Monthly Archive: March 2021

Study Shows…What the Interest Group Wants it to

by · Mar 8, 2021 2:03 pm

In an article published by The Washington Post on March 2, written by Tom Jackman, there are many references to a ‘new study’ by the Sentencing Project. The argument being made by Jackman via the study is that no individual in the United States should receive a prison sentence for more than 20 years, no matter the level of crime. Are we to believe that if an individual murders a child, or brutally murders a family member, we should ensure they have another chance at being a member of society? 

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Why Do We Have a “School to Prison Pipeline”?

by · Mar 8, 2021 11:44 am

For the most part, we don’t.  A recent report from the Pew Foundation, linked here at Sentencing Law and Policy, shows that the the number of people housed in prisons and jails in the USA is just over one-half of one percent of the population (that is, 1.8 million out of 330 million).  This sliver of one percent is what the “justice reform” crowd ceaselessly and dishonestly refers to as “mass incarceration.”

But to the extent we do have a “school to prison pipeline” in some jurisdictions, the following article reporting on conditions in Baltimore tells us why:    “City student passes 3 classes in four years, ranks near top half of class with 0.13 GPA”

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Should Prosecutors Take a Pass on Stealing?

by · Mar 8, 2021 10:28 am

For practical purposes, that is the question raised by this piece in the Washington Post authored by three professors at the Georgetown University Law Center’s Criminal Defense & Prisoner Advocacy Clinic.  You will not be surprised to hear that their answer is “yes.”  Specifically, they opine that, “The U.S. attorney’s office should stop criminally prosecuting nonviolent misdemeanors,” which means, in practice, that it should stop prosecuting almost all the massive amount of stealing that gets done in Washington, DC’s stores.

I respectfully dissent.

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Supreme Court Adds Fourth Amendment Case

by · Mar 8, 2021 8:36 am

The U.S. Supreme Court this morning took up a search-and-seizure case for full briefing and argument. The case involves procedural questions regarding (1) the termination of the criminal case before the seized person can sue for damages and (2) the burden of proof on the existence of exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless entry. [See update below.] Continue reading . . .

SCOTUS: Nominal Damages Are Enough to Avoid Mootness

by · Mar 8, 2021 8:13 am

A recurring problem in civil rights litigation is that a party with standing to have an allegedly illegal practice enjoined may not have standing by the time the litigation reaches completion. Students may graduate. Employees may change jobs. If an injunction is the only relief sought, the case may be declared moot and dismissed. In addition to the mootness problem, injunctive relief might not be available from the beginning. A person subjected to a questioned police practice may be highly unlikely to ever face it again.

A party whose rights are violated but who suffers no real damage may sue for “nominal damages,” a token award of, say, one dollar. The Supreme Court held today that such damages are sufficient to prevent mootness and allow the suit to reach conclusion. Continue reading . . .

Joe Biden and His Critical Race Theory Allies Versus the Reality of Surging Violent Crime

by · Mar 7, 2021 12:47 pm

Commentary Magazine has a long and wonderfully wide-ranging article about two present-day phenomena on a collision course:  The Critical Race Theory alliances that have captured much of President Biden’s attention and seem to be shaping his criminal justice policies; and the massive (indeed, unprecedented) surge in violent crime we have seen unfolding for more than a year  —  a surge most pronounced in the cities friendliest to CRT and “progressive prosecutors,” e.g., Minneapolis and Philadelphia.

The basic question the article presents is whether Biden has forgotten his past support for sober criminal justice policies and the life-saving success he (and Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) had with them, and whether, if so, we are headed back to the bloody failures of the Sixties and Seventies  —  failures that exact a disproportionately high toll on minority communities.

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The Tide Starts to Turn

by · Mar 6, 2021 10:43 am

I’ve taken the title of this post from an entry on Power Line by my friend Steve Hayward.  He in turn is recounting a USAToday/Ipsos survey titled, “Stark divide on race, policing emerges since George Floyd’s death.”  The gist of it is captured in the first sentence:

Americans’ trust in the Black Lives Matter movement has fallen and their faith in local law enforcement has risen since protests demanding social justice swept the nation last year, according to an exclusive USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll.

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George Gascón Cites Misleading Poll of L.A. County Crime Victims

by · Mar 5, 2021 1:05 pm

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón issued a statement yesterday which released the results from a survey of crime victims in Los Angeles County. The polling results were described by Californians for Safety and Justice (CSJ), a sentencing reform group funded by George Soros.  In the their release yesterday the following was said, “According to polling, 65 percent of respondents favored taking individual circumstances into account over automatically adding extra years onto a sentence because of prior convictions”. This statement addresses one of the many questions included in this survey that were framed in a leading manner. 

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Homicides Surge in Oakland as Defunding of Police Departments Continues

by · Mar 5, 2021 10:52 am

Fox News writer Lucas Manfredi explains in an article yesterday afternoon, “Homicides in Oakland, California have surged 400% citywide in 2021, according to the latest crime analysis data shared by the city’s police department.” The article states that there has been a surge in homicides in 4 of the 5 Areas of Oakland. As of December 2020, the City of Oakland began making budget cuts in response to a movement to reallocate funding and defund the Oakland Police Department. 

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