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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.
Notable student note on loss calculations under the federal guidelines
Posted on February 03, 2010Anyone working on white-collar sentencing issues in the federal system will want to check out this new student note in the Duke Law Review, which is titled "Losing the Loss Calculation: Toward a More Just Sentencing Regime in White-Collar Criminal...
Notable student note on preserving sentencing objections after Booker
Posted on February 03, 2010Anyone who struggles to make sense of sound sentencing procedures after Booker will want to check out this new student note in the Vanderbilt Law Review, which is titled "'Objection: Your Honor Is Being Unreasonable!' ? Law and Policy Opposing...
The low-hanging fruit and long sentencing options of § 922(g)
Posted on February 03, 2010The Fourth Circuit has an interesting sentencing decison today in US v. Wright, No. 08-4679 (4th Cir. Feb. 3, 2010) (available here). First, consider the panel's description of the defendant's crime: Jeremy Wright sprayed twenty-two rounds from an AK-47 assault...
Interesting coverage of "The Great American Crime Drop"
Posted on February 03, 2010The folks at The Crime Report have this terrific two-part series exploring the recent reduction in crime rates in the United States: The Great American Crime Drop, Part 1: "Homicides and other violent crimes plunged in 2009, accelerating a decline...
Effective NY Times coverage of child porn restitution debate
Posted on February 03, 2010Regular readers know that one issue (of many) roiling the federal courts is whether and how to order restitution as part of the punishment in child porn downloading cases. This new piece by John Schwartz in the New York Times,...
A "very interesting"(?) sentencing appeal in the Seventh Circuit
Posted on February 02, 2010I tend to find most sentencing issues that produce published opinion to be at least somewhat interesting. But this first paragraph of the panel opinion in US v. Christiansen, No. 09-1925 (7th Cir. Feb. 2, 2010) (available here), suggests that...
"Significant State Sentencing and Corrections Legislation in 2009"
Posted on January 31, 2010The title of this post is the headline of an on-line report available here from the National Conference of State Legislatures, which includes a terrific (and seemingly comprehensive) state-by-state review of new sentencing and corrections legisltion. Here is part of...
"Pete Townshend targeted as a 'sex offender' before Super Bowl"
Posted on January 30, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this recent article in the New York Post discussing the controversy that has been brewing ever since the legendary rock band "The Who" was announced as the entertainers for the Super...
Terror trials appear headed out of NYC, but to where...?
Posted on January 30, 2010I was hoping that a fringe benefit of being a visiting professor at Fordham Law School this semester was going to be a chance to head to downtown Manhattan to watch some of the early legal action in the planned...
"Reformers Hope High Court Decision Will Kill Judicial Elections"
Posted on January 30, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this interesting new article by Tony Mauro in The National Law Journal. The sub-head of this piece is "The 'Citizens United' opinion, they reason, may drive more money into judicial races...
Which of the varied visions of Vrdolyak might emerge victorious?
Posted on January 30, 2010As detailed in this post yesterday, a split panel of the Seventh Circuit reversed a prominent sentence of five-years' probation (plus 2500 hours of community service) for a prominent former Chicago politician in US v. Vrdolyak, No. 09-1891 (7th Cir.....
Split Seventh Circuit rejects probation sentence for Chicago alderman's fraud
Posted on January 29, 2010This post from last month noted a notable Seventh Circuit argument in which Judge Richard Posner extensively questioned the lenient sentence given to former Chicago Alderman Ed Vrdolyak. As detailed in this local story, which is headlined "Vrdolyak's probation-only sentence...
Abortion doctor killer convicted (and subject to mandatory life WITH parole sentence) in Kansas
Posted on January 29, 2010As detailed in this new Wall Street Journal report, a jury in Topeka, Kansas "took less than 40 minutes Friday to find Scott Roeder guilty of first-degree murder for shooting abortion provider George Tiller in a church here last May."...
Is it bad for sentencing jurisprudence that women are still badly under-represented on the bench?
Posted on January 29, 2010The question in the title of this post is prompted by the report in this post at The BLT, which details the following statistics (that I find quite depressing): Women currently make up 22% of all federal judges, a new...
"California court wants proof on confining sex predators"
Posted on January 29, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this article in the San Diego Union-Tribune discussing this interesting new ruling in People v. McKee from the California Supreme Court concerning the state's sex offender civil commitment statute. Here is...
