The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN authored by Trung Nguyen, Aneesh Raghunandan and Alexandra Scherf. Here is its abstract: We study whether federal judges' personal exposure to financial fraud affects...
Douglas A. Berman
White-collar sentencing
Who Sentences
The Vera Institute of Justice continues to do a remarkable service for those interested in (near) real-time data about US prison and jail populations by assembling and releasing national incarceration data roughly a year before the federal Bureau of Justice...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Prisons and prisoners
Scope of Imprisonment
The Sacremento Bee has this lengthy new piece, headlined "Justice or politics? Here’s why California prosecutors seek death penalty despite moratorium," providing all sorts of notable history and particulars about the administration of capital punishment in the Golden State. I...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Death Penalty Reforms
As reported in this CNBC article, "[f]ormer FTX executive Nishad Singh was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release on Wednesday, becoming the fourth ex-employee of the collapsed crypto exchange to be punished. Singh was also ordered...
Douglas A. Berman
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
White-collar sentencing
Bloomberg Law has this new article, headlined "Sentencing Commission Policy Power Faces Unusual Test on Appeal," previewing a notable oral argument in the Sixth Circuit scheduled this week to consider the US Ssentencing Guideline provision that permits some "changes in...
Douglas A. Berman
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
FIRST STEP Act and its implementation
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
In this post a month ago, I asked "Is former Prez Trump going to release a new short list of possible Supreme Court nominees?". In that post, I noted that Trump's clever and consequential decision in May 2016 to release...
Douglas A. Berman
Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues
Who Sentences
The Council on Criminal Justice today released this big new report from its Veterans Justice Commission titled "From Confinement to Community: Supporting Successful Veteran Reentry and Employment." This CCJ press releae about the report provide some context and overview: The...
Douglas A. Berman
Offender Characteristics
Reentry and community supervision
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Rosemary Ardman now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: In May 2023, Florida authorized the death penalty for the sexual battery of a child under...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
Offense Characteristics
Sex Offender Sentencing
The title of this post is the title of this new article by multiple authors now published in the journal Aggression and Violent Behavior. Here is its abstract: Over several decades, a robust body of empirical evidence has developed concerning...
Douglas A. Berman
National and State Crime Data
I just saw this intriguing new YouGov report with all sort of polling data on a range of crime issues. The piece is titled "Crime: What 2024 voters want and which candidate they trust" and is worth a full read...
Douglas A. Berman
Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues
Elections and sentencing issues in political debates
Who Sentences
The Death Penalty Information Center has this "New Analysis" titled "Death-Sentenced Prisoners 'Volunteer' for Execution at Ten Times Civilian Suicide Rate." Here are some excerpts from the start of the lengthy piece: Derrick Dearman first told his mother that he...
Douglas A. Berman
Data on sentencing
Death Penalty Reforms
Over at Slate, there are two new pieces about Donald Trump's clemency record when he was in the Oval Office. Because "weird" has apparently taken on talismanic meaning this election cycle, the headline of one piece uses that adjective to...
Douglas A. Berman
Clemency and Pardons
Sentences Reconsidered
Who Sentences
The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN authored by E. Lea Johnston and Autumn Klein. Here is its abstract: Assisted outpatient treatment, otherwise known as preventive outpatient commitment, is rapidly expanding...
Douglas A. Berman
Criminal Sentences Alternatives
Offender Characteristics
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
Unsurprisingly, the announcement last week by the Los Angeles DA that he will seek resentencing for the Menendez brothers has generated more media coverage and comment about the case and the brothers. Here is a partial round up of pieces...
Douglas A. Berman
Celebrity sentencings
Procedure and Proof at Sentencing
Who Sentences
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Sheldon Evans now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: At its core, the criminal legal system is an ecosystem of institutions that seek to balance...
Douglas A. Berman
Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing
This new Trace article, headlined "A Supreme Court Decision Claimed to Take Partisanship Out of Gun Cases. It Didn’t," provides a new accounting of Second Amendment cases since the Supreme Court transformed the applicable jurisprudence in its landmark 2022 Bruen...
Douglas A. Berman
Gun policy and sentencing
Second Amendment issues
Who Sentences
The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN and authored by Eric Freeman. Here is its abstract: Congress has the authority to abolish the death penalty in the states, and good reason...
Douglas A. Berman
Death Penalty Reforms
Who Sentences
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