The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by Julian Cook available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Too often, the guilty plea hearing process practiced
in our federal courts fails to adequately ensure the validity of a defendant's change of plea decision. Rather than engage in colloquies that are sufficiently in-depth [...]
In this post on Monday, I flagged a lot of early commentary focused on Prez Biden's decision Sunday night to pardon his son Hunter. There has been, unsurprisingly, continuing
discussion of this pardon and its echoes. One theme to the next round of pieces that I find especially interesting concerns who else should get the benefit of Biden's [...]
The folks at Prison Policy Initiative have made an annual tradition of releasing a significant report looking forward to reform policy and politics in the new year. The latest
variation, available here, is titled "Winnable criminal justice reforms in 2025," and here is the report's introduction and linked TOC: In this year's guide to winnable [...]
The title of this post is the title of this new book chapter authored by Mark White and available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Philosophers of punishment have paid little
attention to resource constraints, which have an undeniable impact on how various approaches to punishment work in the real world. It has fallen on economists, [...]
As reported in this AP article, Missouri this evening completed an execution of a man who sexually assaulted and strangled a 9-year-old girl in 2007. Here are some of the details:
Rowan Ford knew Christopher Collings as “Uncle Chris” after he spent several months living with her family. [...]
The title of this post is the title of this new paper authored by David Shapiro and Molly Bernstein available via SSRN. Here is its abstract: Properly understood, the “cruel
or unusual” punishment clause of the Michigan Constitution grants every person sentenced to life in prison a meaningful right to obtain release by making a convincing [...]
Via email I received work of this this new briefing from the Prison Policy Initiative, completed in collaboration with the Jail Data Initiative, which offers broad data on
jail admissions and populations. The full title of this briefing provides a basic overview: "Who is jailed, how often, and why: Our Jail Data Initiative collaboration [...]
I was inclined to wait a bit before doing a round up of commentary on Prez Biden's decision last night to pardon his son Hunter. (For the record, I suspect Prez Biden made
the decision to pardon Hunter a long time ago, but it was officially announced yesterday.) And yet, I have seen so many notable pieces in less than 24 hours, I [...]
On behalf of Prof. Eve Brensike Primus: Dear Colleagues, The Data for Defenders program at the University of Michigan Law School promotes creative and evidence-based advocacy
in criminal courtrooms by providing defenders with access to motions and briefs that incorporate... [...]
My post title not only reflects my Ozian mood, but also my effort to get extra attention for this last banger post by Jonathan Wroblewski over at the Sentencing Matters substack.
The post lurks under the sly simple query in its title: "What Ever Happened to Attorney General Garland’s Charging and Sentencing Policy?". What follow is a kittle [...]
