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Hello, everyone.

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Two weeks ago we talked about criminal
trials, at the end of which a jury

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may find the defendant guilty or not.

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Last week, we started talking about
the sentencing stage,

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when a punishment is imposed upon
the convict,

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that is to say, on someone who
was found guilty.

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We saw that the sentence is usually
imposed on the convict by a judge,

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although there are exceptions.

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Indeed, we said that for capital cases,
it is the jury, which is already

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in charge of the conviction,
which will also deal with the

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sentencing.

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We saw that the death penalty is
a very specific sentence,

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which can only be imposed on people
who are found guilty of a capital

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crime.

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Today, we will talk about other
sentencing issues and will start

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with life without parole and its
application to juveniles.

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Life without parole is the second
harshest form of punishment in the US.

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In its 2010 decision,
Graham versus Florida,

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the Supreme Court held that sentencing
juveniles to life without parole

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was unconstitutional for a crime
other than murder.

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In 2012, in the case of Miller
versus Alabama, the Supreme Court

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ruled that mandatory,
compulsory and automatic life without

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parole for juvenile murderers was
unconstitutional.

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The individual characteristics
and backgrounds of each juvenile

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murderer have to be examined before
sentencing. In January 2016,

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in Montgomery versus Alabama,
the Supreme Court decided to make

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its Miller decision retroactive,
making it possible for around 2000

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juvenile lifers sentenced before
Miller to get a new sentencing

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hearing or be paroled.

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This was a very controversial decision.

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In April 2021, in the case Jones
versus Mississippi, the Supreme

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Court ruled that judges have discretion
to take into account the youth of

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a young defendant as an important
factor before sentencing him to

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life without parole.

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This was considered constitutionally
necessary and constitutionally

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sufficient.

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Half the states have now abolished
life without parole for juveniles.

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Let us now consider another issue
which has arisen around sentencing

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in the past 30 years.

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I'm talking about mandatory minimum
sentences and sentencing guidelines.

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How much leeway have judges got
when they set sentences?

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There discretionary

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power is constrained in two ways:

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Sentencing guidelines and mandatory
minimum sentences.

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Each state, of course,
has its own laws, and this point

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is therefore rather general and/
or focuses on the federal level.

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Firstly, let us look at sentencing
guidelines.

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Since the 1980s, states and the
federal government have adopted

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sentencing guidelines in order
to ensure some consistency in

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sentencing.

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The objective is to avoid too much
disparity in the sentences.

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The first federal guidelines came
into force in 1987.

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However, they were quickly criticized
for being too complex, for sometimes

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leading to absurd results, and for
being in the way of judges'

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discretionary power to set sentences.

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In his 2005 case, United States
versus Booker, the Supreme Court

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held that sentencing guidelines
were in breach of the Sixth

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Amendment's right to a trial by jury.

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As a result, the federal sentencing
guidelines became advisory,

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they were no longer mandatory.

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The sentencing guidelines of several
states were also challenged by

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various rulings, including the
2000 case Apprendi versus New

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Jersey and the 2009 case

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Nelson versus United States.

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The Supreme Court confirmed these
guidelines were not mandatory.

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Secondly, let us now look at laws
imposing mandatory minimum sentences.

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They were first introduced in the
1970s in certain states like New York.

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They applied to some drug offenses.

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The federal government followed
suit in the mid 1980s.

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In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug
Abuse Act, introducing federal

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mandatory minimums.

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Recently, those laws have become
very controversial.

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The main criticism against them was
that they treat powder and crack

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cocaine differently.

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And this leads to very disproportionate
sentences depending on what drug

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is concerned in a case.

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This may be deemed unfair.

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Supporters of the laws at state
and federal level claim that mandatory

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minimums are necessary to deter
drug trafficking.

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According to them, these statutes
provide an incentive for defendants

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to cooperate and plea bargain with
the prosecution.

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We know that the plea bargain is
a sort of agreement which is entered

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into by the prosecution and the
defendant by which the prosecution

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may accept to reduce the nature
of the charge, which itself leads

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to a reduction in the sentence.

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But confronted to criticism,
several states have repealed

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(which means brought to an end) some
of their mandatory minimums.

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Other states are currently examining
bills that would repeal them or

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reduce their use, especially in
low level or violent cases.

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We would have liked to have more
time to discuss other important

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issues relating to sentencing:

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for instance, the conditions in
which the sentence is served,

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whether that involves prison
overcrowding, the absence of air

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conditioning in some prisons or
prisoners being placed in solitary

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confinement for long periods of time...

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More recently, lawsuits have been
filed in various states,

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arguing that the way prison authorities
were dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic

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is violating Prisoners' Eighth
Amendment right on cruel and unusual

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punishment.

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There is no doubt there will be
more interesting decisions handed

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down by the Supreme Court in the
next few months and years.

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Thank you for your attention and
good bye.