Council on Criminal Justice releases new papers on “Federal Sentencing Provisions of the 1994 Crime Bill”
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US Sentencing Commission releases new report on “Inter-District Differences in Federal Sentencing Practices”
As reported via this USSC webpage, the US Sentencing Commission has this morning released this big new report under the full title “Inter-District Differences in Federal Sentencing Practices: Sentencing Practices Across Districts from 2005 – 2017.” Here is a summary and key finding from the USSC’s webpage:
This report is the third in a series of reports. It examines variations in sentencing practices—and corresponding variations in sentencing outcomes—across federal districts since the Supreme Court’s…
“Normalizing Injustice: The Dangerous Misrepresentations that Define Television’s Scripted Crime Genre”
The title of this post is the title of this interesting new Color of Change report. Here is an excerpt from the report’s introduction:
Police procedurals and legal dramas are the bread and butter of primetime lineups, drawing the largest audiences in the U.S., in addition to hundreds of millions of viewers annually around the world. These series communicate about the criminal justice system as much as any other popular medium, if not more. …
Former AG (and now Senate candidate) Jeff Sessions laments some of the sentence reductions in the FIRST STEP Act
In large part due to Prez Trump’s support for the FIRST STEP Act, even the usual suspects in the “tough-and-tougher” crowd are disinclined to be too critical of this law. But, given that former Attorney General Jeff Sessions spent much of his time as AG seeking to block the Act from getting passed with any sentencing reform provisions, I suppose I was not surprised to see this local press piece headlined “Sessions ‘uneasy’ about parts…
SCOTUS to contemplate yet another level of ACCA jurisprudential hell with <em>Shular</em> oral argument
In this post a few years ago, I asked “At just what level of Dante’s Inferno does modern ACCA jurisprudence reside?”. That post and that question was prompted by the headaches I get when trying to make sense of the the modern federal court jurisprudence over application of the Armed Career Criminal Act as it relates to whether a defendant’s prior conviction qualities as a “violent felony.” But the US Supreme Court is due to hear…
Highlighting another troublesome spot at the intersection of marijuana reform and criminal justice systems
Regular readers know that, because of my work in the criminal justice arena, I often come to marijuana reform stories with an extra focus on how marijuana law and policy impact criminal justice system. Though I am particularly interested in topics covered in my Federal Sentencing Reporter article, "Leveraging Marijuana……
Recalling on-going work of the US Sentencing Commission as troll for “Reflections on <em>Booker</em> at 15”
In this post last weekend, I noted (1) that it is now a full 15 years since the Supreme Court (not-so-)radically transformed the federal sentencing system through its ruling in Booker v. United States, and (2) that it seems I may be one of the few to now note (or even realize) that we have passed another big milestone in the history of the federal sentencing system. Though I have not yet received any…
“‘Ban the Box’ Policies and Criminal Recidivism”
The title of this post is the title of this new empirical paper authored by Ryan Sherrard available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:
Employment has long been seen as a mechanism for reducing criminal recidivism. As such, many states and municipalities have tried to increase the employment prospects of ex-offenders through “Ban the Box” (BTB) policies, making it illegal to ask about an individual’s criminal history on a job application. There are, however, questions…
Has Ohio really had its last execution?
The question in the title of this post is prompted by the statement of a notable Ohio statesman in this local public radio piece headlined “Creator Of Death Penalty Law Says Ohio Won’t Have Another Execution.” Here is more:
There hasn’t been a killer put to death in Ohio in 18 months. And the state’s last execution has likely taken place, according to the architect of Ohio’s 1981 death penalty law. But prosecutors say killing…
Taking stock of 2020 marijuana reform prospects in various states (and noting some significant omissions)
Jeff Smith over at MJBizDaily has this helpful article (with a helpful graphic) under the headline "Several states could legalize cannabis sales in 2020 as marijuana industry eyes lucrative East Coast market." The article maps out the ten or so states that might move forward with adult-use legalization regimes in……