Considering the Parental Role at Sentencing Children of Incarcerated Caregivers

Why is it important to raise family circumstances in federal court sentencing proceedings? Dulce Foster, white collar criminal defense attorney and CIC Advisory Board member, joins host Michael Holland to  tackle that question. She discusses the post-Booker consideration of parent-child relationships as a basis for a downward variance from federal sentencing guidelines and outlines key cases.

Attached, you can find CIC’s federal sentencing materials.

To receive 0.5 Minnesota CLE credits for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane. 

This week, we’re joined by Barbara Frey: lawyer, CIC Advisory Board member, and Director of the University of Minnesota Human Rights Program. She explains the significance of parental incarceration as a human rights issue, highlighting recommendations from international governing bodies whose courts consider the best interests of the child at every sentencing of a parent. 

Attached, you can find a summary of pertinent international law.

To receive 0.5 Minnesota CLE credits for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane.

Could restorative justice be the key to solving parental incarceration? Ethan Scrivner, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Duluth, joins our podcast this week to answer that question. He and Michael discuss the important role of the prosecutor in sentencing hearings and best practices for raising the collateral consequences of parental incarceration with a prosecutor before sentencing. They also examine the use of community-based alternatives to prison or jail.

To receive 1.0 Minnesota CLE credit for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane.

Michael is joined by Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor in General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health at the University of Minnesota. They discuss parental incarceration as an ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience) that affects youth outcomes. They also consider how research on the harms of parental incarceration, as well as harms facing the children of a particular defendant, can be brought to the attention of the sentencing judge. 

Attached, you can find a summary of research on the harms of parental incarceration experienced by children.

To receive 0.5 Minnesota CLE credits for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane.

Parental incarceration is an international issue, but this week, we focus on CIC’s home state. Mike is joined by Judge Mark Wernick, retired Hennepin County District Court judge and former member of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission to discuss raising family circumstances in Minnesota sentencing proceedings. Judge Wernick explains how Minnesota judges can consider the parent-child relationship at sentencing, highlighting relevant portions of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines and Minnesota case law. They also discuss the use of family impact statements to inform judges about family circumstances prior to sentencing hearings.

Attached, you can find Minnesota state sentencing materials.

To receive 0.5 Minnesota CLE credits for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane.

Margaret Hinson was a CIC intern back in 2018 and is now a third-year J.D. Candidate at the University of California-Irvine School of Law. She comes on our podcast to review the previous five episodes and to provide suggestions for incorporating their salient points into a motion for a downward departure in a hypothetical Minnesota case.

To receive 0.5 Minnesota CLE credits for listening to this podcast, please complete this survey. If you have any questions or additional feedback, please email us at info@cicmn.org.

Special thanks to our producer, David Smith, and our graphic designers and artists, Bran Laudenbach and Thomas Kane.