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The Brennen Center for Justice today released this new "expert brief" seeking to make the case that there is "no clear relationship between pro-reform prosecutors and increased crime." Here is how the data-heavy report gets started (with links from the... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data Who Sentences

In this post from a few weeks ago, I noted the notable activity focused on possible resentencing of the Menendez brothers, who were convicted and sentenced to LWOP in California for the brutal 1989 killing of their parents. As reported... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article that I just saw in the latest issue of Lewis & Clark Law Review authored by Mark Cebert and Aliza Kaplan. Here is its abstract: In Oregon, executive... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

I flagged in this post last week just some of the fascinating data drawn from the Marshall Project's political survey of more than 50,000 people in 785 prisons and jails. I now see that this week there are these additional... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Elections and sentencing issues in political debates

As reported in this Courthouse News Service piece, "Michael Avenatti, who gained notoriety while representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels in her legal dispute with then-President Donald Trump, earned a rare legal victory Wednesday when a Ninth Circuit panel threw... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new essay now available via SSRN authored by Wayne Logan. Here is its abstract: The Supreme Court has long relied upon state legislative preferences when establishing federal constitutional norms. With... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

As reported in this recent Bloomberg Law piece, "A judiciary panel has recommended against revising a rule that prohibits broadcasting of federal criminal trials, following a push to permit cameras ahead of potential trials involving former President Donald Trump." Here... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Josiah Rutledge now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: No provision is more central to the administration of the “Great Writ” of habeas corpus than... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

I flagged in this recent post the notable request by a condemned South Carolina inmate for a federal judge to take away the clemency power from the SC Governor. Richard Moore argued that the Gov could not fairly consider his... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN and authored by Paul Larkin. Here is its abstract: The failure of the Oregon Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act of 2020 to achieve... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Who Sentences

Regularly readers are perhaps used to seeing irregular references here to some of my thinking about originalism and criminal justice topics. This week over at the Sentencing Matters Substack, I mused on these topics a bit. Here is the the... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

A helpful reader alerted my to the formal publication of this new article in the latest issue of the Stanford Journal of Civil Rights & Civil Liberties that share the title of this post as is authored by Wayne Logan.... Douglas A. Berman Collateral consequences Criminal Sentences Alternatives Sex Offender Sentencing

The US Supreme Court released this order list this morning with a few cert grants. The grants concerning challenges to actions by the EPA are likely to get a lot more attention than the one criminal case grant. But sentencing... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As we head into the final homestretch this election season, I have posted on a few topics related to Election 2024 ranging from felon disenfranchisement (here and here) to the political perspective of incarcerated persons (here) to the ACLU's take... Douglas A. Berman Campaign 2024 and sentencing issues Elections and sentencing issues in political debates Who Sentences

I have noted in prior posts the development and launch of a new crime data resource, the Real-Time Crime Index. Late last week, I recevied this email about the latest crime data from this resource (and the email also discusses... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

The title of this post is the title of this new Law360 essay authored by Bridgette Stumpf. Here are some excerpts: The Crime Victims' Rights Act, passed in 2004, was intended to require actors in the criminal legal system to... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Victims' Rights At Sentencing Who Sentences

Ian Millhiser has this interesting new Vox piece discussing the oft-relisted Supreme Court case of Hamm v. Smith under the headline "The strange case that the Supreme Court keeps refusing to decide: A mysterious Supreme Court case could change everything... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

This local article, headlined "In stunning move, Texas Supreme Court halts Robert Roberson execution in 'shaken baby' case," provides an effective review (with links) of the legal drama yesterday that ultimately halted a closely watched execution date. Here are just... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As reported in this local article, "Alabama executed Derrick Dearman Thursday evening by lethal injection for the brutal killings of five members of his then-girlfriend’s family in Mobile County in 2016. It was the state’s second execution in a span... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms