New sentencing laws for the new year

Ringing in the new year, newspapers are filled with stories of new and developing sentencing laws for 2006:

• As detailed in this AP story, the shame game comes to Tennessee in the form of a new law requiring drunk drivers “to do 24 hours of roadside cleanup while wearing orange vests emblazoned with the phrase ‘I am a Drunk Driver’.”  TalkLeft here comments critically, and this post provides broader coverage of shame punishments.

• As this article details, Illinois is taking a more tradtional sentencing route to deal with drunk driving: new laws go into effect today that “substantially toughen penalties for certain repeat drunk drivers, people who drink and drive without a valid license or who are uninsured, drunk drivers transporting children, and people who kill another person when driving under the influence of alcohol.”

• This article from California notes the recent enactment of “two new laws dealing with sex offenders” and details the provisions of pending bills that include broad residency restrictions and lifetime GPS tracking for sex offenders.