CALENDAR: The next meeting of the Sentencing Commission will held on Tuesday, April  17, 2007, at 10:00 a.m.

March 10, 2007
Star Ledger
Editorial:  A Better Way For Drug Users

March 22, 2007
Press of Atlantic City
Drug Court Marks Its Second Graduation

March 14, 2007
New Jersey Herald
Newton Rejects Sex Offender Ban

March 13, 2007
Asbury Park Press
Panel Approves Barnes For Parole Board 

March 9, 2007
Star Ledger
Inspecting Megan’s Law

March 6, 2007
Star Ledger
Anti-Corruption Bills Advance In Senate

March 2, 2007
Philly.com
Op-Ed: Death Penalty Report Flawed From The Start

March 1, 2007
Baltimore Sun
Op-Ed: Don’t Abolish [NJ’s] Death Penalty, Fix It

March 12, 2007
USA Today     
Lawmakers Consider Lessening Crack Penalties

March 13, 2007
Miami Herald
Crist Signs Act Targeting Violent Offenders

March 12, 2007
TomPaine.com
Op-Ed: Seeking Justice In The Drug War

March 11, 2007
Los Angeles Times
Op-Ed:  The New American Witch Hunt:  Demonizing Sex Offenders By Passing Tough, Mindless Laws Rather Than Treating Them Makes Little Sense

March 9, 2007
New York Times
Violent Crime In Cities Shows Sharp Surge
           
March 9, 2007
Guardian U.K.
Government Drug Policy Does Not Work, Says Report

March 9, 2007
Nashua Telegraph
Bills Would Cut State Prison Population

March 6, 2007
National  Law Journal
More Lawmakers Take A Stand Against Death Penalty
           
March 6, 2007
Casper Star-Tribune
Study of Sentencing Laws on Legislature’s List

March 6, 2007
New York Times
For Sex Offenders, A Dispute Over Therapy’s Benefits

March 5, 2007
New York Times
A Record of Failure At Center For Sex Offenders

March 5, 2007
National Law Journal
Sex Offender Registration & Federal Prosecution
           
March 1, 2007
Ledger-Enquirer
Drug Court Gets Green Light: Program Would Keep Nonviolent Offenders Out Of Jail

March 1, 2007
USA Today
Study Decries Execution Appeals Process
                       
February 28, 2007
Boston Globe
Op-Ed:  The Politics of Drug Sentencing

February 28, 2007
Yahoo!news
Op-Ed: 200 Years For Kiddie Porn

February 27, 2007
Denver Post
Op-Ed: State Needs A Sentencing Commission

February 27, 2007
SFGate.com
Editorial:  Prison Realities

February 25, 2007
USA Today
Sex-Offender Residency Laws Get Second Look

February 27, 2007
Baltimore Sun
Mandatory Drug Terms Are Targeted In Report

Apprendi & Blakely Issues

Rita, Clairborne, And The Court Of Appeals’ Attachment To The Sentencing Guidelines
Professor Carissa Hessick and Professor F. Andrew Hessick

Drug Policy

Drugs – Facing Facts:  The Report Of The RSA Commission On Illegal Drugs
RSA Commission

Maryland’s Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentencing Laws:  Their Impact On Incarceration And Communities Of Color
Justice Policy Institute                

General Sentencing Policy

A Decade of Sentencing Reform:  A Sentencing Commission Staff Report
Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission

Changing Direction?  State Sentencing Reforms 2004-2006
The Sentencing Project

Sourcebook Of Federal  Sentencing Statistics
The United States Sentencing Commission

U.S. Sentencing Commission 2006 Annual Report
The United States Sentencing Commission

Sentencing In Wisconsin: Drug Trafficking
Wisconsin Sentencing Commission

Throwing Away The Key
Ellen S. Podger

White-Collar Defendants and White-Collar Crimes
Andrew Weissman and Joshua Block

The Consequences Aren’t Minor:  The Impact Of Trying Youth As Adults And Strategies For Reform
Campaign For Youth Justice

Death Penalty

Justice Delayed?  Time Consumption In Capital Appeals:  A Multi-State Study
Barry Latzer, J.D., Ph.D., James N.G. Cauthen, J.D., Ph.D.

Final Report With Findings and Recommendations
The Governor’s Commission On The Administration Of Lethal Injection

Recidivism

Community Corrections In Colorado:  A Study Of Program Outcomes And Recidivism, FY00-FY04
The Colorado Division of Criminal Justice

Miscellaneous

Violent Crime In America:  24 Months Of Alarming Trends
Police Executive Research Forum

Sex Offenders

The Accuracy of Recidivism Risk Assessments For Sexual Offenders: A Meta-Analysis
Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, Department of Justice, Canada

Report Of the Sex Offender Policy Task Force
National Association Of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Banishment By A Thousand Laws:  Residency Restrictions On Sex Offenders
Professor Corey Rayburn

Understanding Treatment For Adults and Juveniles Who Have Committed Sex Offenses
Center For Sex Offender Management

New Jersey

State v.  Hector A. Velasquez,   N.J. Super.  (App. Div. 2007)
Docket No. A-3982-01T3

Held:  In this appeal, the Appellate Division  accepted defendant’s claim that the two extended terms of imprisonment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3g were imposed in violation of his right to notice and indictment guaranteed by the State Constitution.   N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3g requires the imposition of an extended term of  imprisonment where the defendant has been convicted of sexual assault or criminal sexual contact and the predicate crime involves either 1) violence, or 2) the threat of violence, and 3) the victim of the crime was 16 years of age.  In this case, the Appellate Division observed that the crimes for which defendant received extended-term sentences do not include the elements of “violence” or “threat of violence” as defined by N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3g.  Instead, his crimes were established by proof that he sexually penetrated a child who is at least thirteen but younger than sixteen and that the defendant was least four years older than that child. Because the extended term raised the maximum sentence beyond the range ordinarily applicable to the underlying offense, the Appellate Division concluded that under Apprendi v. New Jersey the findings of violence and age must be construed as the “functional equivalent” of elements.  Accordingly, defendant was entitled to both notice and explicit findings by both the grand jurors and the petit jurors with respect to these issues.   The Appellate Division, however, rejected defendant's argument that notice was required with respect to those findings which underpinned the parole ineligibility period authorized by the No Early Release Act.