After a notably modest use of his clemency powers prior to the latest election, Prez Biden is on a historic clemency tear over the last eight weeks. Today’s actiona are set forth in this “Statement from President Joe Biden on
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Given latest SCOTUS review of civil proof burdens, still wondering about criminal sentence increase standards
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled yesterday in E.M.D. Sales, Inc. v. Carrera, No. 23-217(S. Ct. Jan. 15, 2025) (available here), that a showing under the Fair Labor Standards Act calls for the “usual standard of proof in civil
AG Garland rescinds federal execution protocol citing "risk of pain and suffering" in using pentobarbital for lethal injection
Via this new substack post by Chris Geidner, I see that Attorney General Merrick Garland sent this letter to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to order rescinding the the federal execution protocol “which provides for lethal injection of
AG nominee Pam Bondi talks up First Step Act and criminal justice reform
I only had a chance to listen to a small portion of the hearings today in the Senate Judiciary Committee involving Prez-Elect Trump’s nominee for Attorney General of the United States, Pam Bondi. What I did hear leads me to
Split Florida appeals court finds First Amendment violation in "sexual predator" label on state IDs
Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal handed down an interesting ruling late last week in Crist v. Florida, No. 5D2022-2966 (5th App. Fla. Jan. 10, 2025) (available here). This press piece explains the basics effectively, and it starts
"Is Prison Abolitionism Self-Defeating?"
The question in the title of this post is the title of this new essay authored by Youngjae Lee and now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:
This Essay argues that prison abolitionism is self-defeating in three ways. First,
Sleeper or dud? False or misleading? More questions than answers in SCOTUS argument over federal false statement law
The Supreme Court heard oral argument today in Thompson v. US, which has the potential to be a major white-collar criminal case because it could narow (or expand) how federal criminal law defines a “false statement.” But this review
Interesting accounting of "6 areas of uncertainty" regarding Jan 6 clemency plans
The day after Donald Trump was elected to serve a second term in the Oval Office, I asked in this post “How might Prez-Elect Trump operationalize his promise to pardon January 6 defendants?”. Though a number of press outlets have
"<em>Booker at 20</em>": some perspectives by the numbers
As set out in this prior post, this month I am curating a series of posts with reflections on “Booker at 20,” partially in conjunction with a forthcoming issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter on the topic. Today’s entry comes
"Does the United States Have High Recidivism Rates? New Data Raise Questions About Prevailing Beliefs"
The title of this post is the title of this essay authored by Barry Latzer available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:
A recent report on reincarceration by the Council of State Governments Justice Center (CSG) seems to challenge prevailing