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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 AWA and CVRA rulings
Posted on February 05, 2009Thanks to the fine bloggers at The Volokh Conspiracy, I can cover two interesting rulings under two interesting federal criminal statutes by links to their posts: By Paul Cassell here, "Crime Victim's Victory in the Sixth Circuit" By Eugene Volokh...
Terrific piece on constructions of equality in criminal law in first JLA issue
Posted on February 05, 2009The first issue of a notable new law review, the Journal of Legal Analysis, is available here. This new review is notable in part because it is faculty-edited and peer-reviewed, because it has an all-star editorial team and board, and...
The economic case against the death penalty getting more and more attention
Posted on February 05, 2009Regular readers should not be surprised that one echo effect of hard economic times is that opponents of capital punishment are finding it easier to argue against the death penalty because of the extraordinary expense of properly administering the punishment...
Fascinating "personal prison" offer considered in prominent white-collar case
Posted on February 05, 2009The New York Law Journal has this fascinating new piece headlined, "Bid to Create 'Private Prison' at Issue in Dreier Bail Determination." Here is the first part of a long article: For two months, attorney Marc S. Dreier has been...
"Ginsburg is hospitalized with pancreatic cancer"
Posted on February 05, 2009Because the Justices are in the midst of a long break, I did not expect much significant SCOTUS news this month. But, as detailed in this AP report, the health of the only current female Justice is now making headlines:...
Is hope and change coming to the issue of medical marijuana?
Posted on February 05, 2009The Washington Times has an interesting report on a high-profile drug reform issue in this article, headlined "DEA continues pot raids Obama opposes:President vowed to end policy." Here is how it starts: Drug Enforcement Administration agents this week raided four...
US Sentencing Commission's regional hearings to start next week
Posted on February 05, 2009I am please to see that the US Sentencing Commission now has posted to its website this official press release and this agenda concerning its first of a series of regional hearings. Here are the basic details from the press...
Should those seeking drug policy reform hope that Michael Phelps gets prosecuted?
Posted on February 05, 2009Over at Reason, Jacob Sollum and Radley Balko are talking about whether Michael Phelps might get charged with a drug crime in the wake of the picture of his bong hit. This final point in Balko's commentary caught my eye:...
Is six months about typical for the amount of time between a federal trial conviction and sentencing?
Posted on February 04, 2009Paul Cassell over here at The Volokh Conspiracy asks, "Is a Three Year Delay in Sentencing Too Long?". Here is the factual background prompting Paul's query: According to this interesting article, a federal judge has recently set the sentencing date....
Lots of (minor?) sentencing action in the circuits
Posted on February 04, 2009Because so much else has been keeping me busy lately, I have not blogged about many notable circuit rulings handed down this week. Specifically, the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits have all issued opinions...
Detailed local account of plea realities (and state/federal disparities)
Posted on February 04, 2009The Iowa City Press Citizen has this notable piece discussing local plea practices. The piece, which is titled "Plea deals: Are they soft or necessary?", covers a story surely familiar to many practitioners, but one that is not often fully...
New report from The Sentencing Project on the state of sentencing
Posted on February 04, 2009I just received via e-mail this notice of a new report from the folks at The Sentencing Project: A new report by The Sentencing Project highlights 17 states that enacted sentencing and corrections reforms in 2008. The State of Sentencing...
After fast work on excessive pay, now how about similar work on excessive sentences?
Posted on February 04, 2009As detailed in this CNN piece, President Obama and his administration is responding quickly to last week's news that corporate executives handed out $18 billion in bonuses in 2008. While I am disinclined to opine on the specifics of such...
Is golden boy Michael Phelps going to be charged with a state drug crime?
Posted on February 04, 2009This latest news from South Carolina suggests that criminal justice authorities are seriously working up criminal charges against record-breaking Olympian Michael Phelps: Olympic superstar Michael Phelps could face criminal charges as part of the fallout from a photo that surfaced...
"The Plea Jury"
Posted on February 04, 2009The title of this post is the title of this really intriguing new article by Laura Appleman available via SSRN. Here is the abstract: For over thirty years, scholars, courts, defense attorneys and prosecutors have been deeply troubled by the...
