(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense
Find a Local Lawyer
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402
Sentencing Law and Policy 
News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
Post Frequency: 77.7/day Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24 Recent Entries: 4815
By Douglas A. Berman
Go to Sentencing Law and Policy, find other Criminal Law blogs, or browse all law blogs.
"Should registry log teen sex offenders?"
Posted on March 05, 2010The question in the title of this post is the headline of this article from the Jackson (Tennessee) Sun. Here is how it begins: State legislators expect a strong debate about whether juveniles' names, photographs and other information should be...
Eleventh Circuit rejects Second Amendment right of felon to possess a gun for any purpose
Posted on March 04, 2010Though many circuits have already rejected Second Amendment claims brought by felons prosecuted and sentenced under the federal felon-in-possession criminal statute, the Eleventh Circuit's opinions today in US v. Rozier, No. 08-17061 (11th Cir. Mar. 4, 2010) (available here), has...
"As Budget Cuts Free Prisoners, States Face a Backlash"
Posted on March 04, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new piece from the New York Times. Here is how it gets started: In the rush to save money in grim budgetary times, states nationwide have trimmed their prison populations...
Eighth Circuit affirms long sentence based on "hypothetical criminal-history points" and dismissed murder charge
Posted on March 04, 2010The Eighth Circuit has a very interesting sentencing ruling today in United States v. Azure, No. 08-3663 (8th Cir. Mar. 4, 2010) (available here). The relatively short opinion covers a relatively large number of sentencing issues, and here is how...
Notable Second Circuit ruling about inmate classification as a sex offender
Posted on March 04, 2010Earlier this week, the Second Circuit issued an interesting ruling in Vega v. Lantz, No. 08-4748 (2d Cir. Mar. 2, 2010) (available here), in which the panel reverses a district court's ruling granting relief to a Connecticut inmate who complained...
Chelsea King tragedy heats up politics around sex offender monitoring
Posted on March 04, 2010This new ABC News piece, which is headlined "Chelsea King Case: Outrage Over Sex Offender Monitoring Reaches White House: John Walsh Said President Obama Vowed to Fund Federal Sex Offender Law," highlights that the latest crime tragedy is turning up....
"Recognizing Constitutional Rights at Sentencing"
Posted on March 04, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new piece on SSRN by Professor F. Andrew Hessick III and Carissa Byrne Hessick. Here is the abstract: There are a number of traditional sentencing factors, which judges use when...
Two new reports from The Sentencing Project about state prison reductions
Posted on March 03, 2010This new Washington Post article, which is headlined "States reduce prison populations as budgets shrink," details the major take-away points from two new reports coming today from The Sentencing Project. Here is the start of the Post article: Many state...
Washington state following Ohio's lead to adopt a one-drug lethal injection protocol
Posted on March 03, 2010This AP story, headlined "WA changes execution method," suggests that Ohio's recent success with a change to a one-drug lethal injection protocol is having an impact in other state laboratories. Here is how the piece starts: Washington state has changed...
"Is Punishment Relevant After All? A Prescription for Informing Juries of the Consequences of Conviction"
Posted on March 03, 2010The title of this post is the title of this new piece on SSRN by Jeffrey Bellin. Here is the abstract: The American jury, once heralded as ?the great corrective of law in its actual administration,? has suffered numerous setbacks...
Big day for guns (and other fun?) at SCOTUS
Posted on March 02, 2010As detailed in a bunch of major press piece linked here at How Appealing, the Supreme Court today will hear oral argument in McDonald v. Chicago, another potential landmark Second Amendment case that will determine if the Court's 2008 ruling...
Another big criminal justice week for SCOTUS
Posted on March 01, 2010As well previewed in a number of posts at SCOTUSblog and a number of links at How Appealing, the Supreme Court has another exciting week on tap with lots of notable criminal justice cases on the calender. Specifically, today brings...
"Lil Wayne set to test how jails handle celebs"
Posted on March 01, 2010The title of the post is the headline of this new piece concerning the special (or not-so-special) treatment that some celebrity prisoners get. Here are snippets: Lil Wayne ... is expected to start a yearlong jail term Tuesday after pleading...
Another notable CVRA ruling from the Sixth Circuit
Posted on March 01, 2010As noted in this post last week, the Sixth Circuit disposed of an interesting mandamus petition from crime victims in US v. Arctic Glacier International, No. 10-3160 (6th Cir. Feb. 23, 2010). Another Crime Victims' Rights Act ruling comes from...
AAG Breuer's comments about sentencing disparities at ABA white-collar crime event
Posted on March 01, 2010I had the good fortune to hear in person the remarks by Lanny A. Breuer, Assistant Attorney General for DOJ's Criminal Division, at the American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar Crime in Miami late last week. And now,...
"Federalism and Criminal Law: What the Feds Can Learn from the States"
Posted on March 01, 2010The title of this post is the title of this exciting-sounding new piece from Professor Rachel Barkow appearing on SSRN. Here is the full abstract: Criminal law enforcement in the United States is multi-jurisdictional. Local, state, and federal prosecutors all...
Lots of (mostly minor) criminal justice action at SCOTUS
Posted on March 01, 2010Thanks to a series of posts and links at SCOTUSblog and How Appealing, one can quickly catch up with the array of (mostly minor) criminal justice action that took place today at the Supreme Court. These two SCOTUSblog post in...
"Second chance for killer kids?"
Posted on February 28, 2010The question in the title of this post is the headline of this lengthy article in today's Detroit Free Press. Here is how the piece gets started: Dontez Tillman and Thomas McCloud were 14-year-old middle schoolers in Pontiac in the...
Mike Farrell makes standard modern (pro-LWOP) arguments for DP abolition
Posted on February 28, 2010Over at the Huffington Post, long-time abolitionist (and former MASH star) Mike Farrell articulates some of the now-standard modern arguments for abolishing the death penalty in this new piece headlined "The Death Penalty is Dying." Here are some excerpts: It's...
Diet pill fraud nets 20-year below-guideline federal sentence (and ads for diet pills)
Posted on February 27, 2010This federal sentencing story out of Florida, which is headlined "Diet pill creator sentenced to 20 years for Lipoban?s fraudulent claims: Boca Raton man bilked more than 130,000 customers, feds say," caught my eye for various reasons. Here are the...
"Wisconsin Teen Gets 15 Years for Facebook Sex-Extortion Scam"
Posted on February 26, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this piece from Wired. Here are the basics: A Wisconsin teenager was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for an extortion scheme that had him tricking male classmates into sending...
South Korea's highest court upholds death penalty
Posted on February 26, 2010As detailed in this report, which is headlined "Constitutional Court Upholds Death Penalty," there is more going on these days in South Korea than just obsession over an Olympics superstar. Here are the details: The Constitutional Court, on Thursday once...
"'Midwest Madoff' sentenced to 9 years"
Posted on February 26, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this new article from the St. Louis Disptach. Given that the fraudster discussed in the article is female, I suppose she should be glad she is not being called a "Mrs....
Major Mexican drug boss gets 25 years in super-secret federal sentencing
Posted on February 26, 2010An interesting super-secret sentencing proceeding took place earlier this week as reported in this Houston Chronicle article from yesterday, which is headlined "Drug cartel chief sentenced in secrecy," and this New York Times article today, which is headlined "Mexican Drug...
New report detailing high percentage of inmates with substance abuse problems
Posted on February 26, 2010This new press releases from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University reports on a new study concerning crime, prisoners and addictions. Here in how the press release starts: Of the 2.3 million inmates crowding...
Will Florida's "mini-Madoff" get a mini version of Madoff's 150-year prison sentence?
Posted on February 25, 2010With fortuitious timing because I am in Florida this morning to talk about white-collar sentencing, this Reuters story provides another case-study in white-collar sentencing issues. The piece is headlined "Florida's 'mini-Madoff' Nadel admits huge fraud," and here are the basics:...
