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Indiana completes execution of cop killer, its second since 2009

Tue, 05/20/2025 - 08:57
As reported in this press article, an "Indiana man convicted in the 2000 killing of a police officer was put to death by lethal injection early Tuesday in the state's second execution since 2009." Here is more: Benjamin Ritchie, 45,... Douglas A. Berman Baze and Glossip lethal injection cases Death Penalty Reforms

"Eugenics And The Carceral State: Progressive Era Reform And The Creation Of The Modern Criminal Justice System"

Mon, 05/19/2025 - 21:33
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Laura Appleman now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The intersection of eugenics and Progressive Era reform in the late 19th and early 20th centuries... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Scope of Imprisonment

Second Amendment uncertainty continues as SCOTUS GVRs challenge to federal ban on felon gun possession

Mon, 05/19/2025 - 10:07
The Supreme Court issued this short order list this morning without adding adding any new cases to its merits docket via a certiorari grant. But there was a grant with a vacate and remand (GVR) in a criminal case from... Douglas A. Berman Gun policy and sentencing Offender Characteristics Second Amendment issues Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

Lara Trump makes full-throughed case for Prez Trump fixing "broken" criminal justice systems

Sun, 05/18/2025 - 17:26
Criminal justice reform has received relatively little attention over the first four months of the second Trump Administration. For that reason and others, I was quite intrigued to see that Fox News host Lara Trump devoted much of her "My... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Trump Administration FIRST STEP Act and its implementation

"Conflicting Theories on the Proper Role of Just Deserts: Irrelevant, Complementary, or Inviolate?"

Fri, 05/16/2025 - 09:43
The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN and authored by Paul Robinson, Jeffrey Seaman and Hugh Rennie. Here is its abstract: The last several decades of the 20th century saw a... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing

Florida completes its fifth execution in 2025

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 21:21
As reported in this USA Today piece, "Florida has executed a man known as the 'Casanova Killer' for his good looks and ability to charm women just before murdering them." Here is more: Glen Edward Rogers, 62, was executed Thursday... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms

Supreme Court unanimously reiterates "totality of the circumstances" approach to Fourth Amendment

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 10:29
The Supreme Court this morning handed down a short opinion in Barnes v. Felix, No. 23–1239 (S. Ct. May 15, 2025) (available here). The unanimous ruling, authored by Justice Kagan for the Court, breaks no new ground, but reiterates prior... Douglas A. Berman Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

Lots of new data from the US Sentencing Commission on many fronts

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 08:52
As it does so well, US Sentencing Commission is continuing to release all sort of notable data on all sorts of issues in the federal sentencing world. For example, the Commission has released these new "Quick Facts" documents: NEW Career... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Drug Offense Sentencing Federal Sentencing Guidelines

New Georgia law reforms process for exempting persons with intellectual disability from capital punishment

Thu, 05/15/2025 - 08:31
Georgia's administration of capital punishment has long had a unique place in the history of the death penalty in the United States. But, as detailed in this local article, one unique aspect of its modern death penalty process changed this... Douglas A. Berman Death Penalty Reforms Offender Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Who Sentences

Notable reporting on the new "wild west" of clemency in Prez Trump's second term

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 10:35
In this post around Thanksgiving last year at the Sentencing Matters Substack, I made the case for chief executives to make more and more regular use of their clemency powers. And I had this musing in that commentary: "I think... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

Menendez brothers resentenced by California judge to 50 years to life, making them parole eligible

Wed, 05/14/2025 - 08:18
As reported in this Los Angeles Times article, "Erik and Lyle Menendez received a chance at freedom Tuesday after more than 35 years in prison, with an L.A. County judge granting a request to resentence them after hours of emotional... Douglas A. Berman Celebrity sentencings Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

The latest (and still limited) discussions of the great crime decline circa 2025

Tue, 05/13/2025 - 17:10
I have done a couple of 2025 posts (here and here) drawing on big city "real time" homicide data from police departments to detail the remarkable decline in murders apparently unfolding in many large urban areas through the first part... Douglas A. Berman National and State Crime Data

"Confronting Uncharged Conduct"

Tue, 05/13/2025 - 09:06
The title of this post is the title of this new article available via SSRN and authored by Barnett Harris and Christopher Merken. Here is its abstract: Every year, federal judges sentence tens of thousands of criminal defendants to carceral... Douglas A. Berman Federal Sentencing Guidelines Procedure and Proof at Sentencing

Could Prez Trump's new EO on overcriminalization prompt the US Sentencing Commission to review strict liability guideline enhancements?

Mon, 05/12/2025 - 14:40
As flagged in this post, just a couple of days before he left the Oval Office back in 2021, Prez Trump issued an exective order titled "Executive Order on Protecting Americans From Overcriminalization Through Regulatory Reform." I am pretty sure... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Offender Characteristics Offense Characteristics Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

"The Nuances of Prosecutorial Nonenforcement"

Mon, 05/12/2025 - 10:58
The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Carissa Byrne Hessick and Meighan Parsh now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The academic literature on prosecutors is divided: Some commentors believe that prosecutors... Douglas A. Berman Purposes of Punishment and Sentencing Who Sentences

Latest data on death rows in US (at roughly start of second Trump Administration)

Mon, 05/12/2025 - 10:14
Via this post by Robert Dunham at The DP3 Substack, I see that the Legal Defense Fund has released its latest accounting of persons on death rows in the US, Death Row USA, Spring 2025. The LDF document, which runs... Douglas A. Berman Criminal justice in the Trump Administration Data on sentencing Death Penalty Reforms Detailed sentencing data Who Sentences

En banc Ninth Circuit broadly rejects Second Amendment challenge to federal felon-in-possession prohibition

Sat, 05/10/2025 - 10:49
Yesterday the Ninth Circuit via a lengthy en banc ruling in US v. Duarte, No. 22-50048 (9th Cir. May 9, 2025) (available here), rejected a Second Amendment challenge to the federal criminal law, 18 USC § 922(g)(1), that makes it... Douglas A. Berman Second Amendment issues Who Sentences

Brief initial reflections on the late Justice David Souter's sentencing law legacy

Fri, 05/09/2025 - 10:39
As reported in this extensive New York Times piece authored by Linda Greenhouse, "David H. Souter, a New Hampshire Republican who was named to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush and who over 19 years on that bench... Douglas A. Berman Who Sentences

After withdrawal as US Attorney nomination, Prez Trump states he will have Ed Martin serve as DOJ's Pardon Attorney

Fri, 05/09/2025 - 08:37
As reported in this Reuters article, Prez Trump is changing path with a new nominee for the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC: "President Donald Trump on Thursday appointed Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to serve as Washington, D.C.'s interim... Douglas A. Berman Clemency and Pardons Sentences Reconsidered Who Sentences

"Equality in Sentencing Mitigation"

Thu, 05/08/2025 - 18:30
The title of this post is the title of this new article now available via SSRN authored by John B. Meixner Jr. Here is its abstract: As guilty-plea rates have skyrocketed, sentencing has become an increasingly important part of criminal... Douglas A. Berman Data on sentencing Detailed sentencing data Procedure and Proof at Sentencing Race, Class, and Gender

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