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.
A Mississippi federal court declared opposition to federal sentencing guidelines for methamphetamine offenses, and sentenced an admitted drug offender lower than prescribed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s guidelines.
Citing DEA date, the court rejected the guidelines' reasoning that purer methamphetamine is indicative of a defendant’s role in criminal drug trafficking because it is not based on empirical data. This reasoning is “divorced from reality.”
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday decided - for now - not to weigh in on the legality of judges increasing prison sentences for criminal defendants based on charges for which they were acquitted - a practice that critics have said violates basic constitutional rights (article available here).
Yesterday, the Fourth Circuit reminded us once again that “extraordinary and compelling reasons” sufficient to justify compassionate release under the First Step Act are not limited to COVID-19 and medical issues. In United States v. Brown, No. 21-7752 (4th Cir. Aug. 16, 2023), a split panel of the Fourth Circuit reversed the denial of compassionate release based on stacked § 924(c) convictions and ordered a 20-year reduction in sentence.
When you start this D.C. Circuit opinion about a January 6 defendant's sentence, you might think it's about the Capitol riots. You will be disappointed (or delighted) to learn that it's actually a grammar lesson, complete with diagramed sentences. Seriously. Conclusion: This fellow can't be sentenced to both prison and probation for the same petty offense. Nice try on trying to “sidestep[] the bar on supervised release for petty offenders,” and “subject[] petty offenders to a term of post-confinement monitoring five time longer than the term imposed on some felons.” Dissent: C'mon!
Today the Sentencing Commission allowed for delayed retroactive application of Amendment 821 relating to criminal history—meaning that certain currently incarcerated individuals could be eligible for reduced sentences made effective beginning on February 1, 2024 (access unofficial text).
A leader of the Seattle-area, Washington chapter of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys was sentenced to 18 years in prison and three years of supervised release on Friday for his role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 (access full article).
Yesterday, the United States Sentencing Commission released a new 30-page report titled Federal Escape Offenses, available here. This report provides the characteristics of individuals convicted of escape, then chronologically examines their criminal histories before the instant offense through their criminal behavior while on escape status. It also examines their alleged criminal behavior after being released into the community.
Mr. Kenneth Smith was executed by the state of Alabama and died at 8:25 p.m. CST on January 25, 2024. This was Alabama’s second attempt to execute Mr. Smith. His last words were “‘Tonight, Alabama caused humanity to take a step backwards. . . . I'm leaving with love, peace and light. Thank you for supporting me, love all of you.’”