Sentencing Law & Policy

As some readers may know, the blogging service Typepad is complete shutting down as of September 30, 2025. When I first started this blog back in May 2004(!), Typepad seemed like a good-enough, user-friendly platform, and before long I had... Douglas A. Berman On blogging

The title of this post is the title of this notable essay authored by Shawn Bushway. I recommend the full piece, and here is how it gets started: The U.S. now incarcerates 25 percent fewer people than it did at... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment

I just saw that yesterday the US Sentencing Commission released here its latest federal sentencing quarterly data report which is titled "3rd Quarter Release, Preliminary Fiscal Year 2025 Data Through June 30, 2025." Because these data only capture a little... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines

As reported in this AP piece, a "Florida man convicted of killing his estranged wife’s sister and parents and setting their house on fire was put to death Wednesday evening in what was a record 12th execution in the state... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

I have been invited to speak in a few weeks on pardon and expungement topics at the "White Collar Conference 2025," which is presented by the White Collar Support Group run by the indefatigable Jeff Grant. Here are links and... Douglas A. Berman Reentry and community supervision White-collar sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this new article now on SSRN authored by Max Wolson, Benjamin Flick and Adeel Bashir. Here is its abstract: This article explains how the U.S. Sentencing Commission's excessively punitive, weight-based drug... Douglas A. Berman Drug Offense Sentencing Federal Sentencing Guidelines

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) today released this lengthy new report written by LawProf Cortney Lollar. Here is the report's executive summary: Criminal restitution has become a regular part of sentencing in criminal cases. And yet it... Douglas A. Berman Fines, Restitution and Other Economic Sanctions

The Marshall Project has this notable new piece exploring some reasons for the higher number of executions throughout the US in 2025. I recommend the piece in full, and here are excerpts (with links from the original): Ten states have... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip cases and execution methods Death Penalty Reforms

This new Law360 article, headlined "Appeals Courts Rethink Harsh Youth Sentences, Search Rules," details some of the ways state courts have been extending the US Supreme Court's Eighth Amendment jurisprudence precluding some extreme juvenile sentence. Here are excerpts from the... Douglas A. Berman Assessing Miller and its aftermath Offender Characteristics Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

As reported in this New York Times article, "Nadine Menendez, the wife of New Jersey’s former senator, was sentenced on Thursday to four and a half years in prison for her role in a scheme to trade her husband’s clout... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Federal Sentencing Guidelines White-collar sentencing

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Rachel Moran now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: When it comes to prosecutions of police officers for homicide-related offenses, opinions are plentiful but data... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics

As I first mentioned a few weeks ago, I am very excited to be part of a planning team for a big event, "Originalism and Criminal Justice Symposium," to take place at The Ohio State University on September 8-9, 2026.... Douglas A. Berman Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this article authored by Ronald Allen and Nicolas Elliott-Smith that i just came across on SSRN. Here is its abstract: The pursuit of knowledge is undergoing a transformation. Scientists and scholars... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

The title of this post is the headline of this New York Times opinion piece authored by German Lopez. Here is how it starts and ends: American prisons are fast becoming the world’s worst nursing homes, increasingly filled with aging... Douglas A. Berman Offender Characteristics Prisons and prisoners Scope of Imprisonment Who Sentences

I have failed to flag here that the US Sentencing Commission has released recently 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... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Federal Sentencing Guidelines Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics

In this post a few weeks ago, titled "Starting to gear up for lots of criminal law and sentencing cases during SCOTUS OT'25," I highlighted that the Supreme Court is already scheduled to hear many criminal law cases, including many... Douglas A. Berman Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Joshua Davis and Whitney Taylor now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: This article examines the rise and politicization of prosecutorial reforms in the United... Douglas A. Berman Elections and sentencing issues in political debates Who Sentences

I do not know why this platform was down yesterday, but I do know I have seen a wide array of intriguing pieces about matters of crime and punishment in recent days. So, making up for lost blogging time, here... Douglas A. Berman Recommended reading

As reported in this local article, headlined "State chipping away at SCOTUS ruling that outlawed death sentences for juvenile offenders," Louisiana's Attorney General is taking steps to seek reconsideration of the Supreme Court's jurisprudence precluding the death penalty for juvenile... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Offender Characteristics Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

A few weeks ago, via this post, I flagged an effective press piece that detailed some ugly aspects of how New Jersey has been implementing a new state compassionate release law. Today I just saw this similar press piece regarding... Douglas A. Berman Prisons and prisoners Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences