Click here to read my op-ed in the New York Times, addressing the absence of a plea bargaining effort in the case of Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast, Serial.

The fabulous Historyapolis Project, run by Kirsten Delagard, Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of History at Augsburg College, is running a series of blog entries this women’s history month showcasing notable Minneapolis women. On March 13, 2014, the Project ran this entry by JaneAnne Murray on civil rights lawyer and activist, Lena Olive Smith.    

Time and again, the issue on appeal involves a defendant whose presentence report estimated a guideline range far higher than that in his plea agreement – sometimes triggering three-strikes laws and mandatory minimum sentences. Two recent cases, United States v. Ruacho, issued on March 11, 2014 (published), and United Haubrich, issued on March 3, [...]

In a cautionary tale, Raymond Cortez was convicted at trial based in part (or maybe wholly) on a factual stipulation contained in a written plea agreement he had entered into with the government, but which he later rejected. In the plea agreement, Cortez “agree[d] this stipulation [could] be used against [him] at any time [...]

Is a defendant denying responsibility when he challenges a guideline enhancement in his presentence report? The Eighth Circuit leaves that important question open in United States v. Bowers, issued on March 4, 2014 (published). But it’s a complex question that raises competing principles: accuracy in sentencing, the enforceability of plea agreements, and the burdens [...]