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Law Professor Blogs, LLC is the nation's only network of legal blogs edited primarily by law professors. Law Professor Blogs, LLC’s legal blogs are edited by over 100 law professors, deans, and lawyers. Editors include leading scholars and educators who are committed to providing the web source of legal news, information, commentary, and analysis for law professors, practitioners, government and nonprofit lawyers, and students in their respective fields. Most of the network’s blogs are owned by Law Professor Blogs, LLC. Several blogs are affiliates of the network.

Celebrating freedom with another long list of federal sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A)

By Douglas Berman

July 5, 2020

After a holiday weekend all about celebrating freedom in this great country, I am excited to provide another listings of new grants of federal sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A). These lists represent a special kind of freedom for federal prisoners and those that care about them, and I am pleased to have nearly three dozen recent grants to report here: United States v. Johnson, No. CR H-96-176, 2020 WL 3618682 (SD Tex. July 2, 2020)…

Sentencing Law and Policy

The new death penalty: COVID now a leading modern killer of California inmates on death row

By Douglas Berman

July 5, 2020

As reported in this local article, headlined “Fifth San Quentin Death Row Inmate Dies During Prison COVID-19 Outbreak,” the global pandemic is hitting California’s death row hard these days. Here are the details: While California has not executed a death row inmate since 2006, an out-of-control COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin State Prison may have contributed to the death of a fifth condemned inmate on Saturday. To date, more than 1,300 prisoners and 120…

Sentencing Law and Policy

Dare criminal justice reformers imagine SCOTUS without both Justice Alito and Justice Thomas?

By Douglas Berman

July 5, 2020

Because there are no more juicy criminal law or sentencing cases left on the SCOTUS docket as an unusual Term winds down, I cannot help but spend time speculating about the future of the Court. In an election year, of course, that includes imagining who might be appointed (and might be doing the appointing) for the next four years. But this recent Fox News piece, headlined “Supreme Court rumor: Hugh Hewitt claims Alito retirement…

Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform

Reviewing direct democracy marijuana/drug reform initiatives as we celebrate America's birthday

By Douglas A. Berman

July 4, 2020

Kyle Jaeger has this helpful and timely piece at Marijuana Moment discussing the state of direct democracy marijuana and drug reform campaigns in the states. The piece is headlined “As Signature Deadlines Approach, Here’s Where Marijuana And Drug Policy Reform Campaigns Stand,” and is worth a full read. Here are……

Sentencing Law and Policy

Effective review of the 1994 Crime Bill's complicated legacy

By Douglas Berman

July 3, 2020

USA Today has this effective new piece about the impact and import of the 1994 Crime Bill under the headline “Fact check: 1994 crime bill did not bring mass incarceration of Black Americans.” I recommend the whole thing, and here are excerpts: The 1994 crime bill, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a grab-bag of crime-fighting measures, ranging from three-strike provisions mandating a life sentence for repeat offenders and funding for states to hire 100,000…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"Proposition 47’s Impact on Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice Outcomes"

By Douglas Berman

July 3, 2020

The title of this post is the title of this notable new and timely report from the Public Policy Institute of California. Here is its “Summary”: While the COVID-19 pandemic has forced changes to correctional systems and law enforcement’s interactions with the community, widespread protests focused on the deaths of African Americans in police custody have intensified concern about racial and ethnic disparities in our criminal justice system. In recent years, California has implemented a…

Sentencing Law and Policy

Liberty, freedom, 2020 in incarceration nation … discuss

By Douglas Berman

July 3, 2020

An open thread for those who might be interested….…

Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform

Is it growing clearer that marijuana reform is criminal justice reform and racial justice imperitive?

By Douglas A. Berman

July 3, 2020

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Crime Report piece headlined “Marijuana Laws ‘Central’ to Justice Reform, Advocates Say.” Here is how it starts: As protests against racism continue to march on across the country, conversations have sparked a new dialogue about policing, criminal……

Sentencing Law and Policy

As July starts, "Total Federal Inmates" as reported by BOP, down to 160,690

By Douglas Berman

July 2, 2020

On the cusp of a (long) weekend when we celebrate American freedom, it seems fitting that America’s federal government is still experiencing a declining population of persons being deprived of freedom through its prison system. Specifically, today’s check on the federal Bureau of Prisons’ updated “Total Federal Inmates” shows a continuation of historic declines: in a prior post here, I detailed that, according to BOP’s reporting, most weeks through April the federal prison population…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"How Mandatory Minimums Are Weaponized"

By Douglas Berman

July 2, 2020

The title of this post is the headline of this effective new opinion piece in the New York Times authored by Sandeep Dhaliwal. I recommend the piece in full and here are excerpts: In the early morning hours of May 30, Colinford Mattis and Urooj Rahman were arrested in Brooklyn after a night of citywide protests in response to the killing of George Floyd. They are charged with throwing a Molotov cocktail through the broken…

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Celebrating freedom with another long list of federal sentence reductions using § 3582(c)(1)(A)

The new death penalty: COVID now a leading modern killer of California inmates on death row

Dare criminal justice reformers imagine SCOTUS without both Justice Alito and Justice Thomas?

Reviewing direct democracy marijuana/drug reform initiatives as we celebrate America's birthday

Effective review of the 1994 Crime Bill's complicated legacy

"Proposition 47’s Impact on Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice Outcomes"

Liberty, freedom, 2020 in incarceration nation … discuss

Is it growing clearer that marijuana reform is criminal justice reform and racial justice imperitive?

As July starts, "Total Federal Inmates" as reported by BOP, down to 160,690

"How Mandatory Minimums Are Weaponized"

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