Sentencing Law and Policy Web Log



Sentencing Law and Policy Web Log

Table of Contents

January 1, 2005 through January 11, 2005

January 11, 2005 1

A bold (and silly?) prediction 1

Another SCOTUS case to deal with (collateral) Blakely concerns? 1

Reading for a virtual waiting room 2

Thinking about new federal reform dynamics 2

In other sentencing news 3

More waiting: still no Booker and Fanfan 3

Predicting the unpredictable 3

January 10, 2005 4

Interesting US Sentencing Commission transition 4

Dealing during the interregnum 4

Is it finally the big week? 5

Brand new year, same old Blakely 5

Who is in federal prison: the debate continues 6

News from the Nutmeg State 6

January 9, 2005 7

Important reading as we prepare for a new sentencing era 7

January 8, 2005 8

DOJ left hand meet DOJ right hand 8

Indiana capital commutation and other capital news 9

Gonzales hearing highlights (torture-free) 10

Still more death penalty SCOTUS litigation 11

January 7, 2005 11

Death penalty litigation updates 11

A (too?) clever Blakely plea attempt 12

A few quick notes from AALS 12

Strange 10th Circuit holding 12

January 6, 2005 13

Big reports from Indiana and Minnesota 13

Blakely not a problem in Idaho 13

Sentencing and religion 14

The power of the headline-making crime 15

Pitched battle over federal sentencing of elderly offender 16

Interesting state Blakely reports 16

January 5, 2005 17

Holiday season highlights 17

January 4, 2005 18

State Blakely cases ring in the new year 18

Gearing up for the Gonzales hearing 18

Justice Breyer on the Blakely front lines (sort of) 19

(Copious) capital commentary 19

Could Booker/Fanfan impact the Chief Justice sweepstakes? 20

The economic costs of capital punishment 20

The machinery of death being turned back on 21

Sentencing events at AALS meeting 21

January 3, 2005 22

Sentencing Commission work in NJ 22

Notable (non-Blakely) state sentencing stories 23

Calm before the storm? 23

January 2, 2005 23

Gearing up for a exciting sentencing month 23

Compelling capital work by federal district judges 24

Sunday's stimulating sentencing stories 25

January 1, 2005 25

Suggesting sentencing resolutions 25

CJ Rehnquist sets notable themes for 2005 26

January 11, 2005

A bold (and silly?) prediction

As noted previously, tomorrow the Supreme Court will hand down one or more decisions, but then, after tomorrow, the following Tuesday or Wednesday (Jan. 18 or 19) seem to be the next earliest possible decision days. Just for fun, I am going to predict now that tomorrow we won't see Booker and Fanfan, but we will see a decision in Roper v. Simmons, the juvenile death penalty case that has both sentencing and international law significance (background here and here).

I make this prediction in part because, as noted by SCOTUSBlog and Law Dork, Justices Scalia and Breyer have plans later this week to have "A Conversation on the Relevance of Foreign Law for American Constitutional Adjudication" at American University. (All the details on the event and a link for live viewing are here.) I think the Justices' conversation would be enhanced by the release of Roper before the event. (This is, of course, just silly speculation of the kind that used to get me in trouble with this (now defunct?) blog.)

That all said, applying Murphy's Law, I should probably predict we will get Booker and Fanfan tomorrow because a decision tomorrow could put a big wrinkle in the workshop I am scheduled to do later this week at the UNC School of Law.

January 11, 2005 at 05:14 PM

Another SCOTUS case to deal with (collateral) Blakely concerns?

A crackerjack reader has brought to my attention the fact that, in the Supreme Court's grant of cert. last week in Halbert v. Michigan, 03-10198 (available here), the second question presented could be of significance in the post-Blakely world. Here is the question in full form:

Is Petitioner entitled to resentencing, where counsel failed to render effective assistance by not objecting to improper scoring under Michigan's sentencing guidelines which resulted in Petitioner receiving a considerably longer sentence?

Though, obviously, this question does not directly confront Blakely issues, any further elaboration on the meaning and application of ineffective assistance in the context of (noncapital) sentencing representation could be of great import in the wake of Blakely. The Supreme Court's discussion of these matters in Glover v United States, 531 US 198 (2001), set out only the most basic of considerations.

(And yet, as suggested by Jonathan Soglin at Criminal Appeal in this post, it is not clear that the ineffectiveness question in Halbert v. Michigan is of real concern to the High Court. As detailed by SCOTUSblog in this post, the Court clearly took Halbert to address "the constitutionality of a Michigan procedure that denies a free lawyer to aid an individual who has pleaded guilty but who wants to seek a discretionary appeal in a higher court." The Court sought to confront that issue earlier this Term in Kowalski v. Judicial Circuit Court (03-407), but a standing problem got in its way.)

January 11, 2005 at 04:24 PM

Reading for a virtual waiting room

While we all wait for Booker and Fanfan, I can suggest some useful (old and new) sentencing reading materials to keep us occupied in this virtual waiting room:

Though now nearly two months old, the US Sentencing Commission's 15-year report deserves, in my view, far more attention than it has received. (The full report can be accessed here, its executive summary can be accessed here, and my summary of the executive summary is here.)

Though now essentially one month old, I just received my advance hard copy of the latest Federal Sentencing Reporter issue covering Blakely — FSR Volume 17, Number 2 (Dec. 2004) entitled "Further Implications of Blakely." (That issue and other FSR issues are available on-line here.)

Hot off the presses, the Winter 2005 issue of the Criminal Justice magazine, which is published quarterly by the Criminal Justice Section of the ABA, has a lengthy cover story on Blakely, as well as a shorter article on the recommendations of the ABA's Kennedy Commission, along with its usual collection of fine criminal justice commentary and analysis. (I wrote the Blakely piece, which is entitled "The Roots and Realities of Blakely," and I am told the issue should appear at this site before long.)

In addition, the set of comments flowing from this morning's post about the non-arrival of Booker and Fanfan make for compelling and informative reading of a different sort.

January 11, 2005 at 03:48 PM

Thinking about new federal reform dynamics

With no Booker and Fanfan today, I have at least another 24 hours to speculate about the post-Booker federal sentencing world. And, though I have previously commented on how fast Congress might react to Booker and Fanfan, today I am wondering how the move of US Sentencing Commissioner Michael O'Neill to become chief counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee (details here) might impact the sentencing work of both bodies.

At November's USSC hearings (summaries here and here), the questions coming from the Commissioners suggested a possible divide within the USSC over the so-called Bowman fix (aka "topless guidelines") if SCOTUS applies Blakely to the federal sentencing guidelines. As I recall, Commissioners O'Neill and Horowitz seemed to be trying figure out how topless guidelines might work, while Commissioner Sessions seemed concerned about re-building the federal system on the shaky precedent of Harris. I wonder if O'Neill might bring to his new job an affinity for topless guidelines (recall, as detailed here, that topless guidelines seem to be favored by the Justice Department).

Also, it is worth noting that, until O'Neill is replaced on the USSC, there is the potential for the Commission to be evenly split (3-3) on any key votes. For that reason and others, I am hopeful (though not particularly optimistic) that the President can name, and the Senate can confirm, a new Commissioner in short order.

Of course, in Congress and the USSC, nothing can or will move forward until we see Booker and Fanfan. And my sources report that, if the decision does not come tomorrow, then the following Tuesday or Wednesday (Jan. 18 or 19) seems to be the next earliest possible decision day. But if the decision does come tomorrow, I think it is possible there will be hearings in Congress and/or in the USSC before the end of January.

January 11, 2005 at 11:38 AM

In other sentencing news

Though, yet again, there is no sentencing news from SCOTUS, there are recent developments in a number of other on-going sentencing dramas.

In the death penalty arena, there is news from Connecticut and from California that legal efforts to block executions scheduled for later this month are not succeeding. This article from the Hartford Courant reports on two courts rejecting efforts to slow down the march of "volunteer" Michael Ross to the death chamber, and this article from details the rejection of a novel legal claim by Donald Beardslee by a US District Judge in California.

In the arena of federal sentencing, this article details an on-going battle between the Sixth Circuit and US District Judge Tom Varlan over the sentencing of an elderly man caught selling guns at a flea market. The article is focused on the Sixth Circuit's ruling last week in US v. Allman, No. 04-5313 (6th Cir. Jan. 6, 2005), in which the Court finds no valid basis for the large downward departure granted by the district court. (Note that this is not the same case previously discussed here also involving an inter-court feud over the sentencing of a severely ill man in his 80s, although both defendants are among the 23 East Tennessee men — known in court circles as "the geriatrics" — nabbed by the ATF in an undercover operation. It seems clear from these cases that everyone should be sure to tell their grandparents not to expect any sentencing breaks in the Sixth Circuit.)

January 11, 2005 at 10:38 AM

More waiting: still no Booker and Fanfan

According to Lyle Denniston at SCOTUS Blog here, today is another no-show for Booker and Fanfan. We may have only one more day to wait, since opinions are also due to be released tomorrow, but now I am starting to think the Supreme Court is enjoying teasing all of us.

January 11, 2005 at 10:09 AM

Predicting the unpredictable

Despite my prior false predictions of the coming of Booker and Fanfan, there is now some historical precedent for thinking the decision is imminent. The last major challenge to the federal guidelines' constitutionality in Mistretta v. US was argued on October 5, 1988 and decided January 18, 1989. So, even if we do not get Booker and Fanfan today or tomorrow, history suggests the decision should be coming soon.

Rather than make bold predictions, I will simply note that, in addition to Booker and Fanfan, it is possible we will see this week opinions in Roper v. Simmons, the juvenile death penalty case, and in Shepard v. US, the criminal history case. Then again, it is also possible we are due for more waiting.

While we wait, here is a list of a few recent "gearing up" posts:

Is it finally the big week?

Is it finally Booker/Fanfan eve?

Here we go again

Gearing up for Booker and Fanfan

Booker and Fanfan pre-reading guide

Additonal posts of note and other background materials on Blakely and Booker and Fanfan can also be found on my Blakely Basics page. And a wealth of additional information can be accessed through the various Booker/Fanfan and Blakely page links in the right side-bar.

January 11, 2005 at 08:01 AM

January 10, 2005

Interesting US Sentencing Commission transition

I have heard tonight that Senator Arlen Specter, new chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has picked US Sentencing Commissioner Michael O'Neill to be the Senate Judiciary Committee's next chief counsel. O'Neill is a former committee staffer and he currently is a law professor at George Mason (which has this announcement about O'Neill's appointment).

The Legal Times has this quote from O'Neill about his new position: "Part of the reason I took this job is that I anticipate being able to do oversight on the DOJ, and the possibility of working on Supreme Court nominations." He also said, "It's such an historic time to be on the committee." Of course, it is also an historic time to be involved with the US Sentencing Commission, but it looks like that body will be one Commissioner short until the President names a replacement for O'Neill.

January 10, 2005 at 10:12 PM

Dealing during the interregnum

A few months ago I commented on post-Blakely, pre-Booker delays, deals and dodges, and I hope someone systematically studies these matters whenever this interregnum come to a close (which may be real soon). Triggering my interest today, in addition to the recent report on former Connecticut Gov. Rowland's plea deal (detailed here), is news from the White Collar Crim Prof Blog on seemingly sweet federal deals made in another public fraud case and a criminal copyright case.

I wonder if the US Sentencing Commission or others might be able to compare the number and nature of deals made pre- and post-Blakely. Just another fertile area for inquiry (and more proof Blakely ensures permanent employment for sentencing academics and researchers).

UPDATE: And speaking of interesting plea dynamics, this article updates a story, first noted here, concerning an effort by a Chicago white-collar offender to plead guilty to fraud changes without admitting to any Blakely factors.

January 10, 2005 at 05:34 PM

Is it finally the big week?

I now have heard from three sources that the Supreme Court has announced that it will be issuing decisions on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Thus, it is time, yet again, to strike up the (false?) alarm for the possible arrival of Booker and Fanfan. (I realize my predictions are now even less credible than the wolf-crying boy's, but that won't stop me from saying, yet again, that we may be only days away from the start of the next era of sentencing reform.)

I have already done many, many posts anticipating Booker/Fanfan posts, some of which can be found here and here. However, since the last possible Booker sighting, a number of more recent posts have spotlight relevant recent developments. Thus, as we gear up yet again, here are a few more posts I am planning to review tonight:

CJ Rehnquist sets notable themes for 2005

Highlights of a remarkable USSC document

The WSJ on the federal Blakely mess

Holiday season highlights

Suggesting sentencing resolutions

In addition, I think everyone contemplating the future of federal sentencing law and policy should give considerable attention to (1) The Sentencing Project's most recent 3-page report entitled "The Federal Prison Population: A Statistical Analysis," and (2) the important comments by Republican Senators about emphasizing rehabilitation coming from the Gonzales hearing last week.

January 10, 2005 at 03:06 PM

Brand new year, same old Blakely

Though the cases are now dated 2005, the lower court Blakely rulings of the new year look a lot like what we saw the last few months of 2004. Notably, in just the first week of 2005, there were nearly 50 cases discussing or noting Blakely coming on-line from an array of federal and state courts. (California, not surprisingly, continues to set the Blakely caselaw pace with over a dozen Blakely on-line rulings for the week alone).

Based on an all-too-quick-review, the most notable or consequential Blakely cases from last week — besides the Idaho Supreme Court ruling discussed here and developments in Alaska and Ohio and Washington detailed here and here — appear to be:

State v. Timmons, 2005 Ariz. App. LEXIS 1 (Jan. 7, 2005) (vacating a sentencing on Blakely grounds while covering a number of important Blakely issues)

State v. Noe, 2005 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 7 (Jan. 7, 2005) (reducing a sentence from six years to five years, over a dissent, on Blakely grounds)

US v. Swanson, 2005 WL 30507 (7th Cir. Jan. 07, 2005) (ordering resentencing on non-Blakely grounds, though also asserting that the "decisions in Blakely, Booker, and Fanfan, however do not affect the manner in which findings of restitution or forfeiture amounts must be made")

January 10, 2005 at 02:11 PM

Who is in federal prison: the debate continues

Late last month here I noted and questioned some recent representations about sentencing and prison populations being made by the US Justice Department. Valuably, both FAMM and The Sentencing Project have recently weighed in on this important topic.

First, FAMM president Julie Stewart responded to some DOJ claims about sentencing and crime rates in a letter to the editor published by the Washington Post, the text of which can be accessed here. Second, and of enormous value, The Sentencing Project has just produced this brief report entitled "The Federal Prison Population: A Statistical Analysis."

As detailed more fully in its report, The Sentencing Project finds that the Justice Department's representation that "two-thirds of all federal prisoners are in prison for violent crimes or had a prior criminal record before being incarcerated" distorts the composition of the federal prison system by conflating categories of offenders. According to The Sentencing Project, "nearly three-fourths (72.1%) of federal prisoners are non-violent offenders with no history of violence."

This report is a must read for its overview of the federal prison population — including growth trends, racial disparities, drug offense sentencing — especially because there will surely be a robust debate over federal sentencing policies and practices in the wake of Booker and Fanfan.

January 10, 2005 at 12:10 PM

News from the Nutmeg State

After a day of travel, I am back on east coast time and trying to get ready for what might be a big week. But while we wait for Booker and Fanfan, there are interesting capital and noncapital sentencing stories from Connecticut.

In the capital arena, the planned execution of serial killer Michael Ross continues to garner much attention in Connecticut. How Appealing has assembled some of yesterday's stories here, and this morning there are stories on the costs the case has generated, "on the street" reactions, and USA Today has drawn on the case in this article discussing broader death penalty developments.

In the noncapital arena, this New York Times article provides an interesting analysis of former Connecticut Governor John Rowland's federal plea deal (previously discussed here and here). Many passages from the article seem to undermine the notion that the federal sentencing guidelines make offense conduct, rather than discretionary decisions by prosecutors or sentencing judges, the key determinate of sentences imposed:

Lawyers said the timing [of his plea deal] increased Mr. Rowland's chance of being sentenced by a senior Federal District Court judge [Peter Dorsey]who has been challenged by prosecutors in the past for leniency.... Judge Dorsey "would appear to be a great draw for Rowland," said Eugene Riccio, a Bridgeport lawyer who represents individuals in the investigation....

Lawyers familiar with the case said the end result had more to do with federal sentencing guidelines ... than with the sum of his transgressions.

They said prosecutors wanted Mr. Rowland to admit to taking gifts worth at least $70,000, to bolster their case that the 15- to 21-month recommended sentence he faced as a public official under the guidelines was warranted. As long as that figure was reached, the lawyers said, prosecutors were willing to give Mr. Rowland leeway on which gifts to acknowledge as improper. At the same time, Mr. Dow sought to keep the figure below $120,000; even a tad more would have added three months to the recommended prison time.

In the end, the $107,000 compromise paved the way for the recommendation that Mr. Rowland receive a 15- to 21-month sentence, which Judge Dorsey can accept or increase or decrease.

January 10, 2005 at 09:20 AM

January 9, 2005

Important reading as we prepare for a new sentencing era

For me, my working time at this conference concluded with a great informal Blakely chat this morning with nearly two dozen colleagues. I learned a lot from the dialogue and got excited (yet again) for the possibility we may see Booker and Fanfan as early as this coming week.

Helpfully, just in time as we gear up for the opinion, Villanova Professor (and FSR editor) Steve Chanenson has finalized a terrific article fittingly entitled "The Next Era of Sentencing Reform." The full article can be downloaded below and here is a portion of the abstract:

This article charts a path for criminal sentencing in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent bombshell decision in Blakely v. Washington. Blakely has thrust sentencing systems across the country into turmoil. But Justice O'Connor was fundamentally wrong when, in her Blakely dissent, she exclaimed that "Over 20 years of sentencing reform are all but lost." All is most assuredly not lost. Blakely, properly viewed, is an opportunity - albeit a disruptive one - to re-think and improve our sentencing systems....

The Supreme Court will soon decide whether [Blakely] applies to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Regardless of what the Court chooses to do, Congress and the state legislatures are re-evaluating their sentencing systems and looking for Blakely-compliant options.

This article does not seek to shape the Court's opinion, or to predict its decision. Instead, it charts a path for legislatures, sentencing commissions, and sentencing scholars. In this article, I set the groundwork for understanding fundamental elements of sentencing, and show the pieces moved by Blakely. I then examine several popular systemic responses to Blakely. Ultimately, I find their various strengths outweighed by their substantial weaknesses.

In the final section, I propose a new approach that would not only survive Blakely's constitutional commands but can lead us into the next era of sentencing reform. This proposal is not merely a Blakely "fix," but a proposal that retains fidelity to the concerns and principles that led, over the past 30 years, to the modern sentencing reform revolution, and to structured sentencing systems. I propose a system of Indeterminate Structured Sentencing ("ISS"). ISS is an indeterminate sentencing system (that is, a system that includes parole release authority) in which a Super Commission guides both the sentencing and release functions. An ISS system honors judicial discretion but acknowledges the value of structural checks and balances. It permits high sentences in cases where a judge believes them appropriate while limiting the pressure to increase sentences across the board. ISS offers a balanced approach to sentencing that satisfies Blakely while simultaneously being sensible, just, and grounded in sentencing history, theory and practice.

Download chanenson_next_era_of_sentencing_reform_012005.doc

And, after you have read this terrific article, if you still need more to feed your Blakely fix, I am happy to help. Actually, my research assistant deserves the credit for having completed another easy-to-print Word version (with embedded links and a TOC) of the text of this blog covering the last six weeks' posts in 2004. This document can be downloaded below, and prior installments of Word versions of the blog, organized by date, can be found here and here and here.

Download sentencing_blog_nov_15_through_dec_31.doc

January 9, 2005 at 12:18 AM

January 8, 2005

DOJ left hand meet DOJ right hand

On Thursday, as detailed here, AG nominee Alberto Gonzales testified to Congress that he believes "there is a segment of the prison population — juveniles, ... first-time, maybe sometimes second-time offenders — who can be rehabilitated." He also said, "I think it is not only smart, but I think it's the right thing to do. I think it is part of a compassionate society to give someone another chance."

On Friday, we get news of a much different story on rehabilitation. According to this article from Buffalo, the "Bush administration plans to eliminate a shock incarceration program that many considered a progressive way to help first-time offenders avoid long federal prison terms." Here are some highlights, or should I say lowlights, from the article:

While no formal announcement has been made, Carla Wilson, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman in Washington, confirmed Friday that the 14-year-old Intensive Confinement Program will be discontinued. "Yes, we got word that it's being phased out," she said. "I don't have a lot of information on it at this point."...

"We've been told by (prison officials) that they felt the program was not cost-effective and was not successful at preventing people from becoming repeat offenders," one court official said.

The program was designed for younger, nonviolent, first-time convicts who faced no more than 30 months in federal prison. Those who qualified spent six months in an intensive "boot camp" that provided strict discipline, job training and counseling, followed by time in a community halfway house and home confinement.

Plans to close down the program drew a negative reaction from a federal judge in Buffalo and from defense attorneys, who called it a rare glimmer of hope for young people entering the criminal justice system.

"I'm shocked," said District Judge William M. Skretny, who has recommended about 60 defendants for the program since becoming a judge in 1990. "I'd be very disappointed if this shutdown goes forward. I've had prisoners write to me after going through the program and tell me what a positive experience it has been in their lives."

"This is a step backward for the rehabilitation of criminals," said Timothy W. Hoover, a federal public defender. "This is the crown jewel of the federal prison system. It helps people to get their lives on track. They're shutting it down without even consulting with the most important people - the judges who do the sentencing." Hoover said he contacted the Bureau of Prisons on Friday and was told rumors of the program's demise were true....

The shutdown also upset Mary Price, general counsel to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a 35,000-member nationwide group that has been lobbying for sentencing reforms in the federal and state courts.

"This is the kind of program that President Bush and his administration should love," she said. "It's a program designed to give people the tools to improve themselves and get back into the world. At a time when federal sentencing and law seem to be moving in the wrong direction, this program was a beacon. It's all about rehabilitation."

January 8, 2005 at 01:19 PM

Indiana capital commutation and other capital news

As detailed in this article, out-going Indiana Governor Joe Kernan yesterday commuted the death sentence of Michael W. Daniels to life without parole for his 1978 murder of a minister during a petty robbery that netted $1. As the article details, this is Gov. Kernan's second capital commutation and his written explanation asserts these cases "should cause us to take a hard look at how Indiana administers and reviews capital sentences."

The four-page statement by Gov. Kernan in support of this commutation, available here, is a fascinating read which covers many issues including ineffective assistance of counsel, proportionality and the defendant's low IQ. The statement partially undermines and partially underscores some of Professor Austin Sarat's recent commentary about clemency in capital cases.

And there are other interesting death penalty stories, in addition to the SCOTUS cert. grants, to review this morning:

From Alabama, this story details that the state's Court of Criminal Appeals had to commute a death sentence because the offender's mental retardation meant, after Atkins v. Virginia, he could be constitutionally executed.

From Connecticut, this story discusses the first bill filed in the state legislature to eliminate the death penalty and possibly block the looming execution of serial killer Michael Ross. Relatedly, this article details that the state's Roman Catholic bishops are asking followers to sign a petition opposing the death penalty (which spotlights issues noted in my recent Sentencing and religion post).

January 8, 2005 at 09:52 AM

Gonzales hearing highlights (torture-free)

Busy at this conference, I did not get a chance to see any of the confirmation hearings for AG nominee Alberto Gonzales. But one of my great research assistants was kind enough to provide me excerpts with some Q & A on topics other than the torture memos. These excerpts, which can downloaded below, all make for quite interesting reading.

As I expected, there was a little sparing over Gonzales' capital clemency memos for then-Governor Bush in Texas (background here). But much more interesting, and a lot more encouraging, were some questions from Senators about Gonzales' support for greater rehabilitation programming for federal prisoners.

Notably, and perhaps not surprisingly, it was Republican Senators Sam Brownback and Tom Coburn and Arlen Specter who had the courage to talk about being smart on crime as well as tough on crime. As set forth in the first set of excerpts below, Senator Brownback, after noting President Bush's discussion of re-entry issues in his 2004 State of the Union address, promoted his bill for providing intensive treatment and counseling as prisoners are approaching release; Senator Coburn stressed drug crimes and stated boldly "we ought to be doing drug treatment rather than incarceration"; and Senator Specter asserted that these issues are "going to be a priority for the Judiciary Committee this year and next year and into the foreseeable future," and he stressed the importance of distinguishing violent and non-violent criminals. Among other responses, AG nominee Gonzales said on these issues:

I agree ... that for people who commit violent crimes and are career criminals, they should remain in our prisons. But there is a segment of the prison population — juveniles, for an example, as you mentioned, and first-time, maybe sometimes second- time offenders — who can be rehabilitated.

And as I said earlier in response to a question, I think it is not only smart, but I think it's the right thing to do. I think it is part of a compassionate society to give someone another chance.

Download gonzales_hearing_excerpts_part_1.doc

In the second set of excerpts below, after more discussion of the clemency memos, Senator Dick Durbin spotlighted racial inequality in both capital and noncapital sentencing and also asked Gonzales directly his opinion of mandatory minimum sentencing. Gonzales' answers here were a bit more evasive, but I was pleased to see he was up on the legal realities. Here's the money quote from Gonzales on my favorite topic:

The sentencing guidelines are subject to litigation being reviewed now by the Supreme Court. And so we're all waiting to see whether or not, under Booker and Fanfan, that the court's going to apply the Blakely decision to the sentencing guidelines. And if that happens, I suspect you and I and other — if I’m confirmed — other members of the committee will be spending a lot of time talking about sentencing issues.

Download gonzales_hearing_excerpts_part_2.doc

January 8, 2005 at 09:23 AM

Still more death penalty SCOTUS litigation

As effectively documented in this AP article, the Supreme Court yesterday granted cert. on two more death penalty cases. Interestingly, both cases involve state appeals of lower court victories by death row inmates.

Also quite interesting is that both cases come from the 6th Circuit, which is not thought to be an especially liberal court (although, as these cases show, the 6th Circuit has often been more searching in their review of capital cases). I am inclined to joke that perhaps the cert. petitions in these cases were handed to the Justices upside-down so they thought they were granting cert. on two 9th Circuit death penalty reversals.

January 8, 2005 at 08:23 AM

January 7, 2005

Death penalty litigation updates

I previously noted here that, though December was death-penalty free, January would be an active death penalty month, especially because Connecticut is poised to have its first execution in the modern capital era and California is scheduled to have its first execution in a number of years.

Thanks to Howard Bashman at How Appealing, I can provide updates on both of these capital stories. At this post here, Howard has collected an array of articles and links concerning the legal battle over the planned execution of serial killer Michael Ross, who has voluntarily waived his remaining appeals and adamantly opposed others trying to halt his execution. And here, Howard has the latest articles detailing Donald Beardslee latest failed efforts to get a court to disrupt his scheduled January 19 execution.

January 7, 2005 at 06:50 PM

A (too?) clever Blakely plea attempt

With many thanks to a reader for the tip, I can note this fascinating article from Chicago discussing a federal white-collar offender's attempt to plea guilty without "Blakely" enhancements. As the article details, prosecutors have urged US District Judge Elaine Bucklo to reject the defendant's guilty plea as "fluff."

January 7, 2005 at 11:40 AM

A few quick notes from AALS

As detailed in this post, yesterday at the AALS conference the McGeorge School of Law's Capital Center for Government Law and Policy hosted a breakfast meeting to discuss this proposal for wholesale reform of California's sentencing practices. The discussion was provocative (and the food copious), and I hope the proposed blue-ribbon commission becomes a reality.

Interestingly, as well covered by TalkLeft here and this LA Times article, "Schwarzenegger administration officials Thursday unveiled a new model [for the operation of California's prisons which] aims to reduce crime by better preparing inmates for life on the outside." Though corrections reform and sentencing reform are distinct issues, the concerns intersect and overlap in important ways.

Also, at the lunch of the Criminal Justice Section, I rambled on for too long about blogging (but, as my students know, that is not uncommon when I am talking about sentencing and have the podium). Thankfully, Ellen Podgor of the White Collar Crime Prof Blog does a lovely job here making my ramblings seem insightful. Thanks, Ellen.

I am especially exited for this afternoon's session on "The Rehabilitation of Rehabilitation" (detail at this link), though I am a bit grumpy it will be rain and more rain here in SF now until I head back to Ohio. At least the family and I got to see the sea lions at Pier 39 yesterday.

January 7, 2005 at 11:28 AM

Strange 10th Circuit holding

To date, I believe that the Tenth Circuit has not formally ruled on Blakely's applicability to the federal guidelines. But an opaque recent decision from a Tenth Circuit panel seems to suggest that Blakely has not altered the application of the federal sentencing guidelines at all.

In United States v. Sharbutt, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 122 (10th Cir. Jan. 5, 2005), the court repeatedly cites and quotes post-Apprendi, pre-Blakely cases in support of the proposition that the Sixth Amendment "does not apply to sentencing factors that increase a defendant's guideline range but do not increase the statutory maximum." But, of course, Blakely is so consequential because it seems to change this understanding of Apprendi's reach. And, confusing matters in Sharbutt, the court also makes reference to the Apprendi/Blakely exception for "prior convictions," although it seems the defendant in Sharbutt is objecting to judicial fact-finding relating to his possessing a firearm in connection with drug distribution.

Because the Sharbutt ruling is unpublished, only the defendant and his lawyer will have to figure it out. But the case is further evidence that, even six months after Blakely, applications of the decision can be quite confused.

January 7, 2005 at 01:08 AM

January 6, 2005

Big reports from Indiana and Minnesota

I was planning to blog a bit less while at this conference, but there is just too much exciting stuff going on for me to stay away from the computer. Most notably today, I have received word of two (huge) reports on state sentencing from Indiana and Minnesota:

From Indiana, Marcia Oddi of Indiana Law Blog spotlight the state's recent "Final Report of the Sentencing Policy Study Committee" (which can be accessed here). The report runs a total of 142 pages(!), but has a helpful executive summary and seems packed with interesting information on a broad range of sentencing issues. And Marcia Oddi spotlights the Blakely parts in this helpful post, which details that the Committee is recommending statutory changes to "Blakely-ize" Indiana's sentencing system.

From Minnesota, we get the state's Sentencing Guidelines Commission's "2005 Report to the Legislature" (which can be accessed here). It is (only!) 80+ pages long, but has a helpful executive summary which reviews Blakely issues and the sex offender developments recently noted here. The report also covers, with both data and notable graphics, other state sentencing developments.

January 6, 2005 at 09:13 PM

Blakely not a problem in Idaho

Thanks to a tip from a FOB ("friend of blog"), I can report on the first Blakely case that I know about from Idaho. Today, in Idaho v. Stover, No. 30313 (Idaho Jan. 6, 2005), the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that Blakely does not effect Idaho's "indeterminate sentencing system." Here's some key language from the opinion:

Idaho's sentencing scheme requires no findings of fact under I.C. § 19-2521... [and] the wording of the statute and Statement of Purpose plainly show these are true guidelines that merely suggest sentencing criteria for exercising the court’s discretion....

Idaho’s review of sentences is under an abuse of discretion standard and is not dependent upon specific fact finding enforced statute. Additionally, Idaho has specified sentences that may be enhanced, i.e., I.C. § 19-2520, extended sentences for use of a firearm or deadly weapon. All of these enhanced sentence schemes for firearm, drug amounts or prior convictions are submitted to the jury as part of the crime and proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Throughout I.C. § 19-2521, there are references to the full discretion of the sentencing judge. Idaho Code § 19-2521(1) in dealing with aggravating sentencing issues leaves to the "opinion" of the district court as to whether imprisonment is appropriate. The legislative history and statutory language are clear in stipulating that the district court’s decision-making process should include a review of I.C. § 19-2521 criteria but the district court’s own discretion or opinion is the final authority. When looking at the mitigating factors of I.C. § 19-2521(2) the statute states the “grounds, while not controlling the discretion of the court, shall be accorded weight.”...

Idaho’s sentencing scheme is unaffected by the holding in Blakely.

January 6, 2005 at 02:56 PM

Sentencing and religion

The intersection of sentencing issues and religion is a fascinating (and, in my view, underexamined) topic. These matters are actively percolating in the corrections setting, with the faith-based prison movement and a forthcoming Supreme Court case about RLUIPA (background here). We also often see opposition to the death penalty influenced by religious views, as evidenced by developments last year in Ohio and the work of Sister Helen Prejean. But on occasion, as evidenced by an intriguing Sixth Circuit case today, these matters can also intersect in individual sentencings. (Thanks to How Appealing and a reader for the tip.)

In today's Sixth Circuit decision in Arnett v. Jackson, No. 03-4375 (6th Cir. Jan. 6, 2005), a divided panel reversed a grant of habeas corpus in favor of a state prisoner in a child rape case. The district court granted habeas due to the state trial judge's reference to the Bible during petitioner's sentencing hearing, based on the conclusion that the "trial court's use of the Bible as a 'final source of authority' constituted an impermissible factor for sentencing."

The Sixth Circuit, over a vigorous dissent, disagreed: it contended that "the principle embedded in the referenced Biblical passage (of not harming young children) is fully consistent with Ohio’s sentencing consideration to the same effect," and it suggested that the state trial judge "cited to the Biblical passage to underscore the contention that our society has a long history of sternly punishing those people who hurt young children." The whole case is a very interesting read, as this provocative passage from the Judge Clay's dissent highlights:

If the Constitution sanctions such direct reliance on religious sources when imposing criminal sentences, then there is nothing to stop prosecutors and criminal defense lawyers from regularly citing religious sources like the Bible, the Talmud, or the Koran to justify their respective positions on punishment. The judge would be placed in the position of not only considering statutory sentencing factors, but also deciding which religious texts best justify a particular sentence. Under this approach, the judgments of trial courts could begin to resemble the fatwas of religious clerics, and the opinions of appellate courts echo the proclamations of the Sanhedrin. The result would be sentencing procedures that create the perception of the bench as a pulpit for which judges announce their personal sense of religiosity.

January 6, 2005 at 12:26 PM

The power of the headline-making crime

I have often lauded Minnesota for its handling of Blakely issues (see here and here), and Professor Richard Frase's recent article (discussed here) highlights Minnesota's guideline system as a model for other jurisdictions. But the latest news from Minnesota highlights that even this state can have its sentencing policy influenced greatly by one headline-making crime.

As detailed in this article, as a result of the disappearance of Dru Sjodin, a college student kidnapped from a North Dakota mall, the state has been considering sex-offender legislation and Governor Tim Pawlenty has labeled sex offenders "his number public safety issue." In this well-done editorial, the Minnesota Star-Tribune highlights the problem with such an approach to criminal justice policy-making:

Not every tragedy can be prevented by legislation. Not every crime is reason to revamp the criminal code. These are lessons Minnesota leaders should take to heart as they think about how to handle Minnesota's sex offenders. Though the topic sits near the top of this session's agenda, it's not at all clear that any of the various "reforms" so far proposed would actually enhance public safety.

It's easy to see why state leaders are now so keen to crank up sentences for sex crimes, They are properly horrified by the 2003 kidnapping and murder of student Dru Sjodin and the subsequent arrest of a just-released repeat sex offender for the crime. When constituents get riled about a particular crime, lawmakers scramble to toughen penalties.

It's a natural impulse, and this session has given rise to at least two proposals for cracking down on sex offenders: Gov. Tim Pawlenty's plan to require "indeterminate" prison terms for all sex offenders and a bid by the state's Sentencing Guidelines Commission to stretch sentences for all sex crimes and reserve indefinite terms only for serious repeaters. Both plans call for a parole board to decide whether and when inmates can be released.

Reviving the parole board is indeed appealing -- so long as it's empowered to consider all inmates' fates. The move would likely be unnecessary if the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, which replaced the board in 1982, were left alone to fulfill its term-setting charge. But the legislative habit of tinkering with sentence lengths has hobbled the commission's ability to assure a fair system of punishment -- thereby raising doubts about whether all wrongdoers are ending up where they should. In fact, it seems likely that many Minnesotans would agree that too many prison beds are now filled by offenders who could more readily be helped and held to account in some other venue....

Lawmakers should be skeptical of all proposals to revamp Minnesota's approach to managing sex offenders. After all, it could very well be that the current system generally works very well -- so long as people follow the rules. The heartbreak of Sjodin's murder -- a crime for which Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. stands accused -- can't be attributed to a flaw in state law.... This isn't to say that state sex-crime laws couldn't benefit from fine-tuning. But it's simply incorrect to blame Sjodin's death on feeble state statutes. Fault is more properly placed on a moment of misjudgment, most certainly related to cost-saving pressures within state departments. It could be that the smartest thing lawmakers can do this year is to assure that the programs charged with handling sex offenders have everything they need to perform well.

January 6, 2005 at 10:26 AM

Pitched battle over federal sentencing of elderly offender

Today's Knoxville News Sentinel has this remarkable article about a long-running battle over the sentencing of a severely ill 84-year-old federal gun offender. Here's the lead:

A veteran judge on Wednesday refused to imprison an 84-year-old man, defying federal sentencing guidelines, the Justice Department and an appellate court mandate.

The judge is Senior US District Court Judge James H. Jarvis, and the article reports that Judge Jarvis said he could not, in good conscience, imprison the defendant:

"I think it'd be cruel and inhuman treatment to put this man in the general prison population in the state he's in now," Jarvis said. "We've got to do our best to do justice." The judge did, however, order Bostic to be under house arrest and electronically monitored for a year.

January 6, 2005 at 02:23 AM

Interesting state Blakely reports

After a long but enjoyably uneventful trip to attend this conference, I am now on-line and on west coast time. And, upon checking my e-mail, I was pleased to find two reports about recent state Blakely developments. I hope the helpful correspondents won't mind me sharing their text verbatim:

From a correspondent in Alaska: "The Alaska Court of Appeals issued a decision in Alaska v. Gibbs, No. A-8953 (Alaska App. Jan 5, 2005), involving a straight application of Blakely. The court held that a sentence of unsuspended imprisonment that was less than the statutory maximum did not violate Blakely. The possibility that additional imprisonment might be imposed, if the defendant's probation were revoked, and thus violate Blakely was not yet ripe."

From a correspondent in Ohio: "The Ninth District Court of Appeals ruled today that Blakely does not apply to Ohio sentencing statutes calling them an indeterminate sentencing scheme. Cases are State v. Jenkins CA 22008 [2005 Ohio 11; 2005 Ohio App. LEXIS 5 (Ohio App. Jan. 5, 2005)] and State v. Rowles CA 22007."

In addition, I see on-line that Washington is keeping Blakely busy in the new year with another Blakely reversal: State v. Smith, 2005 Wash. App. LEXIS 16 (Wash. App. Jan. 4, 2005). (Other 2005 Washington rulings are detailed here.) Smith is notable because it generates a dissent over Blakely's applicability in a sex offender case involving a unique provision of Washington's sentencing law.

January 6, 2005 at 01:29 AM

January 5, 2005

Holiday season highlights

I am off to the big law professors' conference in San Francisco (details here) this afternoon, which likely means no more blogging today and light blogging until next week. For anyone interested in using this break to catch up on notable sentencing developments from the holiday season, here's a list of some major posts of note from the last two weeks:

Federal Blakely issues

CJ Rehnquist sets notable themes for 2005

Highlights of a remarkable USSC document

The WSJ on the federal Blakely mess

A Blakely Festivus for the rest of us

State Blakely issues

More Blakely state reports

The state of Blakely in various states

Blakely's Hawaiian punch

Death Penalty

Reviewing the death penalty nationwide and in one California case

A January comeback for the death penalty?

The death penalty coming and going

Contrasting capital reconsiderations

Clemency and Pardons

The capital story of clemency

Interesting state pardon stories

The Washington Post on Bush's pardons

Bush's stingy pardon practice

More pardon buzz

Also, for anyone interested in (yet again) gearing up for a possible decision in Booker and Fanfan next week, here are some of my prior "pre-decision" posts:

'twas the morning before Booker?

Here we go again

Gearing up for Booker and Fanfan

Booker and Fanfan pre-reading guide

And, lots of additional posts of note and other background materials on Blakely and Booker and Fanfan can also be found on my Blakely Basics page.

January 5, 2005 at 01:00 PM

January 4, 2005

State Blakely cases ring in the new year

I joked here that I was waiting to see which court would be the first to issue a noteworthy Blakely ruling in 2005. Perhaps fittingly, the honor goes to the Washington state courts, which already has two new year Blakely rulings on-line: State v. Fero, 2005 WL 15171 (Wash. App. Div. 2, Jan. 04, 2005) and State v. Cartwright, 2005 WL 12021 (Wash. App. Div. 1, Jan 03, 2005). And, for those scoring at home, we also have on-line Blakely decisions from California and New Jersey this new year. See People v. Standifer, 2005 WL 15449 (Cal. App. 2 Dist. Jan. 04, 2005); State v. Vasquez, 2005 N.J. Super. LEXIS 4 (NJ App. Div. Jan. 4, 2005).

The Fero case is the most notable of the bunch because it (1) reverses a sentence based on Blakely, (2) concludes that "the plain line of Apprendi, Neder, and Blakely, [establish that a Blakely violation] is a structural error and harmless error cannot apply," but (3) decides that the trial court may on remand "empanel a jury to consider aggravating factors without violating double jeopardy or the separation of powers." On the second point, one judge weighs in with a thoughtful "dissent from that portion of the opinion holding that Blakely violations are structural errors requiring automatic reversal."

Significantly, as detailed here, an Illinois appellate court has also concluded that a Blakely error ought now to be viewed as structural error and not allow for harmless error analysis, although that court felt bound to conduct harmless error analysis because of rulings of its state Supreme Court. It is thus increasingly evident that the nature of Blakely error is another tough doctrinal issue that SCOTUS might need to resolve in the near future.

January 4, 2005 at 11:27 PM

Gearing up for the Gonzales hearing

AG nominee Alberto Gonzales' role in the "torture memos" is the top story going into his confirmation hearings this week (as detailed in this article and How Appealing's collection here). But Gonzales' memos advising then-Texas Governor George Bush on clemency decision-making in the late 1990s are also garnering some attention and criticism. Today, the People For the American Way issued this lengthy statement opposing the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales in which one extended section assails his "Irresponsible Death Penalty Review."

Here are some prior posts relating to Gonzales' clemency work since he was nominated for AG:

Sister Prejean's powerful perspective

The AG and the death penalty

AG nominee Gonzales and sentencing issues

January 4, 2005 at 10:54 PM

Justice Breyer on the Blakely front lines (sort of)

With thanks to How Appealing for the tip, I found this AP article reporting on Justice Breyer's recent experience in Massachusetts state court with jury duty amusing. Though Justice Breyer apparently did not get seated on a jury, he was quoted as saying: "It proves that everyone can participate, and in a democracy that is important." Given Professor Bill Stuntz's interesting suggestion that the Blakely decision seems to be trying to make the criminal justice system more democratic (discussed here), perhaps this quote is a sign that Justice Breyer is now on the Blakely bandwagon.

January 4, 2005 at 10:19 PM

(Copious) capital commentary

Thanks to the Death Penalty Information Center, I see that I will never be able to catch up on all my death penalty reading. DPIC has notices of two new and notable resources commenting on the death penalty. Here's their descriptions and links to access the materials:

A new report by the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project discusses the United States' position on the death penalty in the face of international concerns regarding this practice. The report, How the Death Penalty Weakens U.S. International Interests (accessible here), notes that many other nations are moving toward abolition of capital punishment and are critical of specific aspects of the death penalty in the US. Among the topics featured in this resource are the ongoing international efforts to abolish the death penalty, foreign intervention in US capital cases, international extradition cases involving the death penalty, rulings by the International Court of Justice, and how the death penalty has affected America's war on terror.

The December 2004 issue of the American Psychological Association Journal, Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, contains articles devoted to important and emerging topics related to capital punishment (abstracts here). Craig Haney, Richard Wiener, James Acker, and Charles Lanier are among the issue's contributing writers who provide expert analysis in areas such as capital sentencing, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision-making, public opinion, victim impact statements, moratorium efforts, innocence, and other topics.

Based on the abstracts, all the articles in Psychology, Public Policy, & Law look quite interesting. Also, recall that, as detailed here, the Fall 2004 issue of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law also has symposium devoted to "Capital Juries" and it is fully available on-line here. (You can also browse on-line prior and future forthcoming OSJCL issues here.)

January 4, 2005 at 08:43 PM

Could Booker/Fanfan impact the Chief Justice sweepstakes?

The blogsphere continues to buzz about possible replacements for Chief Justice Rehnquist, and of late the talk has been a lot about Justice Thomas. Some of the interesting posts are collected at SCOTUSblog here and this week's Legal Affairs Debate Club asks "Should Clarence Thomas be Chief Justice?"

Of course, consistent with my "Blakely gets no respect" commentary (details here and here), none of this talk notes Justice Thomas' interesting role and opinions in the Blakely line of precedents. Justice Thomas became the key fifth vote in Apprendi (after a contrary vote two years earlier in Almendarez-Torres), and his opinions in both Apprendi and for the dissenters in Harris are remarkable in many ways. If, as some have speculated, Justice Thomas is writing the opinion in Booker and Fanfan to strike down the federal sentencing guidelines, it is fun to speculate how such a headline-making ruling might impact the public and political dialogues about the next Chief.

January 4, 2005 at 04:07 PM

The economic costs of capital punishment

One interesting trend I am noticing in the modern public and political conversation about the death penalty is an attentiveness to the extraordinary economic costs of administering a system of capital punishment.

For example, recent newspaper articles coming from California and Oklahoma have detailed the considerable state expenditures on the capital trials of Scott Peterson and Terry Nichols. Moreover, as Kansas and New York are contemplating fixing their death penalty procedures after their current capital systems were declared unconstitutional, we are seeing editorials (noted here; see also here) and other commentary (noted here) expressing serious concerns about the high costs of administering the death penalty.

As I have said before, I think the purely economic costs of the death penalty is an issue that has been under-examined even in the voluminous academic literature about capital punishment. (The Death Penalty Information Center, however, has collected terrific capital cost data here.) Perhaps some smart folks with economics training and interest might start giving these sorts of matters serious attention.

January 4, 2005 at 02:19 PM

The machinery of death being turned back on

As I noted here, this past December was the first month without an execution in the United States since July 1994. And, since the final execution of 2004 was in mid-November, we have now had the longest execution-free period in the US since May-July 1992 when a full two months elapsed without an execution.

However, as detailed in this AP report, it appears the death penalty will be back in business on Tuesday as the state of Texas plans to execute James Porter, who was sentenced to death for fatally beating a child molester while in prison for another killing. As the article explains, "[a]t Porter's request, no appeals were pending in the courts and no clemency petition was filed with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles."

Meanwhile, as noted in this thoughtful New York Times article, in another section of Texas' death row are defendants who committed their crimes as juveniles and are now awaiting to see if a ruling from the Supreme Court in Roper (background here and here) might spare their lives. The NY Times article explores the crimes and backgrounds of a few of the 72 juvenile killers currently on death row in the United States, and it suggests that "a look at the cases of some of the juvenile offenders now on death row raises questions about how reliable and consistent juries have been in making those decisions."

January 4, 2005 at 02:34 AM

Sentencing events at AALS meeting

Blogging may slow down later this week because I am off to San Francisco for the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Law School. I hope to have internet access, but much of my time may be consumed by conference events. Here is a quick run down of the sentencing events of note at AALS this week:

Thursday AM: The McGeorge School of Law's Capital Center for Government Law and Policy is hosting a breakfast meeting to discuss sentencing reforms issues and in particular this soon-to-be-published proposal for wholesale reform of California's sentencing practices.

Thursday lunch: At the lunch of the Criminal Justice Section, a number of criminal law professor bloggers (including the folks who bring us CrimProf Blog) will be talking about the blogging phenomenon. I plan to highlight why I think blogging is especially important (and fun) in the field of sentencing.

Friday PM: A panel sponsored by the Criminal Justice section entitled "The Rehabilitation of Rehabilitation" will focus on "the recent turn in policy at the state level away from mandatory and long-term incarceration and toward alternative dispositions that are expressly or implicitly rehabilitative." More details about this program can be found at this link.

Friday PM: Professor Joe Kennedy has put together a "Hot Topics" panel to discuss Blakely and the other major criminal justice decisions of the past term entitled "Supreme Court Surprises on Guideline Sentencing, Enemy Combatants and the Confrontation Clause: Happenstance or a new assertiveness?". More details about this program can be found by scrolling down at this link.

ADDITION: Prof. Stephanos Bibas has reminded me about another Blakely-related event Friday afternoon. At the Pan Pacific Hotel Friday from 5:15pm to 7pm, a Federalist Society panel of with Profs. Bibas, Akhil Amar, Ron Allen, and Rick Garnett (moderator) will discuss "Will Originalism and Formalism Save Criminal Law or Will They Destroy It?"

Saturday AM: With the help of fellow sentencing fanatics, I will be conducting a relatively informal discussion about Blakely and the future of sentencing reform. (The original hope was to do an official "Hot Topics" panel to talk about the decision in Booker and Fanfan; now I suspect we will spend time chatting about why we have not yet seen a decision in Booker and Fanfan.)

Saturday PM: A panel co-sponsored by the Criminal Justice section entitled "The Privatization of Criminal Justice" will focus on private prisons and other ways in which various traditional criminal justice functions have been privatized. More details about this program can be found at this link.

January 4, 2005 at 01:29 AM

January 3, 2005

Sentencing Commission work in NJ

As previously discussed in this post, New Jersey has recently created a Commission to Review Criminal Sentencing, and that Commission has now finished its "First Interim Report to the Governor and Legislature." I am pleased to be able to provide that report for downloading below.

This brief report provides more background than substance, but even its quick discussion of the state of sentencing in New Jersey and the work of the Commission to date provides a fascinating window into challenges that most states are facing in the arenas of sentencing and corrections in 2005. (And this terrific editorial today from makes clear that the press is going to be watching as the NJ Commission tries to meet these challenges.)

I recommend the entire report, though I particularly like the optimism in this closing paragraph:

In summary, we commend the Legislature and Executive Branch for their prescience by establishing an entity well-suited to guide both with regard to the profoundly changing landscape of sentencing law, practice and policy. Moreover, the Commission has progressed much since its inception to provide the Legislature and other "stakeholders" with the guidance necessary to promote a sentencing system that simultaneously protects public safety, fosters a greater degree of fairness, and provides meaningful and cost-effective responses to crime. The Commission is wholly committed to these efforts and plans to provide the blue print that will reshape and improve the State's sentencing scheme and penal system.

Download nj_sent_report.doc

January 3, 2005 at 04:17 PM

Notable (non-Blakely) state sentencing stories

This afternoon brings a diverse and interesting set of articles on various state sentencing developments (none of which — gasp! — have anything to do with Blakely):

From Pennsylvania, this article discusses quite optimistically the opening of a new drug court in Lancaster County. (More resources on drug courts are at this link.)

From Georgia, this article reports that the Governor Sonny Perdue has announced he "won't ask lawmakers this year to modify any of the harsh criminal punishment laws enacted in Georgia a decade ago that critics say are jamming state prisons and forcing judges to impose sentences that don't always fit the crime."

From Illinois, this article discusses the success of the state's Sheridan Correctional Center, a so-called "drug prison" which focuses exclusively on drug treatment.

From California, this editorial, building on a recent report from the Little Hoover Commission about women in prison discussed here, laments that the state is "failing miserably in dealing with incarcerated females."

January 3, 2005 at 03:04 PM

Calm before the storm?

It is a relatively quiet morning for sentencing news, though I am eagerly waiting to see which court will be the first to issue a noteworthy Blakely ruling in 2005. Moreover, as suggested here and here, there is little question that we just have some calm before a January sentencing storm.

In the meantime, the blogsphere provides a few sentencing items of interest:

Grits for Breakfast has links and coverage of recent editorials from Texas about the state's prison system and a proposal to lower marijuana sentences.

CrimLaw has this interesting post discussing a Virginia sentencing hearing.

How Appealing notes here that the Houston Chronicle has not kept up with the latest developments in the alien smuggling conspiracy case in which US District Judge Vanessa Gilmore demanded the government to explain why it sought the death penalty only against on defendant (background here). Grits adds related commentary on media/blog dynamics here.

January 3, 2005 at 12:06 PM

January 2, 2005

Gearing up for a exciting sentencing month

Though perhaps nothing can match the excitement of Texas' win in the Rose Bowl (at least for USSC Chair Judge Hinojosa) or Iowa's win in the Capital One Bowl, January should be quite the exciting sentencing month. Following what was perhaps the most remarkable sentencing year ever, there is no slowing down at the start of the new year.

I have previously detailed the many compelling capital sentencing stories developing in January, and thus here I will note just a few of the major forthcoming non-capital sentencing events:

January 6-8: The annual law professors' conference will have a number of significant sentencing panels and events (details to follow in a subsequent post).

January 11: The next date on which the Supreme Court may hand down opinions and thus a possible (likely?) date for a decision in Booker and Fanfan.

Mid-Late January(?): If Booker and Fanfan come down in the first few weeks of January and if Blakely is applied to the federal guidelines, there will likely be hearings scheduled to address the future of federal sentencing in both the US Congress and the US Sentencing Commission (not to mention, I would suspect, many lower court rulings of note).

January 21-22: Columbia Law School will conduct this terrific symposium addressing state sentencing.

Throughout January(?): State legislatures in many states will likely start considering statutory Blakely fixes (see reports on plans in North Carolina and Washington), while state courts continue to try to sort out all of the Blakely fallout (as detailed here and here, the recent pace of state Blakely rulings is remarkable).

I will be closely watching the legal happenings to see if my suggested New Year's sentencing resolutions get followed for at least a month, and also to see how CJ Rehnquist's themes play out in such a dynamic month.

January 2, 2005 at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Compelling capital work by federal district judges

With thanks to Howard Bashman at How Appealing and the PRACDL Blog for the tips, I can report on three compelling stories of federal district judges doing ground-breaking work in capital cases:

1. From Houston, US District Judge Vanessa Gilmore is making news in an alien smuggling case in which defendant Tyrone Williams has alleged racial discrimination. As previously noted in this post, Judge Gilmore had demanded the government to explain in writing why it sought the death penalty only against Williams. Last week, as detailed in this article, when prosecutors ignored the order to provide this information, Judge Gilmore said she would allow attorneys defending Williams to use the government's refusal as evidence during the trial's penalty phase.

Now from Howard Bashman here, we hear the Fifth Circuit has granted prosecutors' motion for a stay of all proceedings while it considers a motion for a writ of mandamus. The expedited briefing schedule ensures that this case will be another of the many capital cases to watch in January (and the Grits Blog is already on the job with this commentary on the Williams case).

2. From Boston, US District Judge Nancy Gertner has now supplemented her amazing ruling in US v. Green, 2004 WL 2475483 (D. Mass. Nov. 03, 2004) (first discussed here), where she held in a federal capital case that she "will impanel two different juries, if necessary, for each death-eligible defendant, one jury to determine guilt or innocence and the other to reject or to impose the death penalty." Provided here at the PRACDL Blog are Judge Gertner's interesting supplemental findings in support of her bifurcation decision.

3. From New York, US District Judge Jed Rakoff is still making headlines here in the New York Times for his 2002 ruling in US v. Quinones that the federal death penalty is unconstitutional because of the risk of executing innocent persons. The NY Times article recounts Judge Rakoff's compelling professional and personal backstory, and Howard Bashman here provides links to both Judge Rakoff's Quinones decision and the Second Circuit's reversal of that decision. (Also TalkLeft adds some commentary here.)

January 2, 2005 at 01:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Sunday's stimulating sentencing stories

After reading about all the bowl games in the sports pages — how 'bout that Rose Bowl — there are a number of thought-provoking articles in today's newspapers:

Emily Bazelon has this interesting essay entitled "Sentencing by the Numbers" in the New York Times Magazine, which thoughtfully discusses Virginia's fascinating and controversial risk-assessment sentencing that encourage "judges to sentence nonviolent offenders the way insurance agents write policies, based on a short list of factors with a proven relationship to future risk." (As detailed here, the Federal Sentencing Reporter recently devoted a full issue to risk assessment, and Grits for Breakfast here has some thoughtful comments on the Times article.)

This article thoughtfully reviews the state of the death penalty in Louisiana, as well as nationwide death penalty developments in 2004. I was surprised and intrigued to learn that Louisiana has not executed anyone since 2001 and that "Orleans Parish counted its seventh year without a single death sentence, despite ample opportunity [because the local DA seeks the death penalty in every first-degree murder case] and a high murder rate." UPDATE: And, thanks to TalkLeft here, I see that the Washington Post has this editorial applauding the recent declines in the use of the death penalty.

And, thanks to How Appealing, from South Carolina we get this article about the juvenile death penalty in that state, as well as a set of companion stories (linked here), which details the potential impact of the Supreme Court's coming constitutional ruling in Roper on the juvenile death penalty (background here and here).

January 2, 2005 at 10:10 AM

January 1, 2005

Suggesting sentencing resolutions

New Year's Day means, in addition to reflecting on the year just completed, making resolutions and seeing if I can go the whole day without breaking them. (I was thinking of adding "blog less" to the standard "exercise more" and "eat less" resolutions until I saw that blogging makes me one of the People of the Year.)

But, even more fun than making resolutions for myself is making resolutions for others in the sentencing world. So here goes:

US Supreme Court: Decide Booker and Fanfan ASAP and grant cert. on additional cases to resolve any key Blakely issues left unresolved in Booker and Fanfan.

US Congress: Do not over-react to Booker and Fanfan by enacting rash sentencing legislation; have a series of hearings and listen to the advice from judges, the USSC, prosecutors, defense counsel and others on the sentencing front-lines.

US Sentencing Commission: Continue to support an open, balanced and data-driven dialogue about federal sentencing law and policy while taking an active and bold leadership role in the policy debate over responses to Booker and Fanfan.

US Justice Department: Act more like a department of justice and less like a department of prosecutors; realize that a shorter sentence is not always an unjust sentence.

State Courts: Keep trying to sort out and seek thoughtful resolutions to all the tough questions raised by Blakely while trying to achieve justice in individual cases.

State Legislatures and Sentencing Commissions: Keep trying to develop cautious and measured responses to Blakely which generally seek to honor, rather than evade, the principles motivating the decision.

President/Governors: Seek to promote, in part through the use of historic clemency powers, a more balanced and humane political and public dialogue about crime and punishment.

I could go on and suggest resolutions for line prosecutors and defense counsel and probation officers and many others, but I will stop here and simply encourage readers to use the comments to add their own sentencing resolutions.

January 1, 2005 at 01:52 PM

CJ Rehnquist sets notable themes for 2005

Thanks to the folks at SCOTUSBlog, we can all start the new year reading Chief Justice William Rehnquist's 2004 year-end report on the federal judiciary. As always, the report is an interesting and nuanced document. Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSBlog shares his views here, and Howard Bashman at How Appealing has already collected major news accounts of the report here.

The media focus, not surprisingly, is on CJ Rehnquist's discussion of "recently mounting criticism of judges for engaging in what is often referred to as 'judicial activism.'" But also of note in the report are comments about "the judicial budget crisis facing the country," "the critical need for additional judgeships," and "the relationship between the Judicial Branch and the Legislative Branch."

As is my wont, I read the Chief Justice's comments through the lens of Blakely. I suspect we may hear cries of "activism" if (when?) the Supreme Court declares aspects of the federal guidelines unconstitutional in Booker and Fanfan. And the fallout from Blakely could exacerbate the judicial budget crisis and the need for additional judgeships. Moreover, as detailed in CJ Rehnquist's 2003 year-end report on the federal judiciary, the development of federal sentencing law and policy has produced significant acrimony between Congress and the federal judiciary well before Blakely came along.

Indeed, as we all prepare for what could be a very eventful year in federal sentencing, CJ Rehnquist's comments in his 2003 report about judicial input on sentencing legislation merit close review. If (when?) Congress responds to a decision in Booker and Fanfan, I hope it will heed these astute points from the Chief Justice:

It is Congress's job to legislate; but each branch of our government has a unique perspective, and taking into account these diverse perspectives improves the process.... Judges have a perspective on the administration of justice that is not necessarily available to members of Congress and the people they represent. Judges have, again by Constitutional design, an institutional commitment to the independent administration of justice and are able to see the consequences of judicial reform proposals that legislative sponsors may not be in a position to see. Consultation with the Judiciary will improve both the process and the product.

January 1, 2005 at 08:20 AM

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