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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.

"Sex Offender Registration in a Pandemic"

By Douglas Berman

September 24, 2021

The title of this post is the title of this new piece authored by Wayne Logan now posted on SSRN. Here is its abstract: This Essay, part of a symposium examining how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the criminal justice system, addresses whether, and how, state and local governments maintained their requirement that individuals convicted of sex offenses meet with authorities in person to confirm and update their registry information. Focusing in particular on the…

Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform

Is the marijuana industry where everyone is going back to work?

By Douglas A. Berman

September 24, 2021

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this notable lengthy new Washington Post article, fully headlined “Greener pastures: Marijuana jobs are becoming a refuge for retail and restaurant workers: An estimated 321,000 Americans now work in the legal cannabis industry, outnumbering the country’s dentists, paramedics and……

Sentencing Law and Policy

Law enforcement and prosecutor groups urge Prez Biden to commute sentence of all in home confinement cohort

By Douglas Berman

September 24, 2021

Via email, I learned this morning about this new letter to Prez Biden from the groups Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration, Fair and Just Prosecution, and Law Enforcement Action Partnership. Here is how it starts: We write as individuals and on behalf of our respective national organizations — Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration, Law Enforcement Action Partnership, and Fair and Just Prosecution — as it pertains to the approximately…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"How often does a judge end up sentencing someone for breaking a law the judge personally disagrees with?"

By Douglas Berman

September 23, 2021

The question in the title of this post is the “September Question of the Month” from the National Judicial College emailed as “an informal, non-scientific one-question survey to its more than 12,000 judicial alumni in the United States and abroad.” Here are the results, as reported here, for this “informal, non-scientific one-question survey”: Of the 350 NJC alumni who responded, nearly 95 percent said it had happened to them either a few times (55…

Sentencing Law and Policy

Notable new report spotlights onerous nature of electronic monitoring in US

By Douglas Berman

September 23, 2021

This new NBC News piece, headlined “Other than prison, electronic monitoring is ‘the most restrictive form’ of control, research finds” report on this interesting new report from folks at George Washington University Law School, titled “Electronic Prisons: The Operation of Ankle Monitoring in the Criminal Legal System.” Here are excerpts from the press piece: In the past 18 months, as the judicial system has increasingly used electronic monitoring instead of prisons to monitor inmates…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"Understanding Drug Sentencing" conference feature keynote with former AG Eric Holder and Piper Kerman

By Douglas Berman

September 23, 2021

After pandemic delays in the hope we could do an in-person event, I am a bit sad that a conference organized by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center and the Academy for Justice now set for October 7-8, 2021, is still going to have to be on-line. But, of course, the upside is that everyone all over the country and the world can now attend this event formally titled “Understanding Drug Sentencing and its …

Sentencing Law and Policy

NJ Supreme Court holds, as a matter of state constitutional law, that "fundamental fairness" precludes sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct

By Douglas Berman

September 23, 2021

A helpful reader made sure I did not miss this notable unanimous opinion by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in State v. Melvin, NO A-44-19 (N.J. Sept. 23, 2021) (available here). Sentencing fans and long-time readers should know why I think this ruling is spot-on and today’s must-read. Here is how the opinion gets started: One of the most important tenets of our criminal justice system is the finality of a jury’s…

Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform

"The Cannabis Conundrum: Constitutional & Policy Concerns in Taxation of the Marijuana Industry"

By Douglas A. Berman

September 23, 2021

The title of this post is the title of this notable paper that I just saw via SSRN which is authored by Beckett Cantley and Geoffrey Dietrich. Here is its abstract: The cannabis industry has greatly expanded over the last few years, with a majority of states legalizing cannabis in……

Sentencing Law and Policy

Still more great essays at <em>Inquest</em>, including an especially disheartening book review

By Douglas Berman

September 22, 2021

It has been a couple of weeks since I blogged about Inquest, which is “a forum for advancing bold ideas to end mass incarceration in the United States.” Though regular readers may tire of my promotion of the must-read essays on the site, I am not tired of spotlighting these recently added pieces: From Jessica González-Rojas, “Decarcerate Rikers Now: Nothing short of setting people free from the jail complex, and keeping others…

Sentencing Law and Policy

"In The Extreme: Women Serving Life Without Parole and Death Sentences in the United States"

By Douglas Berman

September 22, 2021

The title of this post is the title of this notable new report authored by Ashley Nellis of The Sentencing Project. Here is how the report gets started: Extreme punishments, including the death penalty and life imprisonment, are a hallmark of the United States’ harsh criminal legal system. Nationwide one of every 15 women in prison — over 6,600 women — are serving a sentence of life with parole, life without parole, or a virtual…

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"Sex Offender Registration in a Pandemic"

Is the marijuana industry where everyone is going back to work?

Law enforcement and prosecutor groups urge Prez Biden to commute sentence of all in home confinement cohort

"How often does a judge end up sentencing someone for breaking a law the judge personally disagrees with?"

Notable new report spotlights onerous nature of electronic monitoring in US

"Understanding Drug Sentencing" conference feature keynote with former AG Eric Holder and Piper Kerman

NJ Supreme Court holds, as a matter of state constitutional law, that "fundamental fairness" precludes sentence enhancement based on acquitted conduct

"The Cannabis Conundrum: Constitutional & Policy Concerns in Taxation of the Marijuana Industry"

Still more great essays at <em>Inquest</em>, including an especially disheartening book review

"In The Extreme: Women Serving Life Without Parole and Death Sentences in the United States"

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