Stanford’s exciting plans

I noted earlier here on-going efforts to figure out the mixed-up post-Blakely world. An exciting “Roundtable” being planned by Professor Robert Weisberg for Stanford Law School should be added to the events list. I feel very fortunate to be involved in this project, which Professor Weisberg has described in this way:

Stanford Law School will host a timely event, The Future of American Sentencing: A National Roundtable on Blakely, on Oct. 8-9, 2004. Stanford Law School will convene an assembly of many of the leading national experts on sentencing law and policy for a public discussion of the whole range of post-Blakely issues. Through a series of presentations and panel discussions, and culminating in a set of working papers, the Roundtable will consider such broad themes as whether the Court has offered a coherent rationale for the relationship between the Sixth Amendment and sentencing; what types of types of judicial, legislative, and administrative remedies will satisfy BlakelyBlakely might ultimately prove a boon to the widespread national movement for sentencing reform that has evolved in the wake of, and in substantial tension with, the advent of modern guidelines sentencing.

This event will also be the occasion for the launching of a new Center for Criminal Justice at Stanford Law School, which will integrate research, public events, and clinical education in the criminal field. Legal scholars so far lined up for the Blakely event include: Douglas Berman, Stephanos Bibas, Frank Bowman, Steven Chanenson, Margareth Etienne, Richard Frase, Nancy King, Susan Klein, Marc Miller, Kevin Reitz, Kate Stith, David Yellen, and Ronald Wright. These scholars are among the most respected and prolific commentators on American sentencing law, and many of them have also served as advisors, consultants, and drafters for some of the most important sentencing innovations in the state and federal systems.

The Roundtable will also include Jeff Fisher, the winning counsel for Blakely in the Supreme Court, Deputy Solicitor General Michael Dreeben, who represents the United States on these issues, and other lawyers involved in the Blakely litigation, as well as jurists and commissioners involved in sentencing reform in such Blakely-relevant states as Kansas, Minnesota, and California.

More details on both the conference and the new Center will be available soon. Meanwhile, for further information, contact Prof. Robert Weisberg at weisberg@stanford.edu