Sentencing

Los Angeles District Attorney is allowing county prosecutors to seek the death penalty again, reversing a ban put in place by his predecessor and making good on a campaign promise (view full article).

Removing the death penalty was one of the first changes implemented by former DA George Gascón when he took office in 2020. In a special directive, he called it “inextricably intertwined” with racism and said executions did not deter crime.

Earlier this week, the United States Sentencing Commission released its 2022 Federal Sentencing Statistics. The data covers sentencings from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022. These reports examine federal sentencing statistics from each judicial district, the districts within each judicial circuit, and the districts within each state. Each report compares the statistics from the respective district, circuit, or state to the nation as a whole.

Washington state has officially abolished the death penalty (view full article).

The U.S. Sentencing Commission approved new guidelines on Wednesday that will expand federal inmates' ability to qualify for compassionate release from prison (view full article).

People who fight multicount indictments at trial lose even if they beat most of the charges—all it takes is one conviction to face a sentence that reflects every count charged. But that may be starting to change (view full article).

The US Sentencing Commission is expected on Wednesday to vote on an amendment that would eliminate acquitted conduct from the definition of relevant conduct for purposes of calculating the guidelines range.

From footnote nine of this Second Circuit opinion, you get the sense that the court (2-1) doesn't think it should take 26 pages and a chart to explain why a racketeer who shot and killed someone committed a "crime of violence." Concurrence: Oh stop it. There is no reason to criticize the categorical approach. It promotes judicial efficiency and better protects defendants at sentencing, which we should do.

The case is United States v. Morris, 16-00006 (2d Cir. Mar. 7, 2023).

Today, the United States Sentencing Commission published its 2022 Annual Report and Sourcebook of Federal Sentencing Statistics.

Here are some Fiscal Year 2022 Data Highlights:

In his 2023 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. focused on the new technology while steering clear of Supreme Court ethics.

The Justice Department on Friday said in court papers that it would seek to execute the gunman who killed 10 Black people in a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket in May 2022. It is the first time that President Biden’s administration has sought the death penalty in a new case (view full article).

Is it okay for a criminal-defense counsel to tell his (Black) client that if he goes to trial, the jury "would be culled of any minorities" and he'd be tried before an all-white jury? Tenth Circuit: No, it is definitely not okay. And given that misrepresentation about the right to a fair and impartial trial, the client's resulting guilty plea can't be said to have been knowing and voluntary. He gets to withdraw his guilty plea.