Feed aggregator

The question in the title of this post is promoted by this new piece from Lisel Petis over at R Street, which is titled "Move over progressive prosecutors, pragmatic prosecutors are the new 'it' thing." Though I have never been... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

A number of notable and mostly disheartening press pieces aabout prison realities caught my eye this week, and here is a round up: From the AP, "The US government is closing a women’s prison and other facilities after years of... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners

As reported in this CNN piece, a "federal judge on Thursday rejected a plea agreement between Boeing and the US government after the company said it would plead guilty to deceiving the Federal Aviation Administration ahead of two fatal 737... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Victims' Rights At Sentencing Who Sentences

Via email yesterday afternoon, I received news of a number of new items coming from the US Sentencing Commission. Drawing text and links from the email, here are just some of items with a few links: Notice of Public Meeting... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Julian Cook available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Too often, the guilty plea hearing process practiced in our federal courts fails to adequately ensure the... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

In this post on Monday, I flagged a lot of early commentary focused on Prez Biden's decision Sunday night to pardon his son Hunter. There has been, unsurprisingly, continuing discussion of this pardon and its echoes. One theme to the... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The folks at Prison Policy Initiative have made an annual tradition of releasing a significant report looking forward to reform policy and politics in the new year. The latest variation, available here, is titled "Winnable criminal justice reforms in 2025,"... Douglas A. Berman Elections and sentencing issues in political debates

The title of this post is the title of this new book chapter authored by Mark White and available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Philosophers of punishment have paid little attention to resource constraints, which have an undeniable impact... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Recommended reading

As reported in this AP article, Missouri this evening completed an execution of a man who sexually assaulted and strangled a 9-year-old girl in 2007. Here are some of the details: Rowan Ford knew Christopher Collings as “Uncle Chris” after... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by David Shapiro and Molly Bernstein available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Properly understood, the “cruel or unusual” punishment clause of the Michigan Constitution grants every... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Scope of Imprisonment Sentences Reconsidered

I was inclined to wait a bit before doing a round up of commentary on Prez Biden's decision last night to pardon his son Hunter. (For the record, I suspect Prez Biden made the decision to pardon Hunter a long... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Who Sentences

Via email I received work of this this new briefing from the Prison Policy Initiative, completed in collaboration with the Jail Data Initiative, which offers broad data on jail admissions and populations. The full title of this briefing provides a... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Prisons and prisoners Race, Class, and Gender Scope of Imprisonment

My post title not only reflects my Ozian mood, but also my effort to get extra attention for this last banger post by Jonathan Wroblewski over at the Sentencing Matters substack. The post lurks under the sly simple query in... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Biden Administration Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes Procedure and Proof at Sentencing White-collar sentencing Who Sentences

Upon seeing this news as reported by the New York Times, under the headline "Biden Issues a ‘Full and Unconditional Pardon’ of His Son Hunter Biden," I am tempted to joke that Prez Biden decided to use the long holiday... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

In this post the morning after Donald Trump's election, I wondered aloud about how he might seek to make good on his campaign promises to pardon persons federally prosecuted for their behaviors at the Capital on January 6, 2021. In... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this "ahead of print" article forthcoming in the journal Crime and Justice authored by Michael Tonry. Here is its abstract: Mass incarceration, among Western countries a uniquely American phenomenon, resulted from... Douglas A. Berman Scope of Imprisonment Who Sentences

I am thankful for so very much this holiday season, including for all those who flag interesting pieces for the blog (and for the fact that I sometimes have time to read -- or at least skim -- lots of... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading

A helpful reder made sure I did not mean that the Death Penalty Information Center recently posted on its website this new resource titled "In Era of Secrecy, States Increasingly Restrict Media Access to Executions." Here is how the lengthy... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

I noted in prior posts (assembled below) the work of US District Judge Carlton Reeves in a case after the Supreme Court's landmark Bruen ruling in which a defendant challenged application of the federal criminal statute prohibiting felons from possessing... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Second Amendment issues