"In School and Out of Trouble? The Minimum Dropout Age and Juvenile Crime"
Posted on February 25, 2010The title of this post is the title of this empirical piece I noticed at SSRN that suggests keeping kids in school may be even more effective than sending them to prison in order to reduce juvenile crime. Here is...
Effective ABA Journal review of Booker at five
Posted on February 25, 2010Mark Hansen has this effective new piece, headlined "You Say You Want a Revolution: In Booker plus five, there?s been rumbling but hardly rebelling," about federal sentencing life since Booker. Here is how it begins: Jan. 12 marked the fifth...
Ex Post Facto day for sex offenders at the Supreme Court
Posted on February 24, 2010As detailed in this FOXNews report, which is headlined "Supreme Court to Hear Sex Offender Case Sotomayor Set Aside in Lower Court," today the Supreme Court hears argument in two cases dealing with sex offenders and the constitutional limits on...
Off to Miami for National Institute on White Collar Crime
Posted on February 24, 2010As detailed here on the ABA's website, today starts the 2010 White Collar Crime National Institute. I have the great fortune and pleasure to be escaping a predicted snowstorm in NYC to head this afternoon to Miami Beach to participate...
Previous | Next
Japan's International Child Abduction Policy
By Kirsten Brown (AXcess News) Washington - Four fathers quietly f...
Eminent domain, demographics and immigration policy
On the face of it, you may be wondering what eminent domain,...
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Does failure to provide health insurance benefits at the time promised constitute harm to the employee?
Yes. Failure to provide health insurance benefits is a violation of Labor Law ob...
My job requires me to drive bank deposits up to two times a day using my own vehicle and gas. Although not too far, can should I be receiving compensation? One deposit run is required daily by company policy, but the man
you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
Can i sue my employer for breach of Contract?
i would suggest you get professional advice
from what you have put here yo...
#1 Online Legal Resource
On 08-25 at 15:46PM
Acute perpendicular parking #NYPD #NYFD
On 08-18 at 22:18PM
Parallel parking gone bad. Too much gas UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:41PM
UES NYC
On 08-18 at 21:25PM
Twitter suspends journalist critical of broadcast partner's coverage on dubious grounds @guyadams #nbcfail #twitterfail
On 07-30 at 17:57PM
Model example of 1st Amendment suppression by the People of New York City's Michael Bloomberg #OWS #NYPD
On 07-12 at 21:07PM
AG Holder lackadaisical on Operation in our Sites domain name seizures & RIAA lobbied free speech suppression @dajaz1
On 06-08 at 22:44PM
Why is the Catholic Church going to court over Obama contraception policy? @NewYorker commentary
On 05-31 at 10:08AM
Monks sue Louisiana for right to sell caskets made from forrest destroyed by Katrina
On 05-31 at 07:47AM
Are the abortion ultrasound laws headed for the Supreme Court?
On 05-15 at 21:52PM
I have worked for this employer for only three weeks. The employer makes up his own rules as to what he chooses to report for the purpose of property taxes. He tells me to "let them come after us". He defines Entertain
He arrogantly insists, "let them come after us." Well, if you are invo...
I was fired on June 3, 2002 in Massachusetts because I reported discriminatory behavior by the employer towards a particular nationality. In July I filed a discrimination/retaliation complaint against the employer with t
It seem sin your case that the fact you filed the complaint prior to being dissa...
Does failure to provide health insurance benefits at the time promised constitute harm to the employee?
Yes. Failure to provide health insurance benefits is a violation of Labor Law ob...
My job requires me to drive bank deposits up to two times a day using my own vehicle and gas. Although not too far, can should I be receiving compensation? One deposit run is required daily by company policy, but the man
you should be getting a mileage comp. I own my own company and I pay my employee...
Can i sue my employer for breach of Contract?
i would suggest you get professional advice
from what you have put here yo...
 |
|
Contact Us | About Us | Celebrity Law Blog |
Our Partners | Disclaimer
| Law Blog Directory
| Law Jobs
| Law Tweets
| GoDaddy Hosting
All original material � 1999-2011 by USLaw.com. |