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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.
"Behavioral Criminal Law and Economics"
Posted on November 13, 2008The interesting title of this post is the title of this interesting looking new paper just posted on SSRN. Here is the abstract: A behavioral economics literature identifies how behaviorally-derived assumptions affect the economic analysis of criminal law and public...
Today's dog-bites-man headline in the sentencing world
Posted on November 13, 2008This new story over the AP wire caught my eye because of its shocking headline: "Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend not enjoying prison." Here's more: Italian con man Raffaello Follieri, who went from dating actress Anne Hathawayto serving a prison term for...
Ninth Circuit rocks while reviewing conditional plea efforts
Posted on November 13, 2008A decision by the Ninth Circuit today in In re: Gallaher, No. 07-74593 (9th Cir. Nov. 13, 2008) (available here) is blogworthy in part because it reviews some intricate procedural issues. But the ruling's openning paragraph also provides a good...
A criminal justice blueprint for the new Prez that I hope gets followed
Posted on November 13, 2008I received recently an e-mail announcing a new publication from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, entitled "Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President." This website explains this new document and its coverage, and it provides...
Maryland commission urges abolition of state's death penalty
Posted on November 13, 2008As detailed in this new article in the Baltimore Sun, a commission appointed by Maryland's governor has now "recommended abolishing capital punishment in Maryland, prompting hope among death penalty opponents that the General Assembly could end the 30-year practice when...
"Obama on Drugs: Should reformers dare to hope?"
Posted on November 12, 2008The title of this post is the title of this piece by Jacob Solum at Reason. It is mainly focused on marijuana policies, though it ends with this notable realpolitik reminder of administrations past: The main danger with Obama is...
Eleventh Circuit's Judge Carnes notes interest in fast-track disparity issue
Posted on November 12, 2008Today in a thoughtful separate opinion concurring in the denial of en banc review in US v. Vega-Castillo, Judge Carnes of the Eleventh Circuit adds some terrific juice to an important post-Kimbrough federal sentencing issue. Here are notable snippets from...
AEDPA, capital habeas cases and the limits of change
Posted on November 12, 2008Two events this morning have me thinking about federal habeas review in state capital cases and about the (limited?) potential for a new administration to impact these issue: 1. The Supreme Court this morning is hearing argument in Bell v....
Kentucky governments fighting in court over incarceration costs
Posted on November 12, 2008This local article from Kentucky, headlined "Counties sue state over state inmate costs," provides a good example of how our prison economy and tough economic times can lead to some unusual court battles. Here are some details: The Kentucky County...
Federal sentencing through history: "Theives Treated Tenderly."
Posted on November 12, 2008An insightful reader sent me this link to a fascinating little New York Times story published in December 1886. The quote above is the headline from this story published 122 years ago; here is the first sentence and some later...
Media coverage of Hayes oral argument is not gun shy
Posted on November 11, 2008I complained in this post yesterday that the Second Amendment got absolutely no love or attention from the Supreme Court when it heard oral argument in the Hayes case. Specifically, neither the Second Amendment nor the decision in Heller was...
Interesting international sentencing controversy in middle east
Posted on November 11, 2008Anyone troubled by the nature and state of sentencing law and policy in the United States can perhaps take some comfort that other countries also have their share of dysfunctional sentencing experiences. The latest example comes from this notable AP....
Why federal sentencing reformers must focus on the USSC and lower courts
Posted on November 11, 2008This new article from Tony Mauro, along with the Supreme Court's refusal yesterday to consider a pair of victim impact capital cases (basics here), highlights one of many reasons that would-be sentencing reformers should ignore post-election buzz about possible Supreme...
New and notable website from LDF
Posted on November 11, 2008I am pleased to report that the NAACP Legal Defense Fund has this impressive new website, "The Defenders Online." Here is how the website describes itself: For more than 60 years, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) has...
An example of homicide victim's family asking for sentencing leniency
Posted on November 11, 2008The Supreme Court's disinclination to consider a pair of victim impact capital cases (basics here) has already prompted some commentors to complain about victims having a role in the criminal justice system. But this local story from Utah provides yet...
