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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

Practitioner?s Notes: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Posted on July 28, 2008
In a recent post found here, it was noted: ?It has long been the practice at sentencing that prosecutors stress the awfulness of the offense and defense attorneys stress the not-so-awfulness of the offender.? But what is the defense attorney...

Is Booker Heading to Minnesota?

Posted on July 28, 2008
This interesting article discusses the plight of Minnesota judges forced to sentence within a strict state guidelines regime. Sound familiar? Here are some excerpts describing the system and its shortcomings: The system is split into 11 levels. The lowest levels...

Great Britain Embarks On U.S.-Styled Reforms

Posted on July 28, 2008
Looks like some interesting developments in sentencing law are underway across the pond. Rumor has it that Harriet Harman, the Commons Leader in Great Britain, will propose striating the country's homicide laws to enable prosecutors to charge defendants with varying...

An Urban Bias in Massachusetts' Drug-Free Zone Law?

Posted on July 28, 2008
As detailed in this press release, FAMM reports that Massachusetts' drug-free zone law may be leading to increased punishment for minorities and the poor who reside in urban areas. The law in question currently imposes a two-year mandatory minimum sentence...

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Guest Blogging

Posted on July 28, 2008
Dear Readers: We are thrilled to be guest blogging at Sentencing Law & Policy during Doug Berman's great two-week vacation and voyage out to sea. We are attorneys at the firm of Proskauer Rose, where we practice across several different...

2008 Holiday road....

Posted on July 27, 2008
I am about to make like Clark Griswold and head out on the road (and on the sea) for a few weeks. I expect (should I say fear?) that I will not have an ability to be consistently on-line and...

"Should juries know the likely sentence when deciding guilt?"

Posted on July 27, 2008
The title of this post is the title of this interesting BlueOregon post authored by Oregon state representative Chip Shields. The post begins with a review of the remarkable Rodriguez mandatory sentencing case (previously blogged here and here) still working...

New federal bill seeking to restore some felons' gun rights

Posted on July 27, 2008
Because I expect continued litigation and uncertainty about felon gun rights in the wake of Heller, I am very pleased to discover this new press release indicating that at least one member of Congress is eager to address these matters...

The capital punishment company we keep

Posted on July 27, 2008
As various US states get back into the execution business in recent months, this new CNN article about executions in another nation provides a reminder of some of the capital punishment company we keep: Twenty-nine people convicted of various crimes,...

Three more uneventful(?) lethal injections, including one with a political spin

Posted on July 26, 2008
As detailed in this DPIC list, Mississippi and Texas and Virginia all completed executions over the last few days, and I have not seen any reported problems with the lethal injection protocols used in these executions. Perhaps all the Baze...

Are we headed toward virtual sentencing proceedings?

Posted on July 26, 2008
Because I am always interested in the intersection of sentencing and technology, I found notable this local story headlined "Sentencing in steroid case is first by videoconference." Here are excerpts: The sentencing Thursday in federal court was typical in every...

Judge Gertner assails quantity-based drug guidelines

Posted on July 25, 2008
District Judge Nancy Gertner has a new opinion which takes on and takes down the notion that drug quantities provide a sound basis for sentencing levels. Here are parts of the start of Judge Gertner's work in US v. Cabrera,...

Interesting ruling on prosecutors' filing cooperation motions

Posted on July 25, 2008
Thanks to this post at AL&P, I saw that the First Circuit yesterday issued an interesting ruling in US v. Mulero-Algarin, No. 07-1701 (1st Cir. July 24, 2008) (available here), concerning federal defendant's getting cooperation credit and motions from the...

Bad NBA ref may have pulled a tough judge

Posted on July 25, 2008
As detailed in this New York Times article, headlined "Two Punishments Suggest Stiff Penalty for Donaghy," early sentencings in the NBA betting case suggest that the crooked ref is not going to get a pass: Two co-defendants of the disgraced...

Horrible ending to one spam sentencing story

Posted on July 25, 2008
I have been having some fun while following the federal sentencings of various "spam kings." But, as detailed in this Denver Post article, the latest development after one spammer escaped from a low security federal prison is no laughing matter:...

Still more sentencing nunsense

Posted on July 24, 2008
A few weeks ago I noted here a local Nebraska story about an ailing elderly nun getting a tough sentence for stealing more than $250,000 to support her gambling habit. As noted in this new piece, headlined "Omaha Nun Says...

Another report from the USSC alternatives symposium

Posted on July 24, 2008
While awaiting official reports or materials from the US Sentencing Commission about its recent symposium on alternatives to incarceration, I am able to reprint a report on some particulars from the event that I received via e-mail: At a Sentencing...

Interesting California opinion about right of allocution at sentencing

Posted on July 24, 2008
This new piece from the San Francisco Chronicle discusses this interesting new ruling from the California Supreme Court. Here first is the press account: A criminal defendant's right to address the judge before sentencing and plead for mercy without being...

Dyslexic doc involved in lethal injection in Arizona

Posted on July 24, 2008
As first discussed here two years ago, a federal judge ordered Missouri's machinery of death to come to a halt in 2006 based in part on evidence that the doctor involved in lethal injections readily admitted that he is dyslexic...

Around the blogosphere

Posted on July 24, 2008
Sentencing fans will find a lot worth reading in all the new stuff recently posted at: Capital Defense Weekly Crime and Consequences Grits for Breakfast Pardon Power Simple Justice

Major California report urges doing away with juve prisons

Posted on July 24, 2008
The Little Hoover Commission recently released a major report with recommendations for improving juvenile justice in California. The report, titled "Juvenile Justice Reform: Realigning Responsibilities," can be accessed here. This official press release, which provides an effective summary of the...

Waiting and waiting and waiting on the row

Posted on July 24, 2008
This morning's USA Today has this piece about the continuing delays between the imposition of death sentences and executions. Here are excerpts: The time prisoners spend on death row has nearly doubled during the past two decades. Legal experts predict...

No wonder the spam keeps coming...

Posted on July 23, 2008
given that this local news item reports "'Spam King' escapes from federal prison in Florence." Here are more details: The man known as "The Spam King" walked away from a minimum-security federal prison Sunday in Florence and was last seen...

Counting to five in the Kennedy rehearing debate

Posted on July 23, 2008
The Kennedy rehearing petition is a very interesting read (basics here), especially if one keeps in mind the likelihood ? or should I say unlikelihood ? that five Justices will vote for rehearing. Here are a few completely uninformed speculations...

Another prominent call for sex offender GPS tracking

Posted on July 22, 2008
As detailed in this local article, a state official in Pennslyvania is making a prominent call for GPS tracking of sex offenders: State Auditor General Jack Wagner, state Sen. Jane Orie and other officials are urging the Legislature to require...

"'Spam King' gets nearly four years in prison"

Posted on July 22, 2008
The title of this post is the headline of this local article detailing the sentencing outcome in a case that generate lots of notable comments in this prior post. Here are some of the specifics: U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman...

What does the future hold for the US Sentencing Commission?

Posted on July 22, 2008
I just learned today that the Senate Judiciary Committee, at a hearing scheduled for tomorrow will be considering the executive nomination of "William B. Carr, Jr., to be Member of the United States Sentencing Commission." It is my understanding that...

An argument against ? and for!? felon gun rights

Posted on July 22, 2008
Today's New York Post has this interesting commentary headlined "GUN RIGHTS FOR FELONS?". The piece starts with an originalist argument against felons having Second Amendment rights after Heller, but then concludes by asserting that some felons should have Second Amendment...

Third Circuit finds Child Online Protection Act facially unconstitutional

Posted on July 22, 2008
The Third Circuit has been giving the Constitution a work out recently. Late last week, as detailed here, it found unconstitutional a federal law prohibiting distribution of images of animal creulty, and today it finds that the Child Online Protection...

Split Sixth Circuit finds below-guideline sentence substantively unreasonable

Posted on July 22, 2008
In a long opinion that thoughtfully seeks to unpack the standards for substantive reasonableness review, a split Sixth Circuit panel in US v. Funk, No. 05-3708 (6th Cir. July 22, 2008) (available here), reverse a sentence well below the guidelines...

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