Sentencing reform is dead for another two years. What the current version contains is unclear, because the text of the proposed bill has not yet been released. The sleeper in S.1014is that it would let virtually anyone sentenced under 841(c) prior to the 2018 First Step Actseek a reduction using a procedure a lot like the Fair Sentencing Act retroactivity motions. Directs the commission to review and amend its guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of such an offense under the CSA and CSIEA to ensure consistency with this Act and to consider specified factors, including: Requires the Attorney General to report on how the reduced expenditures on federal corrections and cost savings resulting from this Act will be used to help reduce overcrowding, increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and reduce recidivism. Prisons in Northern Europe are actually supportive, and they see lower rates of violence and recidivism. United States Senators Bring Forth Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 No floor votes have been scheduled for any bills. Any bill introduced in the 117th Congress which began in January 2021 will stick around until the 117th expires a year from today. The Act was passed by a vote of 13 to 5. New Republic: Three Incredibly Popular Things That Congress Chose to Leave Out of the Spending Bill (December 20, 2022), Reason, Congress Yet Again Fails To Pass Crack Cocaine Sentencing Reforms (December 20, 2022), Marijuana Moment, Schumers last ditch cannabis banking push (December 19, 2022), Reason, Merrick Garlands New Charging Policy Aims To Ameliorate the Damage His Boss Did As a Drug Warrior (December 19, 2022), Beforeitsnews.com, The Failure To Enact Marijuana Banking and Crack Sentencing Reforms Is a Window on Congressional Dysfunction (December 22, 2022), Filter, The Limits of AGs Guidelines Against Crack-Powder Sentencing Disparity (December 21, 2022). . Write your legislator today! He can and should instruct federal prosecutors to refrain from charging and seeking mandatory sentences, especially in drug cases, wherepopular opposition to mandatory minimumsis strongest. We hope to enable educators to build lesson plans centered around any bill or vote in Congress, even those as recent as yesterday. The important but piecemeal work of criminal justice reform continued last week with two significant bills being introduced in the Senate. The bill was introduced on July 31, 2013, by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and referred to the Judiciary Committee on October 20, 2013. (1)in section 102 (21 U.S.C. Durbin, Lee Introduce Smarter Sentencing Act | United States Senate subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills). The debate over crack versus powder cocaine has no basis in science, in rationality, or in ethics. ), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). ., Our current federal sentencing laws are out of date and often counterproductive,said Sen. Lee. Under the 2018 bill, the change affected people sentenced under 841(b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(B), but not people sentenced under the lowest level of sentence, 841(b)(1)(C). We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues. The original text reduces sentences by about half. The House version of the Act had 18 co-sponsors by February 2014. endobj [2] The Senate version (S.502) had gained 12 Bi-partisan co-sponsors by late May 2015; the house version (H.R.920) had 43 Bi-partisan co-sponsors by the same date. Since then, the mandatory minimums paradigm has come under fire for three primary reasons: the reallocation of power from judges to prosecutors; the extension of racism and classism; and the failure to advance community safety. The defendants in crack cases were overwhelmingly black. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of this provision would save taxpayers approximately $3 billion over ten years. from 20 years to 10 years for a high-level offense after one prior felony drug offense. Then, Sen Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and introduced his SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act (S. 4116), which watered down EQUAL and put retroactivity in the hands of the Dept of Justice. 841(b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(B). There is no Easter Bunny. The House of Representatives version, known as HR920, was re-introduced by Idaho Republican Raul Labrador in February 2015. In the House, the EQUAL Act is the only criminal justice bill voted out of committee. , as President Biden has suggested, seek the elimination of mandatory minimum[s].. The FSA is the law that reduces the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Examples abound for successful alternative methods that can greatly improve the current criminal legal system. We are experienced, and know what it takes to present a successful defense in a federal criminal case. Please join our advisory group to let us know what more we can do. The Smarter Sentencing Act proposes similar adjustments: (b)(1)(A): The 15-year mandatory minimumfor a prior drug offense would drop to 10 years, and the 10-year mandatory minimumfloor would drop to 5 years. cutting mandatory minimums in 21 USC 960 for drug mules carrying drugs into the country courier in half. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and 11 cosponsors introduced S.1013, the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, seeking once again to reform some drug mandatory minimums. ], Far from the only effect, the Jackson hearings have also dampened the interest in doing what we call the Second Step Act, but were still seeing what can be worked out, Grassley said in a brief interview. The votes of at least four members are required for the Commission to promulgate amendments to the Guidelines. The Commission has been paralyzed by lack of quorum since December 2018. from life to 25 years for a high-level offense after two or more prior felony drug offenses, from 5 years to 2 years for a first-time low-level offense (e.g., 100 to 999 grams of heroin), and. In short, federal incarceration has become one of our nations biggest expenditures, dwarfing the amount spent on law enforcement.
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