sentencing

(Newser) - Former federal prosecutor and Bush 41 lawyer William Otis suggests a third way on Scooter Libby—between pardon and prison. The rule of law demands some penalty for leaking Valerie Plame's identity, says Otis, but "a sense of proportionality" rules out sending Libby to the hoosegow. The court's $250K...

(Newser) - With Scooter Libby facing sentencing today for perjury in the Valerie Plame affair, Salon's Joseph Cooper asks his English class at the Webster Correctional Institution in Connecticut what punishment they would impose. The student cons go for probation, on the grounds that Libby's only crime was that he didn't snitch.

(Newser) - Supply your own "simple life" joke: Paris Hilton is going to jail. After finding that the famous-for-being-famous socialite violated her probation, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Michael Sauer today sentenced her to 45 days. The sometime reality-TV star wept as she learned she has until June 5 to find...

(Newser) - A New York judge is handing down treatment-oriented sentences to defendants whose crimes result from gambling addiction, on a model introduced to address drug and spousal abuse. Offenders willing to plead guilty can choose Justice Mark Farrell's suburban Buffalo courtroom and receive lighter sentences, along with counseling and status checks...