President-elect Obama already getting pressure to pardon the border agents
Posted on November 10, 2008Regular readers may recall all the controversies stirred up the prosecution and sentencing of former border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. As detailed here, there has been a bipartisan call for their sentences to be commuted, and I am...
Is anyone (other than me) discussing the apparent insignificance of Heller?
Posted on November 10, 2008I noticed over at The Volokh Conspiracy reports on a lecture and a symposium focused on the Heller Second Amendment case. It seems that both events take as a given that Heller is an important decision. But activity today at...
Justices talk about victim impact evidence in cert. denial
Posted on November 10, 2008As detailed in this SCOTUSblog post, Justices Stevens and Breyer commented on the Supreme Court's decision to deny cert in an interesting victim-impact case. Here are the basics from the SCOTUSblog report: The Supreme Court refused on Monday, over the...
How a new administration is likely to impact federal sentencing practice
Posted on November 10, 2008It likely will be some time before anyone can predict how an Obama Administration might seek to alter federal sentencing law and policy. (The naming of a new Attorney General and other key DOJ appointments may provide some signals, but...
Debating alternatives north of the border
Posted on November 10, 2008As detailed in these linked stories, two very different cases in Canada are prompting public and court debates over two notable sentencing alternatives: Sentencing circles can offer a unique form of justice The role of forfeiture in sentencing
Monday madness at SCOTUS: ACCA, confrontation and a Second Amendment sleeper
Posted on November 09, 2008As detailed in this helpful SCOTUSblog post (which includes links to more materials), the Supreme Court on Monday has its biggest criminal justice argument day since ... I don't know when. Here are the particulars: On Monday, the Court will...
A challenge to severe Oregon sex offense sentences worth watching
Posted on November 09, 2008Late last year, I blogged here and here about a fascinating and sad Oregon case involving a long mandatory prison term imposed on an adult female counselor convicted of unlawful heavy petting of her underage ward. A helpful reader sent...
"Citing Workload, Public Lawyers Reject New Cases"
Posted on November 09, 2008The title of this post is the title of this front-page article appearing in today's New York Times. Here is how it begins: Public defenders? offices in at least seven states are refusing to take on new cases or have...
Worth reading from the Duke Law Journal
Posted on November 08, 2008Thanks to the law review TOCs at Concurring Opinions, I saw that the Duke Law Journal has a new article and two new notes worth checking out: Habeas Corpus and State Sentencing Reform: A Story of Unintended Consequences Victims' Rights...
Utah high court expresses concerns about capital representation
Posted on November 08, 2008As detailed in this local article, on Friday the Utah Supreme Court used an opinion in a capital case to express concern about the state and quality of defense representation. Here are some particulars: Concerned about the lack of qualified...
Aspirations and realism about drug sentencing reform
Posted on November 07, 2008I have the honor of being in Boston today to participate in a terrific symposium hosted by the New England Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement. The symposium is called "High Crimes: Punishing America?s Drug Offenders," and details about the...
Predictions and recommendations for AG and SG?
Posted on November 07, 2008While the early political buzz about the next administration is focused mostly on on other cabinet positions, I am most interested and concerned in who President Obama will tap for the positions of Attorney General and Solicitor General. This new...
More on the fate of drug sentencing reform initiatives in the states
Posted on November 07, 2008This new piece from the Drug War Chronicle, headlined "Sentencing Reform Initiative Defeated in California, 'Tough on Crime' Initiatives Win in Oregon," provides sobering take on the outcome of some of the state drug sentencing reform initiatives. Here is how...
The death penalty and mental illness
Posted on November 07, 2008Now available here from SSRN is Professor Bruce Winick's new paper titled "The Supreme Court's Emerging Death Penalty Jurisprudence: Severe Mental Illness as the Next Frontier." Here is the abstract: The Supreme Court's 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia and...
"Smart on Crime: Recommendations for the Next Administration and Congress"
Posted on November 06, 2008The title of this post in the title of a new report I just learned about through an e-mail with the text of this press release: A coalition of more than 20 organizations and individuals is pleased to announce the...
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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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