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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.
AOL spammer gets 30-month federal prison term
Posted on July 15, 2008Though the sentencing of the so-called "Spam King" is still on-going (background here, update here), there is other spam sentencing news coming from the courts today. As detailed in this piece, a "Brooklyn man was sentenced to more than two...
A blog report on USSC alternatives symposium
Posted on July 15, 2008I am please to see and report on this post from Kent Scheidegger at C&C reporting on the (now concluded) United States Sentencing Commission's symposium on alternatives to incarceration. According to Kent, the USSC will be making sure lots of...
Notable new commentaries on law and justice
Posted on July 15, 2008I may be off-line most of the day, but readers can reflect on these two new intriguing commentaries from law.com while I am away: Has a U.S. Attorney Knowingly Prosecuted Innocent People? Barack Obama, Legal Scholar
Should those on death row have personalized Web pages?
Posted on July 15, 2008This Los Angeles Times article, headlined "Reaching out from death row," covers the interesing issue of the correspondence and web presence of prisoners on Califorinia's death row. Here are snippets: Prisoners are barred from direct computer access that officials say...
More on status quo bias in federal sentencing realities
Posted on July 14, 2008The Denver University Law Review last year allowed me to contribute quick thoughts about the Supreme Court's work in Rita v. United States its special speedy issue on Rita. My contribution, entitled "Rita, Reasoned Sentencing, and Resistance to Change" and...
Split Ninth Circuit panel affirms below-guideline probation sentence as reasonable
Posted on July 14, 2008Federal defense practitioners on the West Coast will be pleased to see the Ninth Circuit's latest reasonableness ruling today in US v. Whitehead, No. 05-50458 (9th Cir. July 14, 2008) (available here). Here is how the short per curiam opinion...
A deadly legislative deal in the works in NC
Posted on July 14, 2008This local article from North Carolina, headlined "N.C. bias bill adds to death penalty debate: The push to enable a race-based defense may also bring a move to resume executions," spotlights the strange deals that can be made in death...
Another acquitted conduct sentencing affirmed
Posted on July 14, 2008The Eighth Circuit today in US v. Canania, No. 07-1078 (8th Cir. July 14, 2008) (available here), affirms another long federal sentence than includes acquitted conduct enhancements. That fact alone does not make Canania especially notable, but the concurrence added...
Seeking help covering USSC alternatives to incarceration symposium
Posted on July 14, 2008Because of other work commitments, I am unable to attend the United States Sentencing Commission's two-day symposium on alternatives to incarceration which starts this morning in DC (details here and here). The official agenda looks amazing, and the topics covered...
Examining parole law and policy for killers in California
Posted on July 14, 2008The Los Angeles Times yesterday had this interesting piece on parole law and policy in California. Here is how the article begins: Sandra Davis Lawrence is grateful for the simple things she can do now, like pick up her grandniece...
Media coverage of Second Amendment effort to dismiss felon-in-possession charges
Posted on July 13, 2008Last week I posted here a copy of a notable motion to dismiss a federal criminal indictment for felon in possession based on Heller and the Second Amendment. Today the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has this story on the motion. Here are...
The international dogs that did not bark in Kennedy
Posted on July 13, 2008As we await word on whether Governor Bobby Jindal will keep his word and ensure Louisiana seeks rehearing in the Kennedy child rape case (discussed here), a notable omission in the majority opinion dawned on me. As everyone surely will...
Reflections on the politics of SCOTUS and personhood of its members
Posted on July 13, 2008As one might expect, Linda Greenhouse's latest (and last?) New York Times column covering the Supreme Court is lovely and moving and insightful. And, as we look ahead to a new occupant in the White House (who might have a...
Two potent commentaries assailing mass incarceration
Posted on July 13, 2008Two local Michigan papers have these two new potent commentaries assailing mass incarceration: From the Oakland Press here, "State prisons too expensive, ineffective at reform" From the Detroit Free Press here, "Get-tough policies cause more crime, deny inmates a future"...
"Resuscitating Proportionality in Noncapital Criminal Sentencing"
Posted on July 13, 2008The title of this post is the title of this piece by Donna Lee just appearing here on SSRN. Here's the abstract: Although the Eighth Amendment guarantees proportionality in noncapital criminal sentencing, federal and state courts have struggled when deciding...
The broad reach of sex offender residency restrictions
Posted on July 12, 2008This article from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, headlined "Law would evict female 'offender' for teen sex," spotlights the broad reach of sex offender residency restrictions: Wendy Whitaker's name may be on Georgia's sex offender registry, but her offense suggests she is...
Senator Obama endorses death penalty for Osama Bin Laden
Posted on July 12, 2008The CNN political ticker has this new report on the death penalty becoming a point of conversation on the campaign trail: Barack Obama again said Friday he favors the death penalty for Osama bin Laden should the 9/11 mastermind be...
Sentencing nunsense?
Posted on July 12, 2008You know we live in tough sentencing times when even an ailing elderly nun cannot get a sentencing break. This local Nebraska story provides all the details: An Omaha nun who admitted stealing money from the local archdiocese has been...
Might the ACLU be a strong supporter of all persons' gun rights?
Posted on July 11, 2008I am intrigued and encouraged to see this story from the Las Vegas Sun about a local chapter of the ACLU seeing the light on Second Amendment rights. Here are excerpts from the story Everyone loves guns in Nevada. Ducks...
Wash Post urges stop to "warehousing nonviolent offenders"
Posted on July 11, 2008The Washington Post has this editorial today, headlined "Too Many Prisoners: States should stop warehousing nonviolent offenders." Here is how it starts: Two reports by the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics show that the rate of growth in the...
You be the judge: what sentence should "Spam King" get?
Posted on July 11, 2008This story, headlined "'Spam King' to be sentenced: Two-day hearing starts Friday for man who sent 90 million e-mails," provides the details on an interesting federal sentencing in Seattle. Here are the basics: The lineup of people to testify in...
A cultural defense seeking to mitigate child porn sentence
Posted on July 11, 2008As detailed in this post last month, the upcoming sentencing of ex-diplomat Gons Gutierrez Nachman on federal child porn charges has already generated controversy when the 42-year-old Nachman requested to get married before his sentencing to his 21-year-old Brazilian fiancee...
The condemneds' last words from two Thursday executions
Posted on July 11, 2008Both Texas and Virginia carried out lethal injection executions last night, and the last words from the condemned were notable different. According to this report from the Texas execution, Carlton Turner was apologetic as the state killed him: "I know...
Potent pieces on prison nation from the Boston Review
Posted on July 10, 2008A helpful reader pointed me to the latest issue of the Boston Review, which has a series of notable articles under the heading, "After Prison: A special issue on incarcerated America." Here are the chief pieces (with quotes from the...
Florida Supreme Court says sex offenders on probation can have sexually explicit material
Posted on July 10, 2008This Miami Herald article, provocatively headlined "Florida high court: Sex offenders can have porn," reports on this notable (and lengthy) ruling today from the Florida Supreme Court. Here are the details from the newspaper report: The Florida Supreme Court on...
Firearm sentence enhancements, the nexus notion, and chilling effects
Posted on July 10, 2008Eugene Volokh with this new post continues to do a strong job criticizing lower courts for sloppy and unsatisfactory reasoning when rejecting post-Heller Second Amendment claims by criminal defendants. But in his latest post, titled "The Second Amendment and Sentence...
Fourth Circuit upholds Virginia's lethal injection protocol
Posted on July 10, 2008If you are in the mood to spend your afternoon reading about lethal injection law and procedure, the Fourth Circuit serves up the goods. In Emmett v. Johnson, No. 07-18 (4th Cir. July 10, 2008) (available here), a split panel...
Helpful(?) Heller head-scratching
Posted on July 10, 2008Over at Convictions, a bunch of smart folks are asking effective and provocative questions about the Heller ruling and its aftermath. Jack Balkin explores "Heller and The Constitutional Right of Self-Defense" with these important questions and observations: Does the right...
Three months after Baze, has anything really changed?
Posted on July 10, 2008Back in May in this post, I asked "A month after Baze, has anything really changed?". Two months later, this observation from that prior post still seems spot on: "it seems that all Baze really achieved was a brief national...
Kentucky's prison economy leading to prisoner releases
Posted on July 10, 2008This local article from Kentucky, headlined "Inmates freed early to save state money," documents my favorite modern sentencing mantra: "It's the prison economy, stupid." Here are specifics from the article: Kentucky has released nearly 900 inmates -- more than 200...
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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
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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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