Just a few remarkable stories and echoes from a remarkable year for federal clemency sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/23/j...

You be the DA: do you seek the death penalty for Nick Reiner's slaughter of his parents? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/y...

ICYMI: The Council’s Centering Justice initiative hosted a webinar on the state of crime and justice with panelists @sentencinglaw.bsky.social, Shaila Dewan, and Dave Sunday, alongside moderators Khalil A. Cumberbatch & @marclevin.bsky.social. Watch the recording at: counciloncj.org/event-record...

US Sentencing Commission votes to publish proposed guideline amendments on drug, fraud offenses and other notable matters sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/12/u...

Should we have more doubts about how reasonably the law unpacks, and how decision-makers understand, the "indispensable" legal standard of "reasonable doubt"? sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/08/s...

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...

"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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Experimenting with latest reboot of "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog 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...

Pa. Board of Pardons launches online clemency applications (via @northcentralpa.bsky.social) https://pulse.ly/cuv49orxrt

After Kennedy: pondering Eighth Amendment functioning and litigating open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...

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.

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...

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 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...

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!

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

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...

Love this piece by Greg Berman in @vitalcitynyc.bsky.social. "Style-guide liberalism" is not persuasive advocacy, it's purity politics that doesn't help anyone, especially those it's supposedly in service of. www.vitalcitynyc.org/articles/the...

While campaigning, Trump called for expanding what crimes can receive the death penalty. @sentencinglaw.bsky.social says Trump has been consistent with his wishes on the matter, but executing the plan may be more difficult. Adriana Gomez Licon, AP:

“It will have to be the judges.” Tremendous, crucial piece by former federal judge @ngertner.bsky.social on potential threats to the rule of law over the next four years. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/26/o...

Oh. My. F***ING. GOD. The WSJ is blaming Krasner for the fact that Philly’s homicide rates are down “only” ~40%. Gun robbery down ~35%, car theft down ~30%. Basically EVERYTHING down. So now? It’s just not down ENOUGH. “Tough on crime” can NEVER be wrong. Never. And reform NEVER right.

The FBI recently reported its 2023 bank robbery report, so here are bank robberies reported to the FBI per year, 1990 - 2023:

I am old enough to remember when Rod Blagojevich went to jail for the shenanigans around a vacant Senate seat appointment

Just put up this piece on Slate presenting the case against Pres Biden offering a bundle of preemptive pardons. slate.com/news-and-pol...

Quinn Ewers is the only member of the Ohio State 2021 recruiting class to beat Michigan.

NEW: In a short op, the 5th Cir reverses a lower court decision dismissing felon in possession charges on 2nd Am grounds. What’s *especially* surprising here is the op is unpublished—this is the big splashy case where the lower court harshly criticized Bruen. www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unp...

Always worth noting when “tough on crime” types get upset at DAs not filing charges, and when they see it as okay. Krasner not charging a young Black kid for cocaine: bad. DAs not charging Gaetz with child rape: shrug-emoji. It defines what “tough on crime” is about (control) and isn’t (safety).

For those who don’t know me, I run @lawdorknews.bsky.social, independent legal journalism covering the Supreme Court, lower courts, and our broader legal system. I’ve been doing so from DC since 2009, originally covering LGBTQ issues, expanding to criminal justice and more over time. Sign up here: