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As reported in this post, the US Sentencing Commission released in early June this Federal Register notice of its possible policy priorities for the guideline amendment cycle ending May 1, 2026, which came with a request for public comment on... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Who Sentences

I noted in this post last week that the new Direcotr of the federal Bureau of Prisons has created a new First Step Act Task Force. This new Forbes article by Walter Palvo, headlined "Bureau Of Prisons Task Force Taking... Douglas A. Berman FIRST STEP Act and its implementation Prisons and prisoners Who Sentences

This morning the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics released this latest report on national data on the administration of the death penalty in the United States through the end of 2023. As I have noted in prior posts, though... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Death Penalty Reforms Detailed sentencing data

The Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) today released its latest accoutning of recent crime trends through this new report titled "Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Mid-Year 2025 Update." Here are some of the encouraging details from the the report's "Key... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Spencer Cooper now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: I estimate the causal effect of mandatory minimum (MM) eligibility on federal drug sentencing using a... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Mandatory minimum sentencing statutes

The title of this post is the title of this new article published in the American Journal of Criminal Justice and authored by Tracy Sohoni, Sylwia Piatkowska and Briana Paige. Here is its abstract: Although US courts regularly sentence individuals... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Race, Class, and Gender

Anyone keeping an eye on crime trends will want to be sure to read these two new Substack posts: From Jeff-alytics, "Assessing Crime At Midyear: The trends aren't set in stone but they are clearly established." Excerpts: Crime almost certainly... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The Justcie Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics today released this new data report titled "Probation and Parole in the United States, 2023." Here is how this report begins and a few "highlights" noted onits first page: An estimated 3,772,000 adults... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Reentry and community supervision

I am not sure I would describe criminal justice articles from Law360 as "beach reading," but I am sure that I have noticed a number of notable pieces on that site should not be overlooked amid summer fun. So here... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading

Via this inauguration executive order, Prez Trump called the death penalty the "only proper punishment for the vilest crimes" and asserted that his "Administration will not tolerate efforts to stymie and eviscerate the laws that authorize capital punishment against those... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

As reported in this Reuters piece, "former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed." The US Justice Department,... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics

A few days ago, Slate ran this new commentary from Frank Bowman discussing the latest reporting on Prez Biden's clemency actions on his way out of the Oval Office. I recommend the piece in full, and here is how it... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article published in the Journal of Criminal Justice and authored by Noy Assaraf and Roni Factor. Here is its abstract: Objectives While many studies have examined the impact of... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners

While I was on the road, a Third Circuit panel handed down a notable new Second Amendment opinion in US v Harris, No. 21-3031 (3d Cir. July 14, 2025) (available here). The Harris ruling concerns the (un)constitutionality of federal law’s... Douglas A. Berman Gun policy and sentencing Second Amendment issues

The title of this post is the headline of this intersting research published at Corrections 1 that is described as a "futures study of a particular emerging issue of relevance to law enforcement." The article begins with this account of... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Technocorrections

Law360 has this lengthy new article providing a detail examination of the Supreme Court's rulings in an array of criminal cases during its October 2024 Term. The article's headline, "High Court Term Yields Gains For Criminal Defendants," reveals its essential... Douglas A. Berman Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As reported in this CNN piece, the "Justice Department is asking that a former police officer found guilty of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor in 2020 -- when she was shot and killed by police in her Louisville... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing