Douglas Berman
@sentencinglaw.bsky.social
OSU law professor, Executive Director of Drug Enforcment and Policy Center (DEPC), writer of Sentencing Law & Policy blog, Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform blog, member Council on Criminal Justice
Expanding on "capacious" vision of sentence reductions to remedy inequities sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/e...
Expanding on “capacious” vision of sentence reductions to remedy inequities
In this post a few weeks ago right after the US Supreme Court heard arguments in Fernandez v. United States and the consolidated cases of Rutherford v. United States and Carter v. United States, I …
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Expanding on "capacious" vision of sentence reductions to remedy inequities sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/24/e...
More "Jan 6" pardons from Prez Trump and lots more clemency commentary sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/m...
More “Jan 6” pardons from Prez Trump and lots more clemency commentary
I just saw this AP report detailing that Prez Trump has issued two new pardons related to Jan 6 defendants, and these serve to obviate litigation for a couple of individuals over the reach of the o…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:05 PM
More "Jan 6" pardons from Prez Trump and lots more clemency commentary sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/18/m...
"Firing squad executes South Carolina serial killer who wrote message with victim's blood" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/15/f...
“Firing squad executes South Carolina serial killer who wrote message with victim’s blood”
I typically do not quote newspaper headlines when covering a sentencing story in the news, but the headline of this USA Today piece about the latest execution in the US is too evocative to resist. …
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"Firing squad executes South Carolina serial killer who wrote message with victim's blood" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/15/f...
New (double) Federal Sentencing Reporter issue examines "Artificial Intelligence and Risk Assessments in Criminal Justice" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/14/n...
New (double) Federal Sentencing Reporter issue examines “Artificial Intelligence and Risk Assessments in Criminal Justice”
I am very pleased and very excited to report on the online publication of the latest (double) issue of the Federal Sentencing Reporter titled “Artificial Intelligence and Risk Assessments in …
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
New (double) Federal Sentencing Reporter issue examines "Artificial Intelligence and Risk Assessments in Criminal Justice" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/14/n...
Justices seem eager to concoct limits on grounds for sentencing reductions, but what new policy will they devise? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/j...
Justices seem eager to concoct limits on grounds for sentencing reductions, but what new policy will they devise?
This morning, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in Fernandez v. United States and the consolidated cases of Rutherford v. United States and Carter v. United States to explore certain limits on f…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Justices seem eager to concoct limits on grounds for sentencing reductions, but what new policy will they devise? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/j...
New Sentencing Project report on "America’s Incarceration Crossroads: Reversing Progress Amid Record-Low Crime Rates" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/n...
New Sentencing Project report on “America’s Incarceration Crossroads: Reversing Progress Amid Record-Low Crime Rates”
Via email I received notice that The Sentencing Project today released this notable new policy brief authored by Nazgol Ghandnoosh and Sabrina Pearce titled “America’s Incarceration Crossroad…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 12, 2025 at 8:27 PM
New Sentencing Project report on "America’s Incarceration Crossroads: Reversing Progress Amid Record-Low Crime Rates" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/12/n...
Compassionate release implementation after First Step Act finally comes before SCOTUS sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/c...
Compassionate release implementation after First Step Act finally comes before SCOTUS
On December 21, 2018, Prez Trump signed the First Step Act (FSA) into law. In this post marking the occasion, I commented that “so many of the large and small elements of the FSA involve impo…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Compassionate release implementation after First Step Act finally comes before SCOTUS sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/c...
How about some clemency grants, Prez Trump, to support vets on Veterans Day? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
How about some clemency grants, Prez Trump, to support vets on Veterans Day?
The question in the title of this post is one I tend to ask of every President on this day for honoring those who have served (examples here and here). But this year, the question seems particularl…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:33 PM
How about some clemency grants, Prez Trump, to support vets on Veterans Day? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/11/h...
New DPIC report on "Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/n...
New DPIC report on “Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty”
On the eve of Veterans Day 2025, the Death Penalty Information Center has produced a big new report focused on the experiences of veterans as defendants in the administration of capital punishment …
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
New DPIC report on "Forgotten Service, Lasting Wounds: Military Veterans and the Death Penalty" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/10/n...
Prez Trump again uses clemency power for a notable celebrity, retired police officer, and former politicians sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/p...
Prez Trump again uses clemency power for a notable celebrity, retired police officer, and former politicians
Prez Donald Trump closed out last week by taking out this clemency pen yet again. This time, a notable retired baseball star, a retired police officer, and a pair of politicians were the beneficiar…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Prez Trump again uses clemency power for a notable celebrity, retired police officer, and former politicians sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/09/p...
Do Justice Gorsuch's concerns about judge-made law foreshadow big issue in compassionate release cases? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/d...
Do Justice Gorsuch’s concerns about judge-made law foreshadow big issue in compassionate release cases?
I sense a number of Justices, perhaps particularly Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, are wary about the development of judge-made law, especially in the context of statutory interpretation when it would…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Do Justice Gorsuch's concerns about judge-made law foreshadow big issue in compassionate release cases? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/d...
SCOTUS back in action hearing arguments in more criminal cases as November sitting begins sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/s...
SCOTUS back in action hearing arguments in more criminal cases as November sitting begins
The US government is still officially “shut down” as of this writing, and the US Supreme Court’s website now states that the Supreme Court Building is “closed to the public …
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:42 PM
SCOTUS back in action hearing arguments in more criminal cases as November sitting begins sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/s...
Experimenting with latest reboot of "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/h...
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/h...
Experimenting with latest reboot of “Sentencing Law and Policy” blog
Since the demise of Typepad — where I blogged under the banner “Sentencing Law and Policy” (SL&P) from May 2004 until September 2025 — I have been exploring a variety of…
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Experimenting with latest reboot of "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/h...
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/h...
Five Questions with Douglas Berman, Steve Chanenson, and Jonathan Wroblewski, Co-Editors of Federal Sentencing Reporter dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/f...
Five Questions with Douglas Berman, Steve Chanenson, and Jonathan Wroblewski, Co-Editors of Federal Sentencing Reporter
New to Duke University Press in 2025, the Federal Sentencing Reporter explores in detail the complex sector of sentencing law, practice, and theory. Each issue is organized around a centr…
dukeupress.wordpress.com
June 24, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Five Questions with Douglas Berman, Steve Chanenson, and Jonathan Wroblewski, Co-Editors of Federal Sentencing Reporter dukeupress.wordpress.com/2025/06/24/f...
Reposted by Douglas Berman
Pa. Board of Pardons launches online clemency applications
(via @northcentralpa.bsky.social)
https://pulse.ly/cuv49orxrt
(via @northcentralpa.bsky.social)
https://pulse.ly/cuv49orxrt
Pa. Board of Pardons launches online clemency applications
Harrisburg, Pa. — The Pa. Board of Pardons is making it easier to earn a second chance through a fully online application for clemency and a new, Spanish-language application. The
pulse.ly
June 21, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Pa. Board of Pardons launches online clemency applications
(via @northcentralpa.bsky.social)
https://pulse.ly/cuv49orxrt
(via @northcentralpa.bsky.social)
https://pulse.ly/cuv49orxrt
After Kennedy: pondering Eighth Amendment functioning and litigating
open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...
open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...
After Kennedy: pondering Eighth Amendment functioning and litigating
With states enacting new capital child rape laws, whither the Supreme Court's 2008 ruling Kennedy v. Louisiana?
open.substack.com
June 9, 2025 at 1:17 PM
After Kennedy: pondering Eighth Amendment functioning and litigating
open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...
open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...
Reposted by Douglas Berman
Regs
*Taps mic*
Hello! I’m a former long-time civil servant turned academic.
I wanna tell you some stuff.
First, my service was mostly at a place called OIRA, which is an office that oversees federal regulation. I’d therefore rate myself as an above-average tea-leaf-reader for federal regs.
*Taps mic*
Hello! I’m a former long-time civil servant turned academic.
I wanna tell you some stuff.
First, my service was mostly at a place called OIRA, which is an office that oversees federal regulation. I’d therefore rate myself as an above-average tea-leaf-reader for federal regs.
May 7, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Regs
*Taps mic*
Hello! I’m a former long-time civil servant turned academic.
I wanna tell you some stuff.
First, my service was mostly at a place called OIRA, which is an office that oversees federal regulation. I’d therefore rate myself as an above-average tea-leaf-reader for federal regs.
*Taps mic*
Hello! I’m a former long-time civil servant turned academic.
I wanna tell you some stuff.
First, my service was mostly at a place called OIRA, which is an office that oversees federal regulation. I’d therefore rate myself as an above-average tea-leaf-reader for federal regs.
