Lots of morning sentencing news

The papers are filled with two sets of sentencing-related stories.  The Supreme Court’s decision in Leocal v. Ashcroft — holding that DUI is not a “crime of violence” for which an immigrant can be subject to automatic deportation — is thoughtfully discussed in articles in the NY Times and LA Times. Both pieces suggest that the impact of this seemingly little decision could be very big; the NY Times article quotes Ira Kurzban, a prominent immigration lawyer in Miami, saying Leocal is “going to have an immediate and significant impact on a large number of cases.”

The work of the Enron sentencing jury (detailed here) is also discussed widely, and this Houston Chronicle story covers the sentencing angle most effectively. In the article, one of the defense attorneys describes the Blakely-inspired sentencing phase of the trial as “exceedingly weird — pure guesswork.” An AP story here provides broader coverage.

UPDATE: With thanks to How Appealing, here is a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial entitled “Sentencing Guidelines: Court should fix a problem it created.”