The development of the federal sentencing guidelines  played an important role in shaping America’s criminal legal system. In 1984, Congress passed the Sentencing Reform Act  which established the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The Sentencing Commission’s primary purpose was to reduce disparities in federal sentencing. To address these disparities, the Commission would ask judges to consider a variety of factors  in their rulings including the nature of the offense committed, th

As police departments’ roles are widened beyond their expertise, police are granted vast discretion to employ tactics of force, and there is

Duane Buck was sentenced to death by a jury in 1997 after his own counsel called an expert witness who testified that Mr. Buck would be a...

Stop-and-frisk is undoubtedly a hot topic in this campaign season. Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump is a proponent of...

As a criminal law practitioner the percentage of cases that actually go to trial may be in the low single digit percentages, however the...