Virginia legislature working on cost-saving sentencing reforms
Posted on February 04, 2009The Washington Post has this report from Virginia on the latest local sentencing reforms being driven by prison economy realities. The article is headlined "Nonviolent Inmates Could Get Out Early: Va. Senate Drafts A Budget Assist Worth $50 Million," and...
More on whether and how criminal justice records should be on-line
Posted on February 03, 2009In this recent post, I wondered aloud "Should all federal plea agreements be generally available on-line?". A helpful reader pointed me to this forthcoming article by Caren Myers Morrison, titled "Privacy, Accountability, and the Cooperating Defendant: Towards a New Role...
Fourth Circuit limits reach of ACCA in light of Begay
Posted on February 03, 2009The Fourth Circuit today holds in US v. Thornton, No. 08-4251 (4th Cir. Feb. 3, 2009) (available here), that statutory rape is not a violent felony under Armed Career Criminal Act. Here is the start of the opinion: A jury...
Interesting timing for Time's discussion of death's demise
Posted on February 03, 2009Time magazing has this new piece on death penalty developments, headlined "The Tide Shifts Against the Death Penalty." Here are a few excerpts: If there were such a thing as a golden age of capital punishment in America, it peaked...
New York commission calling for major drug sentencing reforms
Posted on February 03, 2009As detailed in this official press release, a "bi-partisan panel that spent nearly two years studying New York State?s sentencing statutes today called for further reforms to the state?s drug laws and provided the Governor, Legislature and Judiciary with several...
Taking stock of President George W. Bush's clemency record
Posted on February 03, 2009Though perhaps not providing the truly final word on the clemency efforts of our 43rd president, former Pardon Attorney Margaret Love has created (and allowed me to post) a terrific review of President George W. Bush's clemency record. Here are...
The changed timing of executions
Posted on February 03, 2009Triggered by the fact that Tennessee has an execution scheduled for the middle of the night, the AP has this new piece headlined "States shift away from holding midnight executions." Here are a few snippets from an interesting article: Many...
"A Life Term for Rape at 13: Cruel and Unusual?"
Posted on February 02, 2009The question in the title of this post is the headline of this latest piece by Adam Liptak in the New York Times. The article is focused on this case of Joe Sullivan, whose cert petition I posted in this...
Eric Holder confirmed as Attorney General
Posted on February 02, 2009This AP article has the news about the confirmation of the nation's new top cop: Eric Holder won Senate confirmation Monday as the nation's first African-American attorney general, after supporters from both parties touted his dream resume and easily overcame...
Departure patterns as a guide to whether guidelines are balanced
Posted on February 02, 2009This effective local article about judicial departure rates from Virginia's state sentencing guidelines provides a terrific reminder about what judicial decisions can tell us about balances (and imbalances) in an advisory sentencing system. Here are some statistical snippets from the...
Should all federal plea agreements be generally available on-line?
Posted on February 02, 2009I just saw this fascinating article from The National Law Journal, headlined "Federal judge defies DOJ wishes, orders all plea agreements to be posted online." Here is how it starts: Chief Judge Federico Moreno of the Southern District of Florida,...
California Supreme Court finds Cunningham retroactive to Blakely
Posted on February 02, 2009Providing perhaps a fitting judicial celebration of Groundhog Day, the Supreme Court of California has decided today that the Supreme Court's ruling in Cunningham must be applied retroactively to state cases that become final on direct appeal between Blakely and...
Why I fear change will not come quickly to federal sentencing policy and practice
Posted on February 02, 2009The headline of this new article in the New York Times, "Justice Dept. Under Obama Is Preparing for Doctrinal Shift in Policies of Bush Years," might make sentencing fans hopeful that change may be coming soon to federal sentencing policy...
"Michael Phelps, Hypocrisy, and American Drug Policy"
Posted on February 02, 2009The title of this post is the title of this effective new commentary by John Santore at the Huffington Post. The piece reflects some of my own reactions to the hub-bub over the news, detailed here at CNN, concerning the...
Two notable new death penalty books
Posted on February 01, 2009The Death Penalty Information Center Provides these reports on two notable new books covering the modern stories of capital punishment from distinct perspectives: The Future of America's Death Penalty: An Agenda for the Next Generation of Capital Punishment Research (discussed...
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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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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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