We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.
TOP OF THE NEWS
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died Friday, leaving a vacancy on the Court that the Republicans have vowed to fill quickly (in the face of virulent Democratic opposition).
Justice Ginsburg’s many accomplishments will be written about by many in the coming days, but prisoners might recall that she was the sole justice to vote with both majority opinions in United States v. Booker: she was the fifth vote in a 5-4 decision holding the mandatory sentencing guidelines unconstitutional and she was the fifth vote for the separate Booker opinion making the guidelines advisory. Her two votes gave us the advisory guideline system that has now defined the federal sentencing system for 15 years.
The Senate must confirm a presidential appointment for the Supreme Court. If the Republicans fill the seat, the likelihood is remote that the Court would get another Justice as friendly to reasonable interpretation of criminal justice issues.
Plus, approving a new Supreme Court pick tosses another task into the Senate’s basket for the few remaining legislative days in the session, making the passage of any COVID-19 stimulus bill that might contain provisions improving CARES Act release and compassionate release even less likely.
Last week, President Trump called on the Senate to compromise with the House on getting a stimulus package. Senate Republicans immediately threw cold water on his proposal. “This used to be the White House versus Pelosi up until about now — now the president’s coming in and saying we can maybe go to $1.5 trillion,” Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley told Bloomberg on Thursday. “He better be careful of that because I don’t think that will get through the United States Senate.”
Sentencing Law and Policy, In (sentencing) memoriam: noting a few major sentencing majority opinions by Justice Ginsburg (September 19, 2020)
Bloomberg, Trump’s Shift on Stimulus Leaves Republicans Skeptical, Divided (September 17, 2020)
– Thomas L. Root