Doug Berman
| Douglas A. Berman | |
| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Law professor, author, blogger |
| Title | Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law, Moritz College of Law |
| Known for | Sentencing Law and Policy blog |
| Education | Princeton University (A.B.); Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
| Website | sentencinglawandpolicy.com |
Doug Berman (full name Douglas A. Berman) is an American law professor who holds the Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law at the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where he is executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.[1][2] He is the sole creator and author of Sentencing Law and Policy, a widely read blog on criminal sentencing and punishment policy that has been cited by the Supreme Court of the United States.[1]
Berman's principal teaching and research focus is criminal law and criminal sentencing.[1] He is a co-author of casebooks on sentencing law and marijuana law and policy, a longtime managing editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter, and a frequent commentator on sentencing and clemency issues in national media.[1]
Early life and education
Berman received an A.B. in philosophy from Princeton University and a J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor and the developments office chair of the Harvard Law Review.[1] After law school he clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman and then Judge Guido Calabresi, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and subsequently practiced as a litigation associate at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York.[1]
Career
Legal academia
At the Moritz College of Law, Berman holds the Newton D. Baker-Baker & Hostetler Chair in Law and serves as executive director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center.[1][2] His courses have included criminal law, criminal punishment and sentencing, criminal procedure, marijuana law and reform seminars, federal and state clemency decision-making, the death penalty, and legislation.[1] He received the Ohio State University Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1999–2000, when he was among the youngest recipients in the award's history, and the university's Distinguished Scholar Award in 2020–2021.[1]
Berman has testified before the United States House of Representatives and before sentencing commissions, has consulted for policymakers and policy groups, and is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice.[1] His commentary is frequently quoted by outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.[1]
Sentencing Law and Policy blog
Berman is the sole creator and author of Sentencing Law and Policy, part of the Law Professor Blogs Network, which he has described as scholarship in action.[1][3] The blog, which draws nearly 50,000 page views per month, was the first blog cited by the U.S. Supreme Court.[1] Its coverage spans sentencing law, punishment policy, clemency, restitution, and capital punishment developments.[3]
Books and editorial work
Berman co-authors the casebook Sentencing Law and Policy: Cases, Statutes and Guidelines (Aspen, now in its fifth edition) with Demleitner, Miller, and Wright, and is co-author, with Alex Kreit, of Marijuana Law and Policy (Carolina Academic Press, 2020).[1] He has served as managing editor of the Federal Sentencing Reporter for more than twenty-five years and is an editor of the Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law.[1]
Related biographies
- Jamie Raskin — Attorney
- Neil Gorsuch — Jurist
- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. — Jurist
- Louis Brandeis — Lawyer
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg — Jurist
- Anthony Kennedy — Jurist
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 "Douglas A. Berman". Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About". Sentencing Law and Policy. Retrieved 2026-09-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Sentencing Law and Policy". Law Professor Blogs Network. Retrieved 2026-09-29.