• STATUS OF FEDERAL DEATH PENALTY

    There has not been a federal execution since 2003 and there about 60 federal inmates on death row. However, last year, the many death penalty debacles experienced by the states became the fulcrum that slowly moved the Obama Administration toward abolishing the federal death penalty. A botched execution in Oklahoma brought national attention to the […]

  • JUDGE TAKES A MULLIGAN!

    Jerry Baxter, the judge presiding over the sentencing of 10 former Atlanta public school educators convicted of participating in a widespread conspiracy to cheat on state tests, ordered three of the defendants to serve seven years in state prison. However, upon reflection, Baxter had buyer’s remorse over the severity of the sentences he imposed and […]

  • JUSTICE, INDONESIAN STYLE!

    Alright, we all know about the severity of the federal criminal justice system—harsh mandatory minimum penalties, guideline sentences that are arbitrary and have no foundation in either science or common sense, and the upper hand that prosecutors have in effecting the outcome of cases. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to some idyllic far off […]

  • BEAM ME UP SCOTTY!

      A three-judge panel in the Ninth Circus vacated a sentence imposed for knowingly aiming the beam of a laser pointer at an aircraft. In calculating the base offense level, the district court enhanced that level, pursuant to USSG § 2A5.2(a)(2)(A), after finding the conduct rose to the level of “reckless endangerment.” The panel noted […]

  • A BRIDGE TOO FAR (OR TOO NARROW)?

    Deputy Chief of Staff Bridget Kelly and Port Authority Deputy Director Bill Baroni, two senior New Jersey officials with ties to Gov. Chris Christie, were indicted for their roles in the creation of traffic snarls on the George Washington Bridge. These indictments were returned hours after David Wildstein, a former Christie ally and Port Authority […]