By Christopher Slobogin
Physical liberty is the most fundamental of all constitutional rights. Yet the Supreme Court has continued to employ rational basis review of criminal sentencing rather than ensure that prison sentences are narrowly tailored to meet a compelling state interest. Properly scrutinized, mandatory sentencing regimes, extremely long sentences, and boilerplate parole and probation conditions would be unconstitutional.
Unpublished paper: (August 15, 2024).