Sentencing

In 2022, a district judge finds Hinds County, Miss. officials in contempt of a federal consent decree after monitors report that a portion of its jail is essentially run by gangs. About 30 cells are used as dumpsters. Lights don't work. The majority of cell doors do not lock. Inmates regularly escape through the roof and return with contraband. Disliked inmates are assaulted, not allowed to eat. (Two such inmates are discovered emaciated and covered in feces and sores.) Hinds County: The real "constitutional abomination" here is the consent decree, which is the cause of all these problems.

It's been said that "we are all textualists now." But how should the court interpret the text of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual after it has "exhausted all sources from which interpretive guidance may be derived," is "convinced that the parties' respective interpretations are in equipoise," and fears that "by accepting either side's interpretation, [it] would be hazarding a mere 'guess as to what [the Sentencing Commission] intended'"? Probation Office: group the counts and sentence.

Texan meth and fentanyl importer pleads guilty in 2022 and receives a "career-offender enhancement" at sentencing. He objects because his prior marijuana convictions wouldn't have been "controlled substance offenses" after 2018 reforms. Fifth Circuit: We agree, and thus also agree with three other circuits.

The case is United States v. Minor, 22-51083 (5th Cir. Nov. 20, 2024).

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the DEA will cease its "cold consent encounters" at airports, during which agents demand to search people's bags while telling them things like, "I don't need your consent." The suspension coincides with an inspector general report condemning the practice (access full artic

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed MacArthur Justice Center Executive Director Amir Ali to the federal trial court in Washington, D.C. (access full article).

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has appointed Richard McWilliams as the next Federal Public Defender for the District of Nebraska.

The Commission released its Preliminary FY24 Fourth Quarterly Sentencing Update.

In FY24, 61,137 individuals were sentenced federally—representing a decrease from the previous fiscal year.  Nearly equal proportions of individuals were sentenced for a drug (30.0%) or immigration (29.7%) offense.

Yesterday, the United States Sentencing Commission issued a press release announcing proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines for the amendment cycle ending May 1, 2025.  Among the proposals are those that would:

President Joe Biden’s number of lifetime appointments to the federal bench surpassed the first Trump administration’s Friday and set records as the most diverse selection of judges by any president in U.S. history, according to federal judiciary observers (access full article).

Missouri carried out the first execution of an openly transgender woman in the history of the United States on Tuesday (access full article).

McLaughlin’s execution – the first in the US this year – is unusual: Executions of women in the United States are already rare. Prior to McLaughlin’s execution, just 17 had been put to death since 1976.