Sentencing Law and Policy

Crime rates in 2004 remain at recent lows

As detailed here at CNN.com and over at TalkLeft, the latest Justice Department statistics shows that the "nation's crime rate was unchanged last year, holding at the lowest levels since the government began surveying crime victims in 1973."  There will surely lots of debates over (1) whether these findings have been impacted by past sentencing policies and (2) whether they should impact future sentencing policies.  Late last year in this post, I suggested reasons why 2004 ought to be a uniquely rich and interesting time period for examining the relationship between sentencing policies and crime rates.  I look forward to seeing all the coming analysis.

Another flavor of the prior conviction exception

Thanks to a reader tip, I can note a Colorado appeals court's discussion of yet another aspect of the prior conviction exception.  In Colorado v. Martinez, No. 04-CA-2136 (Colo. App. Sept. 22, 2005) (available here), the court rejects the defendant's suggested narrow reading of the exception (which, as noted here, is the Ninth Circuit's approach) to hold that misdemeanor convictions do come within the exception.  The Martinez opinion effectively details that many (but not all) lower state courts have likewise held that misdemeanor convictions do come within the prior conviction exception.

The white-collar beat goes on

The sentencing last week of Dennis Kozlowski (details here) continues to generate buzz in the media, and other white-collar sentencings have the attention of the blogosphere: 

• From New York, this newspaper article thoughtfully explores white-collar sentencing dynamics and appropriately links the new severity in white-collar cases to increased severity in drug cases.

• From the White Collar Crime Prof Blog, this post reviews sentences handed out to HeathSouth executives, and this post details a 100-year sentence(!) imposed in a state fraud case from Colorado.

• The media and the blogosphere meet in this NY Times item on the Kozlowski sentencing, which draws on posts from the White Collar Crime rof Blog and Prawfsblawg.