Via email, I learned of two notable new policy papers from the folks at the Justice Policy Institute regarding state prison matters. Here are the titles and links along with a brief pverview from JPI:”Unlocking Virginia’s Workforce: The Economic
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.
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District court rejects feds motion to dismiss indictment deemed a “direct attempt to override the Court’s decision to sentence Defendant to four months in prison”
Paul Cassell writing here at The Volokh Conspirary flags an interesting new ruling in a case involving a federal criminal conviction and sentencing of a police officer for using excessive force. The post provides details about the case and Paul’s…
Notable video about film-maker’s clemency efforts “Netflix-ing them out of prison”
The New York Times has this new Opinion Video under the headline “An Unlikely Last Resort for Getting Out of Prison,” and the quoted portion of the title of this post is drawn from a line in the ten-minute video.…
“Patronage Pardons”
The title of this post is the title of this notable new paper now on SSRN authored by Lee Kovarsky. Here is its abstract:Abuse of presidential pardon power is taking a new and frightening turn. The Donald Trump administration is…
Veterans group urges Florida Gov to halt execution of condemned vets
As reported in this UPI piece, as “Florida preps to execute its fourth U.S. veteran this year, more than 130 U.S. veterans in nearly every branch of service have requested for Gov. Ron DeSantis to end the state’s executions…
Will Prez Trump’s federal take-over of DC police lead to more federal charges and sentencings?
The US Sentencing Commission’s fiscal year 2024 data reported that there were a total of 536 federal sentences imposed last year in the US District Court for the District of Columbus. I have heard that there has been an increase…
Reflections on, and a tweaked front page after, a full year of the Sentencing Matters Substack
Because he has supplied the majority of (terrific) content at the Sentencing Matters Substack, it is only fitting that Jonathan Wroblewski has the honor and privilege (and burden?) of authoring a first “year in review” essay overt there. In…
Rounding up another set of notable headlines on all sort of sentencing-related topics
Catching up after a week mostly on the road, I noticed lots of headlines and stories that seemed worth flagging in a quicj round-up. So here goes:From the Free Press, “Why I Changed My Mind About the Death Penalty…
“Diddy’s Lawyer May Ask for Home Confinement, Not Prison, to Provide Therapy”
The title of this post is the headline of this new TMZ report, which is interesting while not being especially surprising. Here are excertps:Diddy will probably be sentenced to confinement for 1 to 3 years, and his lawyer may…
Another reminder of broad reach and applications of felony murder punishments
Over at Bolts, Michaela Markels has this lengthy piece about felony murder law in Alabama and elsewhere. Especially as I am gearing up to teach 1L Crimnal Law this fall, I found this piece very much worth a full read.…