Reposted by Douglas Berman
Cannabis is legal in nearly half of all U.S. states. But between federal and state laws, policy is complicated.
Hear from @neurovoice.bsky.social and @sentencinglaw.bsky.social on how this hazy landscape impacts public health policy and equity: podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/853-the-hazy...
Hear from @neurovoice.bsky.social and @sentencinglaw.bsky.social on how this hazy landscape impacts public health policy and equity: podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/853-the-hazy...
February 24, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Cannabis is legal in nearly half of all U.S. states. But between federal and state laws, policy is complicated.
Hear from @neurovoice.bsky.social and @sentencinglaw.bsky.social on how this hazy landscape impacts public health policy and equity: podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/853-the-hazy...
Hear from @neurovoice.bsky.social and @sentencinglaw.bsky.social on how this hazy landscape impacts public health policy and equity: podcast.publichealth.jhu.edu/853-the-hazy...
Reposted by Douglas Berman
Kim Kardashian helped bring attention to the case of Dawn Jackson, a woman incarcerated in New Jersey for a crime against a man who was abusing her.
New Jersey governor’s granted Jackson clemency in December.
boltsmag.org/new-jer...
New Jersey governor’s granted Jackson clemency in December.
boltsmag.org/new-jer...
For Abuse Survivors, a New Path to Release from New Jersey Prisons
Governor Phil Murphy commuted the sentences of three women convicted for killing abusers. Now advocates also want a legislative fix, and point to reforms in New York and Oklahoma.
boltsmag.org
February 7, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Kim Kardashian helped bring attention to the case of Dawn Jackson, a woman incarcerated in New Jersey for a crime against a man who was abusing her.
New Jersey governor’s granted Jackson clemency in December.
boltsmag.org/new-jer...
New Jersey governor’s granted Jackson clemency in December.
boltsmag.org/new-jer...
Reposted by Douglas Berman
New report from the Council on Criminal Justice finds a large, nearly across-the-board decline in crime in a sample of 40 large cities last year:
counciloncj.org/crime-trends...
counciloncj.org/crime-trends...
Crime Trends in U.S. Cities: Year-End 2024 Update - Council on Criminal Justice
Homicide and most other violent crimes have fallen below pre-pandemic levels in a sample of 40 U.S. cities. CCJ’s year-end 2024 analysis also shows a year-over-year decrease in 12 of 13 major offenses...
counciloncj.org
January 23, 2025 at 1:56 PM
New report from the Council on Criminal Justice finds a large, nearly across-the-board decline in crime in a sample of 40 large cities last year:
counciloncj.org/crime-trends...
counciloncj.org/crime-trends...
January 18, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Reposted by Douglas Berman
Strongly disagree with this Politico headline. Judge Merchan's sentence of "unconditional discharge" was always fairly likely given the unique circumstances and the fact that this was a low-level felony. What's important is that Trump is now, officially, a convicted felon. That's not lackluster!
January 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Strongly disagree with this Politico headline. Judge Merchan's sentence of "unconditional discharge" was always fairly likely given the unique circumstances and the fact that this was a low-level felony. What's important is that Trump is now, officially, a convicted felon. That's not lackluster!
Reposted by Douglas Berman
It's National Poverty in America Awareness Month – sadly, the carceral system targets & perpetuates poverty
People with multiple arrests are more likely to be poor, unemployed & have less than a high school education
Time to support our communities instead of locking them up
People with multiple arrests are more likely to be poor, unemployed & have less than a high school education
Time to support our communities instead of locking them up
January 11, 2025 at 2:15 PM
It's National Poverty in America Awareness Month – sadly, the carceral system targets & perpetuates poverty
People with multiple arrests are more likely to be poor, unemployed & have less than a high school education
Time to support our communities instead of locking them up
People with multiple arrests are more likely to be poor, unemployed & have less than a high school education
Time to support our communities instead of locking them up
Reposted by Douglas Berman
I really appreciate Judge Rovner, of the 7th Circuit, calling out the lack of transparent public access to federal dockets. It is still far too difficult for litigants, the press, and the public to access court records! It's a serious problem! media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opin...
January 2, 2025 at 9:26 PM
I really appreciate Judge Rovner, of the 7th Circuit, calling out the lack of transparent public access to federal dockets. It is still far too difficult for litigants, the press, and the public to access court records! It's a serious problem! media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/Opin...