Criminal Law Commons^™

Dan Freed: My Teacher, My Colleague, My Friend, Ronald Weich

All Faculty Scholarship

At a recent meeting of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions, Yale professor Dan Freed was honored during a panel discussion titled "Standing on the Shoulders of Sentencing Giants," Dan Freed is indeed a sentencing giant. but he is the gentlest giant of all. It is hard to imagine that a man as mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and self-effacing as Dan Freed has had such a profound impact on federal sentencing law and so many other areas of criminal justice policy, Yet he has.

I've been in many rooms with Dan Freed over the years — classrooms, boardrooms, dining rooms, and others. …

Evidence-Based Sentencing: The Science Of Sentencing Policy And Practice, Richard Redding

Richard E. Redding

Sentencing is where much of the action is in criminal practice, particularly since ninety percent or more of cases never go to trial but are settled through plea bargains. Acting within the constraints of applicable presumptive or mandatory sentencing guidelines, probation officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges typically rely on their instincts and experience to fashion a sentence based upon the information available about the offense and offender. But relying upon gut instinct and experience is no longer sufficient. It may even be unethical – a kind of sentencing malpractice that produces sentencing recommendations and decisions that are neither transparent …

Extraordinary And Compelling: A Re-Examination Of The Justifications For Compassionate Release, William W. Berry Iii

William W Berry III

Federal law, unbeknownst to many, includes a provision that permits the immediate release of federal prisoners. This safety valve provision requires that the Director of the Bureau of Prisons make a motion on behalf of the prisoner in order to secure the prisoner's compassionate release. Far from being a veiled version of parole, this compassionate release provision is to be used only in circumstances deemed "extraordinary and compelling." While the Bureau of Prisons has read this language very narrowly for many years, considering only terminally ill inmates as candidates for compassionate release, the Sentencing Commission modified its Guideline commentary in …

Revolution Or Evolution: Recent Developments In American Federal Criminal Sentencing, Steven L. Chanenson

Steven L. Chanenson

No abstract provided.