Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    For Further Information
Contact: Kathleen L. Arberg
202-479-3211

Stephen E. Vance, a staff attorney for the District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission, has been selected as the 2009-2010 Supreme Court Fellow assigned to the United States Sentencing Commission.

The Supreme Court Fellows Program was created in 1973 by the late Chief Justice Warren E. Burger to provide promising individuals with a first-hand understanding of the federal government, in particular, the judicial branch.  In the words of Chief Justice Roberts, the program offers “a unique opportunity for exceptional individuals to contribute to the administration of justice at the national level.”

Each year fellows work with top officials in the judicial branch of government. With assignments at the Supreme Court, the Federal Judicial Center, the Administrative Office of the U. S. Courts, and the U. S. Sentencing Commission, fellows have been involved in various projects examining the federal judicial process and seeking, proposing, and implementing solutions to problems in the administration of justice.

As the fellow at the U. S. Sentencing Commission, Vance will conduct legal research concerning sentencing guideline issues and legislative directives pending before the commission.  His fellowship begins in the fall.

As a staff attorney at the District of Columbia Sentencing and Criminal Code Revision Commission, Vance assisted with the oversight and implementations of a new sentencing guidelines system.  His responsibilities included legal and policy analysis of sentencing and other post-conviction issues.  Prior to joining the D.C. Sentencing Commission, Vance was a staff attorney for five years at the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives, where he provided sentencing and other post-conviction services to criminal defendants.

Vance earned a B.A. in political science and Spanish from Kalamazoo College and a J.D. from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law.  He expects to obtain his Ph.D. in August 2009, from the University of Maryland’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice.  

The Supreme Court Fellows are selected by a commission comprised of 9 members selected by the Chief Justice of the United States.

"As a result of the fellowship, I learned to think about the craft of judging in more nuanced and complex ways and to reflect critically on the role of judges in civil law versus common law systems."

Carmen Gonzalez
Associate professor of law, Seattle University School of Law