Law Professor Blogs Network (LexBlog United States)

Earlier this month, I flagged in this post the six notable cases that I was most eagerly awaiting as a remarkable Supreme Court Term was coming to a close.  Four of those cases were resolved last week, with Taylor and Nance providing small wins for criminal defendants, and then Bruen and Dobbs producing big jurisprudential changes...

A high-profile sentencing is scheduled for NYC federal court this coming week.  This CNN article from last last, reporting on prosecutors’ sentencing filing, provides a partial preview: Federal prosecutors asked a judge in a court filing Wednesday to sentence Ghislaine Maxwell to 30 to 55 years in prison for sex trafficking a minor and other...

The title of this post is the title of this new report from The Sentencing Project. Here is most of the executive summary and recommendations from the start of the report: Prisons are a particularly hazardous place to grow old.  The carceral system is largely unprepared to handle the medical, social, physical, and mental health...

The Supreme Court this morning released its much anticipated opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (S. Ct. June 23, 2022) (available here).   The opinions are 200+ pages long, but these lines from the start of the Court’s opinion authored by Justice Alito provides the basics: “We hold that Roe and Casey...

In this post yesterday, I wondered “Are all broad felon-in-possession criminal gun statutes now constitutionally suspect after Bruen?”  That question was prompted by the fact that the majority opinion in the Supreme Court’s big Second Amendment case, Bruen (basics here), seemed to reject lots of recent lower court rulings and jurisprudence regarding the application of the Second...

In an important ruling for capital case litigation, the Supreme Court this morning held in Nance v. Ward, No. 21-439 (S. Ct. June 23, 2022) (available here), that all method of execution claims can be brought via § 1983.  Justice Kagan wrote the opinion for the Court, which starts this way: In several recent decisions,...

I am still working my way through the Supreme Court’s various opinions in today’s big Second Amendment case, Bruen (basics here). And, because I am not a Second Amendment expert, my first-cut reactions to Bruen may not be worth much.  But, since the majority opinion in Bruen seems to reject lots of recent lower court...

A few years ago, as noted in this blog post, the US Sentencing Commission released a report titled “Length of Incarceration and Recidivism.”  Today, the USSC has issued another report under the same title, and this webpage provides an overview and key findings: Overview This study, the seventh in the recidivism series, examines the relationship...

The title of this post is the title of this new report from the Prison Policy Initiative authored by Leah Wang.  Here is how the report gets started (with some original links retained): Over 1 million people sit in U.S. state prisons on any given day.  These individuals are overwhelmingly poor, disproportionately Black, Native, Hispanic,...

Last week, as reported in this local article, the Supreme Court of North Carolina issues two notable opinions placing a notable limit on sentences for juvenile offenders.  Here are the basics: Juveniles convicted of the most violent crimes in North Carolina cannot spend more than 40 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.  The...

I am pleased to be able to spotlight here a call for papers from the Federal Sentencing Reporter: Seeking Commentaries for Federal Sentencing Reporter’s October Issue to provide “Advice for a new U.S. Sentencing Commission” Last month, President Joseph Biden announced seven nominees for the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and in early June the Senate Judiciary...

The Supreme Court started what could be a historic week with this (relatively uneventful) order list.   The Court granted cert in two cases, one of which is somewhat like a criminal case.  Specifically, the issue in Bittner v. US, No. 21-1195, is described by SCOTUSblog this way:  “Whether a ‘violation’ under the Bank Secrecy Act...

In a technical (and seemingly little) ruling, the Supreme Court reversed a procedural order in Shoop v. Twyford, No. 21-511 (S. Ct. June 21, 2022) (available here). The opinion for the Court was authored by Chief Justice Roberts, and it starts and ends this way: The All Writs Act authorizes federal courts to “issue all...

Last year in this post, I reported on a Mississippi state intermediate appeal court ruling that upheld a mandatory life without parole sentence for possession of over 30 grams of marijuana because the defendant was a violent habitual offender under Mississippi law.  Last week, the Supreme Court of Mississippi, by a 6-3 vote, affirmed this...

The title of this post is the title of this notable new article authored by Mark Osler now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: The presidency of Donald Trump may have produced the most chaotic use of the constitutional pardon power in American history. Trump granted clemency to war criminals, to close friends, to...

I am pleased to report that, with this posting, I am now fully caught up on posting a lot of recently produced papers that are part of the on-going series of student papers supported by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. As I have said in lots of prior posts,…

As it became more and more clear in recent months that there weren’t the votes in the Senate needed to pass any of the major federal marijuana legalization bills, federal reform discussions started to grow a bit boring. Whether and how the SAFE Banking bill might get enacted seemed to…

I just recently came across online the latest issue of the Brooklyn Law Review, and it is now high on my summer reading list. The abstract of the Foreword to the issue, penned by Kate Mogulescu, provides this context: On September 24, 2021, the Brooklyn Law Review brought together scholars looking at the role of...

This ACLU press release provides a summary of this notable new report from the ACLU and the University of Chicago Law School Global Human Rights Clinic concerning prison labor in the US.  Here is a excerpt: The first-of-its-kind report, Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Workers, examines the use of prison labor throughout state and federal prisons...

The title of this post is the title of this new paper now available via SSRN and authored by Gilles Grolleau, Murat C. Mungan and Naoufel Mzoughi. Here is its abstract: Punishment menus allow offenders to choose the punishment to which they will be subjected from a set of options.  We present several behaviorally informed...

This press release from the office of Representative Victoria Spartz reports on a notable new bill seeking to address concerns with so-called “trial penalties.”  Here is the text of the release: U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (IN-05) introduced the bipartisan ‘Right to Trial Act’ with her colleagues Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Kelly Armstrong (ND-AL), Karen Bass...

With its usual end-of-Term rush, the Supreme Court issued five more opinions and a dismissal (DIG) this morning.  But no blockbusters or sentencing rulings were among the cases resolved today, and I do not believe there will be any more opinion days until next Tuesday (June 21).  As I have suggested in prior posts, few...

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this interesting Marijuana Moment article headlined “New Details On Congressional Marijuana Omnibus Bill Emerge As Lawmakers Work For 60 Senate Votes.”  Here are some of the intriguing particulars from an extended piece worth reading in full: Two key congressmen made waves in the marijuana community on...

The title of this post is the title of this new report form the US Sentencing Commission.  This USSC webpage provides this basic overview and “Key Findings”: This report is the sixth in a series continuing the Commission’s study of the recidivism of federal offenders released in 2010. In this report, the Commission provides an...

The June 2022 issues of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, which is now available online here, seeks to shine a bright light on the huge (but too often overlooked) issue of community supervision in the federal criminal justice system.  As an editor FSR, I can say all the editors were deeply grateful for LawProf Jacob Schuman’s...

I am pleased to report that I am almost fully caught up on posting a lot of recently produced papers that are part of the on-going series of student papers supported by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. I continue to relish the he chance to highlight great work by…

As reported in this Des Moines Register article, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an interesting ruling refusing to extend an Eighth Amendment right protecting juvenile murderers. Here are the basics: Two Iowans who were sentenced to life in prison for murders committed when they were teenagers must stay incarcerated, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on...

The Supreme Court this morning handed down an order list and five new opinions (partially blogged here and here).  Though the Court issued a number of opinions on criminal (or criminal-adjacent) procedural issues, we did not today get a ruling in any of the six notable cases that I flagged in this post last week. ...

Fittingly, with the House’s on-going January 6 committee hearings, the Associated Press has this new article reviewing in some detail the nearly 200 sentences so far given to January 6 riot defendants.  I recommend the piece, and its cool interactive graphics, in full.  Here are excerpts: As the number of people sentenced for crimes in...

The Supreme Court this morning handed down a criminal procedure decision in Denezpi v. US, No. 20–7622 (S. Ct. June 13, 2022) (available here), with this uncommon 6-3 combination of Justices: BARRETT, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J., and THOMAS, BREYER, ALITO, and KAVANAUGH, JJ., joined. GORSUCH, J., filed...