Since the First Step Act made it much easier for federal prisoners to get their motions for sentence reductions before judges, discussion and debate (and litigation) over the federal approach to so-called compassionate release has been robust. And, on-going consideration
Criminalizing The Impossible
In the scheme of impossible demands, the sex offender registry concept has more than its share. Much as there may be empathy for certain crimes and criminals, sex offenders remain pariahs as an incident to rape culture and believing women.
Rounding up some sentencing and punishment stories in an exhausting week that was
A horrible series of mass shootings and the release of awful videos defined the criminal justice week that was. But there were also a bunch of sentencing and punishment stories of note and interest that I did not have time
Credential Creep
Before my son graduated from college, we talked about his job search. I, font of wisdom that I am, told him about what it was like when I was young. He, more attuned to the current world, told me that
Effective look at the many ugly realities of probation
The March 2023 issue of Reason magazine has this terrific article about probation systems authored by C.J. Ciaramella and Lauren Krisai. This lengthy piece is worth a full read, and its full title notes its basic themes: “U.S. Probation System
The Hundreds Who Will Follow Tyre Nichols
As there always are, there will be apologists who will try to explain away a murder. They didn’t mean to kill him, but only beat him to a pulp to show him who’s boss? He should complied harder and then
Circular reasoning upheld as mother testifies about father’s suspected heroin use during TPR trial
N.D. v. E.S., 2022AP1084, District 2, 01/25/23 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity Nancy (N.D.) petitioned to terminate Ed’s (E.D.’s) parental rights on the grounds that he abandoned their daughter, Kim. See Wis. Stat. § 48.415(1). At trial, Ed
The Fool’s Guide To Person-First
Years ago, I came to the realization that calling my client “the defendant” rather than by his name fed into his dehumanization. He wasn’t a person, but a defendant. Similarly, I never called the prosecution “the People,” as was stylized
Seaton: The Slapfight
A crowd gathered at Garage 16 on a cold January night in Mud Lick.
The air was thick with the smell of booze and cigarettes, a change from the normal odors of oil and machinery. The crowd surrounded the shop
January 2023 publication list
On January 25, 2023, the court of appeals ordered the publication of the following criminal-law related decision: State v. Steven W. Bowers, 2023 WI App 4 (affirming suppression of evidence seized during warrantless search of defendant’s Dropbox account)