The United States Supreme Court’s “Reporter of Decisions” is an office employing eleven employees who are responsible for technical editing, proofreading and cite-checking all of the Court’s opinions, writing the syllabi that summarize the decisions and accompany their release, and preparing the opinions for final publication. In each of the Court’s opinions, there are two […]

Those closely following federal sentencing reform in crack cases are familiar with the acronyms FSA and SSA. Even though those pieces of legislation were designed to bring sentencing decrease sentences in crack cases, there was scant statistical support for that aspiration. Now, the proof’s in the pudding! In Fiscal Year 2013, there were 22,215 people […]

After a peak in the number of inmates confined in county and city jails at midyear 2008 (785,533), the local jail population was significantly lower by midyear 2013 (731,208). The jail incarceration rate—the confined population per 100,000 U.S. residents—declined between midyear 2012 (237 per 100,000) and 2013 (231 per 100,000). Local jails admitted an estimated […]

We all dream of a happy and fulfilling retirement as a reward for living and working in the rat race. Approaching the golden years, most are concerned with which Medicare supplemental insurance to buy so they are adequately insured as they age. If you’re lucky enough to be blessed with good genes and live into […]

By now, I hope you’re all aware that unless something unforeseen occurs, on November 1, 2014, the Sentencing Commission will implement a new drug guideline that will result in an across-the-board reduction to the guideline sentencing range for all defendants who are being sentenced on drug offenses. Because of the directive from AG Eric Holder, […]

LEAVE THE BEACH TRASH ALONE! Remember all those times you walked the beach on vacation hoping to find something of value that washed up overnight. Hell, an unbroken seashell was often a treasure. Rodney Hyden can top that! Hyden lives in Alachua County, Florida and had the bad fortune of befriending a new neighbor who […]