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March 5, 2024
Lots of sentencing pieces in latest issue of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law
I was pleased to see that the most recent issue of Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law, which includes papers from a symposium last year covering sentencing topics, is now in print. All the articles can be accessed via the OSJCL website, and here are just a few of the many good reads:
Like They’re Waiting for you to Die: Development of the Inadequate Medical Care Doctrine from District Court to United States Sentencing Commission by Shanna H. Rifkin & Elizabeth A. Blackwood
The Guardrails Are Off: Why Judicial Discretion in Ohio Criminal Sentencing Has Careened Out of Control and How Data Analytics Can Bring It Back on Course by Justice Michael P. Donnelly
The Use of Sentencing Data and the Importance of Getting it Right by Melissa Schiffel
Reflections from the Bench: Ohio Sentencing Law by Jennifer Muench-McElfresh
March 5, 2024 at 05:03 PM | Permalink
Comments
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2024/03/california-is-about-to-get-even-worse.php
Let's hope that stuff stays in California, but I'd bet that Justice Donnelly would be ok with it.
Posted by: federalist | Mar 6, 2024 10:01:17 AM
"The stark reality of sentencing in Ohio includes the strong possibility that two judges would impose two different sentences for the same crime. This difference can encompass the vast range between probation and life imprisonment."
Yeah, no shit sherlock. That's the sort of cosmic justice argument that cuts no ice. You don't like hanging judges--try committing your crime in Cuyahoga county rather than Morrow County. Localities get to choose their approaches to crime.
Posted by: federalist | Mar 6, 2024 10:24:32 AM
I won't speak for Justice Donnelly, but I have not seen the California Racial Justice Act so far having nearly the impact that I had expected it to have when first enacted. The coming retroactivity might impact that story, but there may be barriers to the CRJA impacting lots and lots cases: https://www.courthousenews.com/california-criminal-justice-system-moving-slowly-to-confront-biases-discrimination/. Still, it will be quite interesting to see how California data gets marshalled to try to make cases for making new claims under the CRJA in the months and years ahead.
Posted by: Doug B | Mar 6, 2024 10:29:23 AM
The CRJA allows judges to rely on disparate impact theories, which are extremely problematic in this context.
https://reason.com/2024/03/04/a-paramedic-got-5-years-for-elijah-mcclains-death-thats-not-justice/?comments=true#comment-10475384
Interested your thoughts on this case. Readers may weigh in as well.
Posted by: federalist | Mar 6, 2024 10:31:47 AM
federalist, states clearly can (and I think should) seek to regulate and enable review of the imposition and the outcomes (leniency/severity) of sentences. I believe Justice Donnelly is contending that Ohio could do better on this front (and he urges "moving Ohio toward a data driven criminal justice system, which will, in turn, increase transparency and restore public confidence in the system"). And California seems to want to redress sentences when there is data showing racial disparities in their application.
I have not had any time to follow the Elijah McClain case, which seems to have had twists and turns before prosecution and beyond. I also read that a mandatory minimum was driving the paramedic's sentence after his jury conviction, but also that the paramedic can still move for a reduction under Colorado law. I also do not know all the details about other charges/outcomes/sentences of others involved in McClain's stop/death. I tend not to blog/comment on complicated state cases unless/until I have time to come to a basic understanding of the applicable law and facts. I still lack that here.
Do you have a specific sentencing issue of concern here, federalist? The mandatory minimum? The judicial authority to reduce the sentence? Possible sentencing issues on appeal? Do you know if there was a plea offered to the paramedic? I read there were some possible deal-making for the police involved, but again I have not had time to keep up.
Posted by: Doug B | Mar 6, 2024 10:53:32 AM
I too haven't studied McClain case. Doesn't feel like justice; although I don't like the idea of just injecting sedatives in people who haven't consented.
Donnelly doesn't seem to like the local control of prosecutions. That's fine--own it. Morrow County gets to be tough on crime, no?
"And California seems to want to redress sentences when there is data showing racial disparities in their application." When you have unequal rates of crime commission, then racial disparities are going to happen. And that means you'll get a racial discount sometimes, which can be used by white murderers to get a break also via federal racial discrimination law.
Posted by: federalist | Mar 6, 2024 11:14:10 AM