Can and should religious considerations influence bail decisions?
Posted on January 28, 2010The question in the title of this post is prompted by this interesting recent story over at a Wall Street Journal blog that is headlined "Rabbis Request Bail For Rubashkin." Here are the basics: Seven rabbis traveled to Washington, D.C.,...
Facebook enhancement for drunk driver provides notable example of social-media sentencing
Posted on January 28, 2010This local sentencing story from the Buffalo News, which is headlined "Drunk driver gets into more trouble after posting Facebook photo," provides a new and notable example of what might be called "social-media sentencing." Here are the details: Ashley M...
Second Circuit addresses constitutional claims in challenge to NY felon disenfranchisement
Posted on January 28, 2010The Second Circuit has already addressed and rejected, en banc, a challenge to New York's felon disenfranchisement law based on federal statutory law. Today, through this new panel opinion in the case now called Hayden v. Paterson, the Circuit addresses...
New report on the role of medical boards regulating doctor involvement in executions
Posted on January 28, 2010A helpful reader alerted me to this new study of state ethical codes which concludes that doctors in most states need not fear professional discipline for participating in executions. Here is the study's abstract: The recent increase in calls for...
Ninth Circuit upholds long white-collar sentences while covering of lots of notable issues
Posted on January 28, 2010Though white-collar offenders do not always prevail with their sentencing claims, the often do at least get courts to review and discuss their claims at some length. This reality is on full display today in the Ninth Circuit's panel ruling...
Fourth Circuit adopts plain-error review for unpreserved error of inadequate explanation
Posted on January 28, 2010Joining most other circuit that have considered the question, the Fourth Circuit today in US v. Lyon, No. 08-5125 (4th Cir. Jan. 27, 2010) (available here), has formally adopted plain-error review for unpreserved procedural explanation errors after Booker...
"California launches plan to cut prison population"
Posted on January 27, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this recent Los Angeles Times article which provides an update on the latest state of the debate over prison populations in The Golden State. Here are the basics: State prison authorities...
Not-quite-random mid-day blogger/tech comment
Posted on January 27, 2010It has taken me only a few minutes to decide that I now want and need an iPad, though I am fearful (or perhaps hopeful) that the new Apple gizmo will be much better for reading blogs than for writing...
Thorough and thoughtful district court defense of federal child porn guidelines
Posted on January 27, 2010As readers of this blog know, in recent years a federal district judges have written thorough and thoughtful sentencing opinions assailing the long prison sentences recommended the the current federal sentencing guidelines for child porn downloading offenses...
Kansas legislature considering bill for PTSD-based sentence reductions for veterans
Posted on January 27, 2010As noted previously on this blog, there have been some notable recent examples of judges reducing a sentence based on the hardships a defendant previously suffered as a result of military service. Now, as detailed in this local article from...
Another lawyer Ponzi schemer now looking at a long federal sentence
Posted on January 27, 2010As detailed in Bloomberg News report, another infamous Ponzi schemer has now formally entered a guilty plea in federal court, and he can now only hope he gets a sentence more in line with similar Ponzi player/lawyer Marc Dreier (who...
Fourth Circuit panels spliting over Atkins claims from Virginia
Posted on January 27, 2010The Fourth Circuit has a pair of lengthy rulings today involving two different panels providing two different discussions of two Virginia death row defendants' claims that the Supreme Court's Atkins ruling precludes their executions: Winston v. Kelly, No...
Judge Weinstein attacks Wall Street while sentencing with aid from a judicial sentencing panel
Posted on January 26, 2010A new sentencing story out of the Eastern District of New York, which is described in this New York Law Journal piece headlined "In Securities Dealer's Sentencing, Judge Blasts 'Corrupt' Wall Street Culture," includes a gut of exciting themes for...
"Why doesn't O'Malley clear death row?"
Posted on January 26, 2010The title of this post is the headline of this potent commentary by Charles Lane at the Washington Post, which wonders why the strong anti-death-penalty rhetoric coming from the Governor of Maryland has yet to turn into strong anti-death penalty...
How could (or should) proposed spending freeze impact federal crime and punishment?
Posted on January 26, 2010As detailed in this New York Times article, which is headlined "Obama to Seek Spending Freeze to Trim Deficits," in his upcoming State of the Union Address "President Obama will call for a three-year freeze in spending on many domestic...
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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...
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