Guidelines Blues: The Commission’s Next Moves
The United States Sentencing Commission is gearing up to make their recommendations for the next round of amendments. It’s the follow-up album to their first hit record, which included memorable songs such as ” The Zero Point Offender Boogie”, and “Release Me (Compassionately)”. The real question is can they top their debut with their sophomore…
Acquitted Conduct Revisited: Mmmmm… Flavors of Evil
WATCH ON YOUTUBE, or LISTEN ON APPLE PODCASTS, SPOTIFY, or wherever you get your podcasts! If you wanna feel really dim, spend an hour or so trying to debate the fine points of federal constitutional law with Prof. Doug Berman and Mark Allenbaugh. We had to come back to the issue of how the guidelines…
Drugs on the Docket: Data and storytelling in federal drug sentencing and the U.S. Sentencing Commission
Mark Allenbaugh and I recently had the honor of appearing on an important new podcast about drug policy, created by the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at the Ohio State University. This six-part series was released in May 2023. In coordination with the creators of this excellent podcast, we are re-posting our episode, (ep. 5)…
The Zero Point Offender Guideline Amendment: The ZIPPO IS ON FIRE!
Yes, we came up with a pithy name we are sure will catch on for the new and VERY consequential US sentencing guideline amendment which allows a 2-level reduction for those with zero criminal history points and who aren’t excluded based on several listed criterion. This amendment is a BIG DEAL, and will be retroactive,…
BIG Guideline Changes on the Horizon (With Mark Allenbaugh)
On April 5, 2023, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to make several substantive changes to the federal sentencing guidelines. If approved (or not acted upon) by Congress, some of the most significant amendments in recent memory will go into effect on Nov. 1, 2023. These changes will effect anyone currently pending sentencing in federal…
PRESUMED GUILTY: Using Acquitted, Dismissed, and Uncharged Conduct to Increase Sentences.
Watch this episode on YOUTUBE, on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you get your podcasts! In a perfect world, the presumption of innocence is sacrosanct. If you are found not guilty by a jury, common sense and the constitution dictate that acquitted conduct should not later be used to enhance your sentence on other charges. But in federal…
Sunny Balwani (Elizabeth Holmes co-defendant) Sentencing Post-Mortem: The “ABCs” of Federal Fraud Sentencing
Watch this episode on YOUTUBE, on APPLE PODCASTS, or wherever you get your podcasts! In this case, we deal with the “ABCs” of federal fraud sentencing, meaning, we’re doing a deep comparative analysis of three recent high profile cases: MICHAEL AVENATTI, SUNNY BALWANI, and JULIE & TODD CHRISLEY. I never ceased to be amazed by the miraculous…