Legal & Policy Resources

Curated research tools and reference materials for federal criminal law practitioners.

Federal Courts & Filing

Federal Courts Public Access (PACER) Electronic access to federal court case filings and docket information Federal Rules of Practice & Procedure Current federal rules including Criminal, Civil, Appellate, and Evidence U.S. Courts Statistics & Reports Judicial caseload statistics and federal court annual reports Federal Judicial Center Research and education agency of the federal judicial system

Sentencing Guidelines & Data

U.S. Sentencing Commission — 2025 Guidelines Manual Current USSG manual effective November 1, 2025, including all amendments, in HTML, mobile, and PDF formats USSC Data & Statistics Sentencing data, annual reports, and statistical publications 2023 USSG Amendments (Amendment 821) Criminal history and status points changes effective November 2023 2025 USSG Amendments (Amendment 836) Major revisions: elimination of departures, supervised release reform, mitigating-role adjustments, fentanyl enhancements, criminal history changes — effective November 1, 2025 2026 Proposed USSG Amendments Proposed changes: inflation-adjusted monetary tables, restructured fraud loss table, new post-offense rehabilitation adjustment — published December 2025 Sentencing Law & Policy Blog Prof. Doug Berman's blog — leading resource on federal sentencing developments

Bureau of Prisons

BOP Program Statements Official BOP policies on sentence computation, FSA credits, custody classification, and operations BOP Inmate Locator Search for federal inmates by name or BOP register number BOP Statistics Population statistics, staff data, and cost of incarceration BOP First Step Act Information FSA earned time credit policies, PATTERN scores, and eligible programs

First Step Act & Post-Conviction

First Step Act of 2018 (Full Text) S.756 — complete text of the First Step Act as enacted Government Accountability Office (GAO) Audits and reports on BOP operations, staffing, and FSA implementation Bureau of Justice Statistics National criminal justice data including recidivism, incarceration, and FSA annual reports Prison Policy Initiative Research and data on mass incarceration, BOP conditions, and criminal justice reform Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) Advocacy and resources on sentencing reform, compassionate release, and clemency

Clemency & Pardons

Office of the Pardon Attorney Federal clemency applications, procedures, and statistics Clemency Statistics by Administration Historical data on pardons and commutations granted and denied

Department of Justice

DOJ Justice Manual Formerly the U.S. Attorneys' Manual — federal prosecution policies and procedures U.S. Attorneys' Bulletin DOJ publications on federal criminal law topics and prosecution strategy DOJ Office of Inspector General Oversight reports on BOP, DEA, FBI, and DOJ component operations

Legal Research & Case Law

Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII) Free access to U.S. Code, CFR, Supreme Court opinions, and legal encyclopedias Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) Current, searchable version of the Code of Federal Regulations Google Scholar — Case Law Free case law search across federal and state courts CourtListener / RECAP Free legal research, oral arguments, and PACER document archive Casetext AI-powered legal research platform with case law and statutory analysis

Legal Blogs & Commentary

Sentencing Law & Policy Prof. Doug Berman — federal and state sentencing news and analysis SCOTUSblog Comprehensive coverage of the Supreme Court of the United States The Volokh Conspiracy Legal commentary on constitutional law, criminal law, and federal courts Wex Legal Dictionary Plain-language legal definitions and explanations from Cornell LII National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Resources, amicus briefs, and advocacy for criminal defense practitioners

Federal Defender & Probation Resources

Federal Public & Community Defenders Training materials, sentencing resources, and practice guides for federal defenders U.S. Probation & Pretrial Services Federal probation office policies, supervision guidelines, and officer resources Federal Probation Journal Scholarly journal covering federal supervision, sentencing, and correctional policy