Sentencing Law Smackdown: Berman v. Kerr?

On Wednesday, Professor Orin Kerr sarcastically mocked — and also analytically attacked — the Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in Carrington v. United States (PDF). In an opinion by liberal stalwart Harry Pregerson, the court authorized resentencing in two cases from the Mesozoic Era the 1990’s. We wrote about the decision here.
We expressed interest in hearing what sentencing guru Doug Berman would have to say about the case. And now Professor Berman has kindly obliged, in a quasi-snarky post that asks, What’s wrong with equitable Booker retroactivity in the Ninth Circuit?
Consider the gauntlet thrown down. Professors Berman and Kerr are two of the biggest crim-law bloggers around. And they kinda look alike, too. (See photos — Professor Berman at right, Professor Kerr at far right.)
Will Professor Kerr take up Professor Berman’s challenge? Might we have a blogospheric battle of the titans on our hands?
(To be sure, you have to be a bit of a sentencing law geek to appreciate this. If you are, then you might also enjoy this post by Professor Berman, Proof the guidelines are reasonable — a riff on our recent post about Justice Breyer writing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines on Professor Charles Fried’s dining room table.)
Carrington v. United States [Volokh Conspiracy]
What’s wrong with equitable Booker retroactivity in the Ninth Circuit? [Sentencing Law and Policy]
Carrington v. United States (PDF) [Ninth Circuit via How Appealing]
Earlier: Judge Harry Pregerson Is Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’

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