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Last week I came across a short federal district court opinion in US v. Valdivias, No. 20-20054-02-DDC (D. Kan. Aug. 26, 2024) (available here), rejecting some notable originalist jury claims by a drug defendant. I recommend the entire opinion, and... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

A helpful reader made sure I did not miss a lengthy new ruling from the Eleventh Circuit late last week in US v. Schwarzbaum, No. 22-14058 (11th Cir. Aug. 30, 2024) (available here). Here are excerpts from the start of... Douglas A. Berman Fines, Restitution and Other Economic Sanctions Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered

When he was president, Donald Trump played a critical role in advancing, and then signed into law, the most significant federal criminal justice reform in a generation, the First Step Act. Trump has also often talked up expanding the federal... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Marijuana Legalization in the States Pot Prohibition Issues Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Richard Lorren Jolly available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The United States is a democracy divided. Perhaps not since the Civil War have Americans been... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

In recent posts, I have already covered notable capital punishment adminstration stories from Florida and Missouri and South Carolina. And as news and commentary on death penalty issues keeps emerging from states and nationally, an abridged round-up of notable recent... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper available via SSRN authored by Kaelyn Sanders. Here is its abstract: Digital exclusion is a barrier for people on parole, herein referred to as returning citizens. Yet, much... Douglas A. Berman Reentry and community supervision

In this post last month, I flagged (and threw some shade on) one of a series of "roadmap" documents ALCU has produced on various issues looking toward the next presidential administration. That document, titled "Trump on the Criminal Legal System,"... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Who Sentences

As reported in this AP article, a "A Florida man convicted of killing a college freshman and raping the murder victim’s older sister while the siblings camped in a national forest 30 years ago was executed Thursday." Here is more:... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

The Pew Research Center released today this big new survey/report intended to enable us "to better understand how U.S. adults get local crime news and information" and based on a "survey of 5,146 U.S. adults [that] was conducted from January... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this recent paper authored by Amy Schmitz and Cynthia Alkon availabke via SSRN. Here is its abstract: This article explores the potential of technology to improve access to justice (A2J) in... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The US Sentencing Commission is continuing to release new sets of its "Quick Facts" publications with updates drawing on the USSC's full fiscal year 2023 data. I have flagged these new updated Quick Facts in recent posts here and here,... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines Offense Characteristics White-collar sentencing

I flagged here last week some issues surrounding the federal sentencing of the persons who founded and helped run the website Backpage. This AP article reports on how these issues played out, and here are excerpts: Michael Lacey, a founder... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

A Fifth Circuit panel today declared unconstitutional a federal gun possession prohibition as applied to a "non-violent, marijuana smoking gunowner." The unanimous panel ruling in US v. Connelly, No. 23-50312 (5th Cir. Aug. 28, 2024) (available here), starts and ends... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Gun policy and sentencing Marijuana Legalization in the States Second Amendment issues

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Justin Murray now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The American prosecutor’s legitimacy faces unprecedented challenges. A new wave of reformist prosecutors has risen to... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

A range of criminal justice issues are starting to get a range of media attention with now less than 10 weeks until Election Day 2024. I have recently noticed a number of newer pieces with various folks giving advice to... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this recent publication from the Center for Justice Innovations (CJI) authored by Sruthi Naraharisetti. Here is how the CJI website describes the work: Public defense attorneys play a pivotal role in... Douglas A. Berman Race, Class, and Gender Who Sentences

The top court in Massachusetts handed down a notable (and unanimous) new Second Amendment ruling today in Commonweath v. Canjura, No. SJC- 13432 (Mass. Aug. 27, 2024) (available here). Here is how it starts: Since 1957, G. L. c. 269,... Douglas A. Berman Offense Characteristics Second Amendment issues

The quoted portion of this post title is the title of this new briefing published by the Prison Policy authored by Eric Seligman and Brian Nam-Sonenstein. Here is how the discussion starts: Money is power in the United States, and... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Race, Class, and Gender Scope of Imprisonment