Foreword
Crimes and Punishments: Entering the Mind of a Sentencing Judge provides a cross-section of different crimes for which Judge Frederic Block sentenced a convicted criminal. Go into the Judge's private thoughts and doubts as to whether the right sentence was imposed. The book shows what sentencing is all about, and how at least one federal judge deals with this awesome aspect of his judicial responsibilities.
Log In to view your rate
Unlock the discounted member rate
Join first as a member, and then purchase this product at special member pricing
The government has no power greater than to take away a person���s freedom or even life. We trust our judges to balance justice and mercy to arrive at an appropriate sentence when a person has been convicted of a crime. Yet to a large extent, how a judge goes about this process is invisible to the lawyers in a case, the public, and even to the criminal defendant being sentenced. To be sure, judges often give reasons for their sentences, such as explaining when their sentence is dictated by a statute requiring a mandatory minimum sentence or how the punish-ment fits under the sentencing guidelines. But the human dimension of this - how a judge actually balances justice and mercy, what a judge feels in putting a person in prison for a long time or condemning a person to death - is rarely publicly explored.
Judge Frederic Block, a long-time federal district court judge, has written a book which describes the experience of a human being punishing other human beings. Judge Block does this by telling the stories of some of the cases that he has handled since coming on the bench in 1994. Each of the cases is compelling and Judge Block is a great storyteller. Each evokes important issues concerning our crim-inal justice system. Judge Block is candid in sharing his thinking and his feelings as he approached imposing punishments in these instances. He is remarkably self-reflective, often describing his concerns that his religion or the unfounded accusations against him or his recent reading might be unduly influencing the sentences he is imposing. Along the way, he tells us a lot about the workings of the federal courts and also about his life.
This is a book that can be enjoyed simply for its stories and its humanity. It is about the crimes people commit and what a judge considers in punishing them. It is accessible to lawyers and non-lawyers alike.
Ankerwycke
9781641053815
210
1620773
6 x 9 Paperback
5/29/2019 12:00:00 AM
Audio and Video | On-Demand CLE
Using Litigation Analytics in Mediation
Audio and Video | On-Demand CLE
Beyond Traditional Innovation: AI in the Courtroom [CC]
Audio and Video | On-Demand CLE
Traps for Appellate Out-of-Towners: Differences Among Neighboring State Appellate Practices (Mountain State Edition) [CC]
Feb
08
Events | Webinar
Generative Artificial Intelligence in the Courts: What Judges Should Expect to See [CC]
CLE 90 min
Generative artificial intelligence (GAI) seems to be ubiquitous. Its use has led to litigation under various theories of liability and that litigation will only multiply.
Jan
24
Events | Webinar
Innovative Spanish Administrative Hearings Improve Access
The Washington State Office of Administrative Hearings is holding hearings in Spanish, without an interpreter and with a bilingual Administrative Law Judge, to increase meaningful participation by th…
Jan
19
Events | Webinar
So You Want to Be An Expat Lawyer: What You Need to Know About Ethics
This program will cover ethical obligations of competence of lawyers abroad, which code of ethics applies in one's virtual, cross-border and international legal practice, ethical obligations in respe…