“The Most Important Sentencing Conference You May Have Never Heard Of”

The title of this post is the title of this new essay from the Sentencing Matters Substack authored by Steve Chanenson.  Because I am myself guilty of not giving enough attention to state sentencing systems and state sentencing commissions, I eager to highlight and echo Steve’s discussion of the upcoming National Association of Sentencing Commissions’ conference.  Here is how his essay starts and concludes:

Next week, many of the brightest and most dedicated minds in criminal sentencing will gather on the shores of Lake Monona and in the shadow of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison. They will convene for the Annual Conference of the National Association of Sentencing Commissions (NASC). If you have never heard of NASC before, you are not alone. And that is a shame….

So why is NASC not better known and even better attended? Charitably, it could be that people assume it is only for members and staff of sentencing commissions. Plausible, but factually incorrect. NASC is open to all who are interested in sentencing and, of course, that should be everyone. Less charitably, it could be because NASC’s focus is not exclusively or even primarily federal. Even though the overwhelming majority of criminal cases are brought and decided in the state courts, the federal system garners most of the attention. Don’t get me wrong. The federal system is important, and the U.S. Sentencing Commission is comprised of and staffed by great people generally doing admirable and difficult work. But there is an enduring (and, to me, annoying) fixation on the federal law of just about everything. Maybe we can blame law schools for drumming it into our heads that the federal system is the default. Maybe we can blame at least some state Supreme Courts for deferring to federal approaches even when interpreting some of their own state constitutions. Maybe we can blame the culture for elevating the prestige of the national approach. After all, people say, “Don’t make a federal case out of it,” instead of “Don’t make a Wyoming case out it.” Regardless, without ignoring the federal experience, there is much to learn from those laboratories of democracy called states. We may find something to emulate and something to avoid in our own corner of the justice system. And, collectively, we need to pay more attention to the structures (as well as the severity) of sentencing.

Do yourself a favor. Make your way to Madison, Wisconsin next week for the NASC Conference. Or plan now to be there next August wherever NASC holds it.  You won’t be sorry.