Please feed the data junkies, USSC

For over a year following Booker, the US Sentencing Commission did a great job producing (on this page) real-time data on how Booker was affecting (or not affecting) federal sentencing outcomes in the district courts.  (During that time, it also did a great job catching up on pre-Booker data responsibilities).  But, over the last six months, real-time data from the USSC has been in short supply; the last official post-Booker district court sentencing data only captures sentencings through June 30, 2006. 

Moreover, and more disappointingly, the Commission has not publicly discussed some of the more dynamic post-Booker data issues such as defendants' fates after post-Booker remands or post-Booker sentencing outcomes for white-collar offenders.  And even though the Supreme Court has now taken up reasonableness review in Claiborne and Rita, the USSC has not produced any data at all about post-Booker appeal rates or outcomes.

I am hopeful (and fairly optimistic) that we will soon see a new batch post-Booker district court sentencing data.  I am also wishing (and far less optimistic) that some new and different kinds of post-Booker data will emerge from the USSC before the year is out.