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Sam J. Merchant

@sammerchant.bsky.social
856 followers 334 following 353 posts

Law Prof: Con Law, Crim Pro, Sentencing, Habeas at Minnesota Law

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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
I put together a short, preliminary analysis of what we might expect for the Luigi Mangione federal sentencing. TLDR: most people in his shoes get a sentence of around 22 years, but here the government will clearly seek life (they really want the death penalty). crimprof.blog/sentencing-l...
crimprof.blog
Sentencing Luigi Mangione: Preliminary Calculations, Data, and a Potentially Helpful Cert Grant – Crimprof Blog
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
On SSRN: I've updated my forthcoming article: The "U.S. Sentencing Commission in a Formalist Era." The USSC has many unique attributes and is one of the only remaining indp. agencies left. Is it constitutional after Slaughter? (Yes.) Can a Pres. fire at will? (No.) papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The U.S. Sentencing Commission in a Formalist Era
The Supreme Court’s formalist turn has eroded the foundations of the modern administrative state, potentially placing the concept of the “independent agency” on
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Nick Bednar @nicholasbednar.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Over at Lawfare, I talk about the indeterminacy in Slaughter, the ways the Trump administration may weaponize it, and why federal courts are not the best enforcement mechanism for preserving administrative capacity. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/slau...
lawfaremedia.org
Slaughter’s Silence
Trump v. Slaughter’s silence on the civil service raises concerns of executive aggrandizement.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
It was an honor get interrupted by a landmark decision (Barbara) and help break it down for the public in real time.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The Court tinkering with structures that have proved (more or less) workable/stable is also very dangerous. The system might not be able to handle such haphazard swings (e.g., powerful modern agencies + the spoil system).
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Jonathan Gienapp @jgienapp.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
One of the most incredible things I have ever worked on: Recently discovered documents, written by John Dickinson in 1775, that reveal his secret and previously unknown efforts to prevent the American Revolution. Now featured in the New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...
nytimes.com
A Founder’s Previously Unknown Attempt to Avert the Revolutionary War
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
I'll be back on NewsNation again tomorrow at 9:30 (central) analyzing SCOTUS opinions as the Court releases them.
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Julian Sanchez @normative.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
This is a dangerous pattern with this Court: They find a delegation paired with a constraint, decide they don’t like the constraint, but appear totally untroubled by the idea that Congress delegated the power only *because* prior precedent assured them their constraints would be binding.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
I enjoyed breaking down some of the remaining SCOTUS cases this term.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
This opinion will facilitate a lot of good. If a defendant pleads guilty after knowing relevant facts and the precise sentence or range, fine.But if (as is common) they plead expecting 1-2 years and get 20+, or receive some unconst. condition and can't appeal, there are serious legitimacy questions.
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SSRN @ssrn.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
This article asks whether the Roberts Court’s formalist turn—resurgent nondelegation, major‑questions doctrine, & unitary‑executive theory—threatens independent agencies, focusing on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Read: spkl.io/63324AAnZC Subscribe: spkl.io/63328AAnw8
This image shows the logo for Minnesota Law.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
I wrote short piece on the bizarre Joseph "Afroman" Foreman case. The salacious details of the case draw people in, but getting past those we can use the case to explore, and convey to the public/students, some of the more serious constitutional questions from this saga. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
Dark Comedy: Proportionality and the Bizarre Case of Joseph “Afroman” Foreman
There is no way to adequately prepare someone who is not already familiar with the details of this case.
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Joe Dudek @joedudekjd.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Clippy says, "It looks like you're trying to draw money from the Treasury. But under the Constitution, "No Money shall be drawn 
from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law." Have you considered working with Congress?"
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Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
@sammerchant.bsky.social was interviewed by @law360.bsky.social about the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. The proposed new amendments could lead to shorter prison terms for many offenders. z.umn.edu/b2lm
Gold banner; maroon block M; Faculty in the News: “[One proposed change to the guidelines] is an incentive for defendants to establish that they are redeåemable, they are coachable and they're receptive to treatment.” - Prof. Sam Merchant; Law360 logo
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
My summary of Tranche 2 of the proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In a nutshell, these: (1) encourage more probation sentences, and (2) offer alternatives to the infamous “categorical approach” (crim/immigration folks know). sentencing.substack.com/p/sentencing...
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Excited to announce that my book, REVOLUTION IN REDLINE, is finally out! I compile key docs leading to the Founding, then present the Founding Docs in "redline," visually tracking the drafters' edits to show how the text evolved. (The Founders didn't start from scratch, and they disagreed often.)1/6
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
My summary of the U.S. Sentencing Commission's first round of proposed changes to the Sentencing Guidelines. sentencing.substack.com/p/sentencing...
sentencing.substack.com
Sentencing Matters Summaries: The U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Proposed 2026 Guideline Amendments – Tranche #1
Comments can be submitted to the Commission through February 10, 2026
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Code of Conduct for United States Judges, Canon 5: "A judge should not . . . attend or purchase a ticket for a dinner or other event sponsored by a political organization or candidate... A judge should not engage in any other political activity." (All judges receive training on this.)
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Katyal just referred to "French Revolutioning" all statutes.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
SCOTUS to decide constitutionally of criminal prohibition against gun possession by an “unlawful user” of drugs. This case will either prove the goofiness of the strict “historical analogs” test (there are none here) or the justices will make up a new test.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 10/10/2025
Enjoyed workshopping a piece at Georgetown Law today, and thank you Michael Klarman for commentary!
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 09/10/2025
Here I try to break down this controversial sentence without getting distracted by shiny objects.
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CrimProf Blog @crimprof.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
Sam Merchant posts "Explained: Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison." Unpacking one of the most high-profile applications of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines in years. crimprof.blog/explained-se...
crimprof.blog
Explained: Sean “Diddy” Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison – Crimprof Blog
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I analyze the Sean "Diddy" Combs federal sentencing proceeding. crimprof.blog/explained-se...
crimprof.blog
Explained: Sean “Diddy” Combs Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison – Crimprof Blog
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Minnesota Law @umnlawschool.bsky.social · 02/10/2025
Prof. Sam Merchant was quoted by @nytimes.com about the length of sentence that rapper Sean Combs will receive at a hearing this Friday, saying that while guidelines often act as an “anchor” in sentencing, judges have significant leeway when deciding a defendant’s ultimate punishment. z.umn.edu/ar8c
Faculty in the News: “The judge can consider any information about the defendant or the crime when they’re considering an appropriate sentence to impose on the offender.” - Prof. Sam merchant; NYT logo
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
"Wake up, babe, new @nicholasbednar.bsky.social article just dropped." [Genuinely me this morning.]
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
Our drift from Thomas Paine: “The word ‘republic’ means the public good, or the good of the whole, in contradistinction to the despotic form, which makes the good of the sovereign, or of one man, the only object of the government.”
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
It reminds of the Articles of Association (1774) (which Lincoln credits in his First Inaugural as "forming" the "Union"). Clause 8: "We will . . . encourage frugality, economy, and industry . . and will discountenance and discourage every species of extravagance and dissipation."
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 18/08/2025
Honored to be appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission‘s Advisory Group on Research and Data Practices. This group combines sentencing scholars with experts from other fields to inform criminal sentencing policies and practices. www.ussc.gov/about/news/p...
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
SCOTUS grants cert in another crim case involving supervised release (RICO v. US). D served her time, was on supervised release, but stops checking in (absconds). Terms of SR expire in 2021. She possesses drugs in 2022, which would violate SR terms. Is SR tolled? www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...
supremecourt.gov
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
SG Prelogar also teed up the constitutionality of universal injunctions when NDTX was enjoining Biden left and right, and SCOTUS passed.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 27/06/2025
I know that there are new shiny objects to analyze, but for Crim people this is a good primer breaking down Esteras v. US. I agree that the Court punted on the only real issue: considering “retribution” when revoking a federal offender’s supervised release. open.substack.com/pub/sentenci...
open.substack.com
Esteras v. United States Answers Half the Question Presented
This week marks the end of the U.S.
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Alan Rozenshtein @alanrozenshtein.com · 27/06/2025
A huge amount of tech regulation is about to get done through child protection law. And, unlike in the 90s, when age verification was very difficult to do, it's a lot more feasible to do even through automated means. This is going to be a huge change for the tech industry.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
I haven't seen much unpacking of Hewitt, so here it is in layman's terms: Sentenced in 2009, under *bonkers* sentencing enhancements (300+ years for bank robberies with a gun). Sentences get vacated for various reasons. Now it's 2025 and the First Step Act does away with the bonkers enhancements.1/3
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
media.tenor.com
a man in a military uniform says are we the baddies .
ALT: a man in a military uniform says are we the baddies .
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Gautham Rao (pronounced: Knicks in 5) @gauthamrao.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
The posse comitatus was uncontroversial until Congress made it an enforcement mechanism for the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and said “all good citizens are hereby commanded to aid and assist in the prompt and efficient execution of this law, whenever their services may be required.”
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 17/05/2025
I agree with the Trump Administration that sometimes superimposing text on an image can add helpful context. Adding just a few words here makes for a very accurate summary of the SCOTUS decision today.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
We are, apparently demonstrably, post-truth.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
One of Scalia's most fiery opinions was in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, essentially screaming that (1) only Congress can suspend habeas (it's in Art. I), and (2) Congress didn't do so, so the detentions were unlawful.
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CrimProf Blog @crimprof.bsky.social · 03/05/2025
Sam Merchant posts a "Summary of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s 2025 Guideline Amendments." He includes a wonderful summary table and more detailed commentary. lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blo...
lawprofessors.typepad.com
CrimProf Blog: Summary of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s 2025 Guideline Amendments
On April 11, the U.S. Sentencing Commission adopted proposed amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The amendments will become effective November 1, 2025, unless Congress passes a statute ch...
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
The U.S. Sentencing Commission's 2025 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines span 682 pages. I provide a summary here for law profs and practitioners. Most of these changes decrease the severity of the Guidelines and give judges more discretion. lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blo...
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Several rural politicians are rightfully worried because with an increase in private schools, it’s less money for public schools (actually the whole point of these efforts). But in rural areas, that means no public options left, the only option will be religious schools.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
Excited to join amazing panelists this Friday for the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law Criminal Sentencing Colloquium. www1.villanova.edu/university/l...
www1.villanova.edu
2025 Matthew J. Ryan Law and Public Policy Forum, 04/25 | Villanova University
This colloquium will examine crucial developments in sentencing law across two distinct domains and will bring together leading scholars and practitioners to explore these parallel yet distinct evolut...
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
In NFIB v. Sebelius (Obamacare), SCOTUS held that Congress can't *create* commerce and then regulate that under its Art. I Commerce Power. By similar reasoning, the President can't *create* a foreign-affairs issue by unlawfully removing people to assert broad Art. II power over "foreign" affairs.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Kavanaugh cites the 1679 Habeas Act without acknowledging that Parliament passed that trying to remedy the King evading the 1641 Act by transferring people to legal islands to avoid habeas rights - almost the exact thing the majority yesterday approved. (Transfer people to TX, then remove.)
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
It would be a damning indictment of our system if it’s White insurrectionists who get elected leaders to wake up about the problems with sentencing and prisons, but I’ll take what I can get. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
washingtonpost.com
After pardons, J6ers take up a new cause: Prison reform
Jan. 6 defendants across the country are now advocating for improved conditions and rights for those who are incarcerated.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
History’s chilling reminder of the importance of an independent judiciary.
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Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
1/🧵 Judges across ideological lines are ruling against Trump at strikingly similar rates (84% liberal, 86% centrist, 82% conservative). This isn't partisan opposition to Trump—it's the judiciary functioning as intended by cutting across partisan lines to uphold the Constitution.
Title: Both Liberal and Conservative Judges Rule Against Trump
Description: A scatter plot showing the rulings of judges against or in favor of Trump, categorized by ideology using the DIME score. The x-axis represents Judge Ideology (DIME Score), ranging from liberal (-1) to conservative (1), and the y-axis represents the case outcome (against or for Trump).
	•	Blue dots represent liberal judges, purple dots represent moderate judges, and red dots represent conservative judges.
	•	Some judges are labeled, including Rudolph Contreras, Lauren King, John Coughenour, and James Emanuel Boasberg on the liberal to moderate side, and Carl Nichols, Richard J. Leon, and Joseph N. Laplante on the conservative side.
	•	A note mentions that Boasberg, though slightly right-leaning, was initially appointed by George W. Bush.
	•	The visualization suggests that judges from both ideological backgrounds ruled against Trump.
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
I had a wonderful time presenting at the Northwestern Pritzker School of Law Public Law Colloquium today!
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Sam J. Merchant @sammerchant.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Join us today for this great (and free) CLE: Breakthrough Brain Discoveries and the Law, hosted by the Neuroscience and Law Center at Fordham Law: t.e2ma.net/message/e1bj...
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