Earlier today, the U.S. Sentencing Commission published an updated report on mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenders. The comprehensive report surveys recent sentencing trends for drug offenders subject to mandatory minimum penalties, as well as the impact such penalties have had on the Bureau of Prisons’ inmate population. Among the key findings was the impact
Sometimes the law is wrong even when it is right. Or, in the words of Judge Guido Calabresi, sometimes an otherwise substantively reasonable sentence can still be “absurd.” In United States v. Jones, 15-1518 (2d Cir. Oct. 5, 2017), the a “mentally deficient” defendant with an I.Q. of 69, appealed his 180-month sentence for biting the
Below is a link to a presentation by Chief Research Officer Mark H. Allenbaugh. In the in-depth presentation he provides a statistical overview of how the sentencing landscape has changed under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines over the past 30 years. He notes how increased prosecution rates and average sentences have contributed to the explosion in the
A Missouri man Pleaded guilty on October 23, 2017 to producing child pornography involving a toddler, which carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment. The district court sentenced him to 23 years, 4 months. Sex offenders receive the highest average sentences at the federal level except for first-degree murder. They now constitute the third-largest
A Florida man was convicted by a jury of trafficking a 14-year-old girl out of a motel room over a two-month period. Sex offenders receive the highest average sentences at the federal level except for murder. They now constitute the third-largest group of offenders housed by the federal Bureau of Prisons at over 15,000 inmates,
A group of Chinese nationals has pleaded guilty to conspiring with U.S. citizens to enter into sham marriages with foreign nationals for purposes of evading immigration laws. Citizens were each paid $25,000 for their marriage to the foreign nationals. Conspiracy carries a five-year statutory maximum penalty. https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/naturalized-us-citizen-residing-albuquerque-pleads-guilty-federal-marriage-fraud-charge
On October 19, 2017, in a per curiam decision, the Fifth Circuit reversed a restitution award where the purported victim had received the services contracted for. In so holding, the Fifth Circuit noted that restitution was not punitive in nature. This is in conflict with some circuits that hold restitution is punitive in nature. The
On October 20, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s denial of a defendant’s claim that his attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to inform the defendant of a plea offer for 15 years in a sex trafficking case. The defendant went to trial, lost, and
On October 20, 2017, in a published opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a 51-month sentence for a defendant who was convicted by a jury of using a scheme involving the purchase of hundreds of money orders to evade taxes on income from her business. From 2006-2016, there were 4,983 individuals sentenced under the tax
This article discusses the growing population and expense of housing elderly inmates. Currently, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons houses over 10,000 inmates aged 60 or older. Recent audits by the Inspector General indicate that the BOP has woefully inadequate resources to deal with the elderly inmate population. http://reason.com/archives/2017/10/22/when-prisons-become-nursing-ho