Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law
A new home for an old class blog
recent posts
- Anyone have any distinct views on who Joe Biden should pick as US Attorney General?
- What data in the federal system would indicate the Biden Administration is drawing down the federal drug war?
- A final (too brief) foray into what metrics and data matter for assessing a sentencing system
- Reactions to our look behind the robes with federal sentencing judges?
- Are there any “offender characteristics” that you think must be considered at sentencing? If so, how?
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Category: Interesting new cases
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I had no idea during our discussion on Wednesday of federal sentencing ranges for child pornography offenses that there would be a high-profile arrest in our own neighborhood on state charges involving this behavior just the next day. This local article, headlined "Ohio TV station's chief meteorologist charged with child pornography," provides these details (with…
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I believe we will know the outcome of two interesting and very different sentencing cases I have been following before the end of today (March 9). But before we get sentencing outcomes, I wanted, in the spirit of March Madness, to encourage sentencing students (if not already checked out for Spring Break) to make sentencing…
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Next week we will continue to discuss the Williams case in order to continue to unpack the relationship between theories of punishment and the "who" and "how" of sentencing. And, before we wrap up our Williams discussion, I will review what doctrines from Williams remain good law and what do not. That discussion may lead…
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As mention in class, I am working on an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari in Young v. United States. I just received a copy of the petition, which was filed today, and the petition's appendix includes a copy of the Sixth Circuit opinion which rejected the defendant's assertion that a 15-year…
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As reported fully here and here via my main blog, after Bridezilla Jordan Graham failed in her effort to withdraw her plea based on prosecutors' sentencing arguments, she was sentenced to 365 months in federal prison for having pushed her new husband off a cliff. (Notably, the district judge at sentencing cited Graham's apparently lack…
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As promised, here are links to the sentencing submission in US v. Graham (D. Montana): Defense sentencing memorandum for Jordan Linn Graham Prosecution sentencing memorandum for Jordan Linn Graham As I mentioned in class, I am VERY interest in having students review these submissions and then comment/opine about (1) what sentence they would give if…
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I will be driving down to Cincy this Thursday morning in order to participate in oral arguments before the Sixth Circuit in US v. Young. Details about the case is available here at my main blog, and the arguments are slated third for session (as set forth on this calendar) scheduled to begin at 9am.…
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A couple more students got me some more "top-flight" guest-post material in time to get a little credit for the effort. I will post the entries periodically, and start with this sports-related sentencing post for all those who have (like me) already spent a little too much time watching football since classes ended: It’s no…
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As a big sports fan, I tend to get a kick out of being able to follow federal sentencing stories via the sports page. And now, as detailed in these two recent posts from my main blog, there are two timely stories worth watching closely: Any predictions (or suggestions) for … sentencing of Barry Bonds?…
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As noted in this agenda post, our class this Tuesday will focus on the consideration of acquitted and/or uncharged conduct at sentencing, with particular emphasis on the Supreme Court's 1997 ruling in US v. Watts (excerpted in casebook, full text here) and the Ninth Circuit's ruling just last month in US v. Fitch (full opinion…
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I have heard great reports about the class this past week from our two kind guest lecturers. When we (finally!) get the chance to reconnect this coming Wednesday, I would be happy and eager to provide any kind of direct follow-up to what you covered this past week (and students are encouraged to use the this post…
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As detailed this Washington Post article, which is headlined "Arenas awaits sentence on gun charge, fate in NBA," the gun fun had by NBA star Gilbert Arenas last month has now made him a great subject for discussion and debate in a sentencing seminar. I have asked this same sentencing question in this post at my main…
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This week we will start to apply some of our lessons about the challenges of sentencing theory (Chapter 1 of our text) to the story of who sentences (Chapter 2 of our text). To get a running start on this topic, and also to further everyone's interest in sentencing stories surrounding sex offenders and drug offenses, I…
Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law 