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Criminal Law

Sentencing Law and Policy Sentencing Law and Policy

News, issues, commentary and provides resources related to sentencing law and policy.
By Douglas A. Berman

Post Frequency: 77.7/day

Last Entry: April 01, 2011 at 10:54:24

Recent Entries: 4815

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The sentencing benefits of joining the winning team in the OJ case

Posted on December 10, 2008
This AP story, headlined "All 4 former Simpson co-defendants get probation," reports on yesterday's sentencings outcome for those defendants in the latest OJ case who figured out the best sentencing game-plan for small-time criminals is to plead guilty and help...


Tenth Circuit find Booker not applicable in crack retroactivity proceedings

Posted on December 10, 2008
A helpful reader reminded me today that I still haven't blogged about an important Tenth Circuit ruling concerning Booker's applicability to crack retroactivity proceedings that was handed down late last week. (I can blame OJ and Plaxico for distracting me...


Are the modern Second Amendment and Fourth Amendment on a collision course?

Posted on December 10, 2008
Though not (yet) a true sentencing issue, my deep interest in post-Heller gun litigation and my concerns about individual liberty have me wondering if the modern Second Amendment and Fourth Amendment are on a collision course. Or, to be more...


Second Circuit affirms (in unpublished opinion) greatly reduced white-collar sentence

Posted on December 10, 2008
Regular readers and white-collar sentencing fans likely remember the memorable 2006 sentencing decision in Adelson (basics here, comments here right after the sentence was rendered). In Adelson, SDNY District Judge Jed Rakoff's granted an huge variance to a corporate president...


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Gender bias and the application of the death penalty

Posted on December 10, 2008
As detailed in this local article, headlined "Tennessee moves closer to executing first woman: Sixth Circuit denies appeal to woman convicted in murder for hire of husband," a new federal habeas ruling in a state capital case provides an effective...


Another notable child porn sentencing decision

Posted on December 09, 2008
I've previously noted the diversity of approaches and outcomes in federal child porn sentencings, in part because the the guidelines recommend sentences around the top of applicable statutory ranges. A helpful reader sent along a notable new decision addressing these...


What's the guideline calculation for a Governor selling a Senate seat?

Posted on December 09, 2008
I often joke that politicians and criminals will always make sure I have a job and that business gets good when politicians are the criminals. If that joke has a basis in reality, business just got real good in light...


The decline of death even in Texas!

Posted on December 09, 2008
Perhaps the surest sign that the death penalty is dying a slow death in the United States comes from the state most responsible for keep the death penalty so lively in recent decades. Thanks to Capital Defense Weekly, I discovered...


Encouraging decarceration story out of New Hampshire

Posted on December 09, 2008
This local story from New Hampshire provide a nice reminder that not all government official at all levels want to increase incarceration. The piece is headlined, "Worthy inmates may get sentence break," and it highlights efforts by the state's top...


Tenth Circuit rejects various challenges to SORNA failure to register crime

Posted on December 09, 2008
Another circuit court has directly addressed various constitutional challenges to the federal crime of failing to register as a sex offender: yesterday the Tenth Circuit in US v. Lawrance, No. 08-6034 (10th Cir. Dec. 8, 2008) (available here) found the...


My latest (academic?) musings about progressive punishment perspectives

Posted on December 08, 2008
The kind editors of the Harvard Law & Policy Review were kind enough to ask me to write a piece for their terrific on-line journal. Thanks to the editors' great and speedy efforts, my HLPR article now appears at this...


Who do you want President Bush to pardon?

Posted on December 08, 2008
I am in DC today for an ABA event and so may be off-line most of the day. While I am away, perhaps everyone use the comments to join the Washington Times is creating a pardon wish-list for President Bush....


Interesting data on the application of NY gun law for Plaxico's consideration

Posted on December 08, 2008
The New York Daily News has this interesting article, headlined "Plaxico Burress faces tough gun laws in Manhattan," providing data concerning the application of gun laws throughout New York City. Here are some excerpts: Plaxico Burress picked a club in...


One of the reasons why post-Booker circuit jurisprudence tends to be pro-prosecution

Posted on December 07, 2008
Especially since the Blakely and Booker rulings, I have taken to describing the U.S. Supreme Court to be the most liberal appellate court on non-capital sentencing issues in the country. Today I discovered a bit of data that in part...


Making an economic case for cost-oriented sentencing and prison reforms

Posted on December 07, 2008
I am pleased to see that Professor Rachel Barkow and Joshua Libling have this effective new editorial in the Boston Herald noting that sentencing and prison reform makes good economic sense in tough times. Their piece is headlined "Sentencing laws...


Book suggestion for the clemency (and holiday shopping) season

Posted on December 06, 2008
While many defendants and their lawyers might be hoping for a clemency gift this holiday season, I can suggest a new book for any and everyone interested in reading some academic discussion of why the harshness of the legal system...


Final execution of 2008 conducted in South Carolina

Posted on December 06, 2008
As detailed in this local story, South Carolina conducted an execution yesterday. And this DPIC list of scheduled executions indicates that the next execution is not scheduled until January 14 in Texas. Consequently, it appears that we can complete any...


Back to reasonableness jurisprudence after all the football fun

Posted on December 05, 2008
Though OJ and Plaxico make it dangerously easy to start thinking I run a sports blog, I will close this crazy week by reporting on a report of the most notable court decision of the week. Thanks to law.com, everyone...


If instant polling matters in criminal justice administration, Plaxico may be in trouble

Posted on December 05, 2008
I was amazed this afternoon to discover from this news report that a research group has already run a quick poll to assess Americans' perceptions of New York Giants' wide receiver Plaxico Burress' arrest and charges of illegal gun possession...


An account of the failure to do a proper accounting of the OJ sentence

Posted on December 05, 2008
This new blog post, fittingly titled "O.J. prison bids open at six, climb to 33," provides an effective account of the mess that the media is making in the reporting of OJ Simpson's sentencing today in Nevada. Here is how...


OJ Simpson gets 16-year prison sentence (but will be parole eligible in six) ... UPDATE: or did he get more??

Posted on December 05, 2008
Here's the latest news on OJ from this Bloomberg report: O.J. Simpson, the former Buffalo Bills football player found not guilty 13 years ago of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for robbing...


"Putting Public Safety First"

Posted on December 05, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this new report from Pew Public Safety Performance Project. Here is the text of an e-mail I received today about this report: A new policy brief from the Pew Public Safety...


DC Circuit produces crisp split on ex post issues after Booker (finally!!)

Posted on December 05, 2008
In my view, one of the most interesting and amazingly underexamined post-Booker issue concerns whether or not the conversion of the guidelines to advisory status changed the settled pre-Booker determination that ex post facto doctrine precluded the application of new...


Should plea agreements be available to the public?

Posted on December 05, 2008
I just noticed via SSRN this new student note by David Snyder in the Fordham Urban Law Journal. The notes is titled "Nonparty Remote Electronic Access to Plea Agreements in the Second Circuit," and here is the abstract: The advent...


Some deep retributivist thoughts for punishment theories

Posted on December 05, 2008
With so much real-world news of note, I have not done a post on punishment theory in far too long. Fortunately, Michael Cahill is raising some deep thoughts on this topic while guest-blogging over at Prawfs. Anyone eager to do...


"How much time will OJ the killer get? thanks."

Posted on December 04, 2008
The title of this post is the full text of an e-mail I received this afternoon today, from some calling himself "anonymous tip" and excited about tomorrow's scheduled state sentencing of OJ Simpson in Nevada. Any thoughts dear readers? For...


Plaxico as teaching tool: omission liability, complicity, prosecutorial discretion . . .

Posted on December 04, 2008
As all my students know too well, I love high-profile criminal cases because they provide great teaching moments (and perhaps great exam hypotheticals). And, thanks to more legal developments today, the Plaxico Burress case just keeps on giving. First, consider...


En banc Second Circuit hands down Cavera, the "local conditions" sentencing case

Posted on December 04, 2008
Thanks to a helpful reader, I just discovered that the Second Circuit today handed down its en banc opinion in US v. Cavera, No. 05-4591 (2d Cir. Dec. 4, 2008) (available here). Regular readers may recall this case, which has...


Pardons, politics, race and justice: why Holder should come out swinging

Posted on December 04, 2008
President-elect Obama's selection of Eric Holder to be the next U.S. Attorney General is generating more buzz this morning, with this new piece at Politico, headlined "Holder pardon makes Dems squirm," and this new editorial at the Wall Street Journal,...


Starting to make the Second Amendment case for Plaxico Buress

Posted on December 03, 2008
I am very pleased to discover gun rights guru David Kopel starting to make a Heller-based Second Amendment argument for Plaxico Burress in this Wall Street Journal opinion piece. The piece is titled "Free Plaxico Burress: New York City's gun...


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