Though it is not technically mid-summer, I am on a mid-summer trip that will leave me relatively little time for blogging for the rest of this week. (In addition, when I have some spare time this week, there is a
Douglas A. Berman
Sentencing Law and Policy is a legal blog authored by Douglas A. Berman, focusing on issues related to criminal sentencing, death penalty cases, prosecutorial discretion, and constitutional law. The blog provides analysis and commentary on recent developments in sentencing law, including Supreme Court decisions, state-level death penalty cases, and broader topics such as plea bargaining and mass incarceration. It serves as a resource for legal scholars, practitioners, and those interested in the intersection of criminal justice policy and constitutional rights. The content often addresses complex legal theories and practical implications of sentencing practices in the United States.
Latest from Douglas A. Berman - Page 14
Detailing a remarkable school-to-death-row pipeline in Florida
Recent decades has brought considerable concerns about so-called “school-to-prison” pipelines, a term meant to lament certain educational policies and practices that serve to enhance the prosepcts of some students being caught up in criminal justice systems. But this new Marhsall…
New reporting from the New York Times on Prez Biden’s out-going clemency actions
The New York Times has two notable new articles covering the controversies surrounding former Prez Biden’s late-term clemencies and compentencies. Here are the pieces:”Biden Says He Made the Clemency Decisions That Were Recorded With Autopen“”Excerpts From The…
“Michael Tonry’s Contributions to Research Identifying and Explaining Racial Disparities in Sentencing”
The title of this post is the title of this article authored by Cassia Spohn in the June 2025 issue of the Criminal Law Forum. (As noted in this prior post, this journal issue is devoted to celebrating the…
Making the case for Governors to make greater use of clemency powers
This New York Times opinion piece, titled “Governors, Use Your Clemency Powers” and authored by Steve Zeidman, focuses on the need for states’ chief executives to step up their clemency work. The piece is worth a full read (though…
“The Plain Solution to Federal Habeas”
The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN and authored by Charles Hintz. Here is its abstract:Federal habeas is a mess. The reason is the current doctrine’s myopic proceduralism: its obsession with…
Split DC Circuit panel upholds authority of Defense Secretary to reject plea deals with three 9/11 defendants for LWOP sentences
In the latest chapter of a long running saga, a panel of the DC Circuit today upheld the authority of then-Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to withdraw from plea agreements with three of the 9/11 defendants. The start of the…
“When the Death Count Gets Higher”: An Empirical Examination of Whether the Federal Courts of Appeals Have Authentically Enforced Atkins v. Virginia
The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN authored by Talia Roitberg Harmon, Michael L. Perlin, Maren Geiger, Lea Roitberg and Stacy Bielic. Here is its abstract:The United States Supreme Court held…
Interesting new request to parties from federal judge sentencing Sean “Diddy” Combs
This new ABC News piece reports that the “judge who oversaw the trial of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has asked both sides in the case to provide him with sentencing information ahead of the scheduled October sentencing date.” Here is more:Judge…
Lots more notable new “Quick Facts” reports from US Sentencing Commission
The US Sentencing Commission in recent weeks has released a bunch more of its terrific “Quick Facts” publications. As regular readers know, I find so very interesting all the these short data documents, which are designed to “give readers…