Douglas Berman

New federal law enables trafficking victims to vacate/expunge convictions and reduce sentences Perhaps because so many other legal and social stories have been occupying the news, there has been relatively little coverage or commentary about a notable new federal law signed by President Trum…

New federal law enables trafficking victims to vacate/expunge convictions and reduce sentences sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2026/02/01/n...

Federal judge dismisses capital charges against Luigi Mangione because predicate charges fail to “meet federal statutory definition of a ‘crime of violence’ as a matter of law” As reported in this CNBC piece, “Judge Margaret Garnett, in an order Friday, dismissed two of the four criminal counts [Luigi] Mangione faced in the case.” This ruling has the effect of…

Federal judge dismisses capital charges against Luigi Mangione because predicate charges fail to "meet federal statutory definition of a 'crime of violence' as a matter of law" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/f...

US Sentencing Commission notices public meeting for publishing more proposed guideline amendments Via email, I learned that the US Sentencing Commission has now formally announced here its plans for a public meeting on January 30, 2026, at 11am with an agenda that includes “possible vote …

US Sentencing Commission notices public meeting for publishing more proposed guideline amendments sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2026/01/22/u...

Supreme Court rules unanimously in Ellingburg that restitution under key federal statute is “plainly criminal punishment for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause” The Supreme Court this morning handed down another notable unanimous criminal sentencing decision with Ellingburg v. US, No. 24-482 (S. Ct. Jan. 20, 2026). Here is part of the start of Justice Kava…

Supreme Court rules unanimously in Ellingburg that restitution under key federal statute is "plainly criminal punishment for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause" sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/s...

Prez Trump closes out historic “first year” of clemency activity with 21 more notable grants In this post a few weeks ago, I noted, citing this official Justice Department list, that Prez Trump issued historic clemency grants at the vey start of his return to the Oval Office on January 20,…

Prez Trump closes out historic "first year" of clemency activity with 21 more notable grants sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2026/01/16/p...

Noticing a modest decline in the federal prison population at close of 2025 In this post 11+ months ago, on the day that Prez Trump took over from Prez Biden, I flagged that the Biden years saw a modest growth in the federal prison population from 151,646 inmates to 155,39…

Noticing a modest decline in the federal prison population at close of 2025 sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/12/31/n...

Just a few remarkable stories and echoes from a remarkable year for federal clemency Even with more than a week left in 2025, the year has already made its mark in the federal clemency record books. The first few weeks of this year saw a historic array of mass pardons and commutati…

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? I am scheduled to start teaching my sentencing course to upper level OSU law students next month. The question in the title of this post is one I plan to ask them the first week of classes, in part…

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...

Event Recording: The State of Crime and Justice: Year-End Insights - Council on Criminal Justice Leaders from the Council on Criminal Justice Centering Justice project and other experts discussed what the criminal justice field faced in 2025 and what we might expect in 2026.

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 The US Sentencing Commission just completed this public meeting, at which the Commissioners voted unanimously to publish a significant slate of “proposed guideline amendments.” This act…

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”? The question in the title of this post is prompted by a notable statement authored by Justice Sotomayor respecting the denial of certiorari in this morning’s Supreme Court orders list. That s…

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 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 …

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 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…

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” 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. …

"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” 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 …

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? 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…

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” 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…

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 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…

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? 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…

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” 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 …

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 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…

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? 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…

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 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 …

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 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…

Experimenting with latest reboot of "Sentencing Law and Policy" blog
sentencinglawandpolicy.wordpress.com/2025/11/03/h...

sentencing.typepad.com/sentencing_l...

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…

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 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

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

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?

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.

CP cases have a long history of district courts not following guideline, and DOJ has long history of appealing when essentially no prison time is imposed. Reversals are not uncommon on those appeals, though there is considerable factual and panel variations.