a brief foray, I have found this resource pretty easy to navigate as a means to find state constitutional provisions related to a particular topic, such as... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading State Sentencing Guidelines

The title of this post is the title of this new essay authored by Mark William Osler now available via SSRN (and forthcoming in the Federal Sentencing Reporter). Here is its abstract: Baked into the mechanism for determining sentences in... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Federal Sentencing Guidelines

Two states completed executions last night. Here are the basics from news accounts: From CNN, "Missouri executes Marcellus Williams despite prosecutors and the victim’s family asking that he be spared": Marcellus Williams, whose murder conviction was questioned by a prosecutor,... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms