Preach On, Brother Berman!

Sentencing Law and Policy, a blog maintained by Ohio State law professor Doug Bowman has been an invaluable resource in the post-Blakely world. In this post today, he seems to be letting off a bit of steam concerning what he calls "inside the beltway negativity." Basically, they argue that if the Supreme Court doesn't retreat from Blakely and preserve the Guideline status-quo Congress will likely unleash its wrath by setting up lots of new (and harsh) mandatory minimums and the like. In other words, a "win" for defendants in Booker/Fanfan would be short lived and a bit Pyrric. Professor Berman takes those nattering nabobs to task, pointing out (among other things) that if that situation comes to pass the blame lies with Congress, not the Court. Amen, brother.