Waymaker

An Interview with Judge Norma Shapiro

Judge Norma Shapiro was the first woman to be appointed to the federal district court in the federal Third Circuit, the eighth female judge in the United States in 1978, and only the 12th female judge in the history of the United States.

Features

Proportionality, Disparity, and Recidivism

In February, 2012, the U.S. Sentencing Commission held a hearing on the state of federal sentencing seven years after the landmark Supreme Court opinion in United States v. Booker.

Divergent Paths to Federal and Pennsylvania Sentencing Guideline Reforms

While sentencing reforms came out of a social movement intended to rationalize sentencing and constrain judicial discretion, their creators viewed the problem very differently.

We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us, or Move Over, Sisyphus

People are generally unsympathetic to incarcerated people and policymakers do not want to deal with the issue even though it makes economic sense to do so.

The Justice Department and Reentry Policy Building Engagement, Improving Outcomes

To be truly effective in finding comprehensive solutions to address crime in our communities, we also need to prevent crime—and here reentry plays an integral role.

Inside Rikers: The Social Impact of Mass Incarceration in the Twenty-First Century

Mass incarceration and the get-tough policies that fuel it have wreaked havoc on the lives of prisoners and the communities to which they return, as evidenced by Rikers Island and the demographics of this exiled population.

Teaching Law Students, Judges, and the Community Rational Sentencing Policies

During the last 10 years of my tenure at the University of Minnesota Law School, I led a course called the Sentencing Workshop.

Technology

Judge Bill Dressel: An Insightful Educator

As a district court judge in Colorado for more than 22 years and then president of the National Judicial College since 2000, Judge Bill Dressel has vast insight into case management, trial management, court structure, and governance issues. He also touches on the benefits of having experienced judges as well as younger, diverse judges and advocates for pre-bench education programs as one way to improve the judicial experience and the profession.

Judicial Ethics

Ethical Boundaries for Judges Working with Correctional Facilities

Judges should stay informed of corrections institutions’ practices by engaging in dialogue with corrections officers in official settings and touring the facilities to which they sentence offenders.