Since Bidens inauguration, criminal justice reform has taken a back seat to his more prominent initiatives, last Marchs American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November, and the now seemingly-dead Build Back Better social-spending blowout. And starting in 2019 well be tracking Congresss oversight investigations of the executive branch. Sens. FAMM vice president Molly Gill wants to see the EQUAL Act reintroduced next session. Bills numbers restart every two years. With boththe House nor Senate closed for aChristmas-Passover-Kwanzaa-New Years vacation until next Tuesday, the 117thCongress is done. If you stayed awake in high school, you recall that every Congress lasts two years. The Smarter Sentencing Act - Prison Fellowship But nothing can stop politicians from talking, even during vacations. The politics are hard to predict: Democrats have one more seat in the Senate, while Republicans will take narrow control of the House. Baltimore, MD 21201 Unfortunately, to convince recalcitrant senators to support it, the retroactivity portions of the law were stripped out. As for the two new bills, introduction hardly means approval. Last week, mainstream Newsweek magazine ran an opinion piece claiming that America, in the year 2022, does not suffer from an over-incarceration problem. A bill to focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders. FAMM supports this bill. On November 5, 2015 there was a significant move with the legislation. Even Grassley, who is not a co-sponsor but is unapologetically pro-reform, has outlined concerns about whether EQUAL could garner enough Republican support in the Senate to pass. The confusion was compounded because we were unable to locate a draft of the, Currently, a single misdemeanor in ones background can disqualify the defendant from, After years of urging by the Sentencing Commission and studies showing that Congress rationale for the, Currently, the Byzantine sentencing regime in, The bill does not explicitly make any change it proposes retroactive other than the extension of the, Legal Information Services Associates LLC, Showing Some Compassion: 18 USC 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), Blue Christmas for Criminal Justice Reform Update for December 27, 2022, Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act, EQUAL Act But Unequal Reform? from 10 years to 5 years for a low-level offense after one prior felony drug offense. The debate over crack versus powder cocaine has no basis in science, in rationality, or in ethics. WASHINGTON Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) cosponsored the Smarter Sentencing Act, bipartisan legislation designed to bring judicial discretion and flexibility to non-violent drug charge sentencing. 911 (2015) Colleen Shannon Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.law.uic.edu/lawreview Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, and the Law Enforcement and Corrections Commons The sheer number of motions likely to be filed might be enough to give Congress pause on this one. 2021. The Smarter Sentencing Act (S.1013) is a bill in the United States Senate that would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for some federal drug offenses. While the Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the crack-cocaine disparity bill last year, it has yet to schedule a markup. 2023 Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, about Independent Oversight Is Essential for a Safe and Healthy Prison System, about There Is No One Answer to Over-Policing and Mass Incarceration There Are Many, about How Some European Prisons Are Based on Dignity Instead of Dehumanization, Government Targeting of Minority Communities, National Task Force on Democracy Reform & the Rule of Law, reentered the federal system with a vengeance, provide prosecutors with weapons to bludgeon defendants into effectively coerced plea bargains, in states with higher levels of racial animus, incarceration is inherently criminogenic, long-standing directive to federal prosecutors, Obama administrations efforts to temper mandatory minimums, Congress must repeal federal mandatory minimums, Mandatory Minimum Sentence Reform Act of 2017, Independent Oversight Is Essential for a Safe and Healthy Prison System, There Is No One Answer to Over-Policing and Mass Incarceration There Are Many, How Some European Prisons Are Based on Dignity Instead of Dehumanization. Finally, mandatory minimums do not promote community safety. Lee said, The SSA will give judges the flexibility and discretion they need to impose stiff sentences on the most serious drug lords and cartel bosses, while enabling nonviolent offenders to return more quickly to their families and communities.. [3] The House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary was the next step in the bill being passed into law. An online version of this release can be found, Sen. Lee Cosponsors the Smarter Sentencing Act. It would extend retroactivity to anyone sentenced for drug or stacked 924(c) offenses sentenced prior to the 2018 First Step Act and let judges waive criminal history limitations that keep defendants from getting the 18 USC 3553 safety value. First, a letter sent last week by 25 state attorneys general to House and Senate leadership, urging an expansion of Section 404 of the First Step Act to include people sentenced under 21 USC 841(b)(1)(C). %PDF-1.5 3713 Sentencing Reform Act of 2015. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss. We all had high hopes for criminal justice reform when President Biden took the White House, and the Democrats won control of the House and Senate. <> He added that if Democrats agree to certain provisions related to law enforcement, that might make it possible to get something done.. By June 2014, 25 co-sponsoring Senators (17 Democrat, 6 Republican and 2 Independent) joined to show their support. "Sec. 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. It doesnt have to be that way with criminal justice reform (January 1, 2022), S. 1014: First Step Implementation Act of 2021, Brookings Institution, The numbers for drug reform in Congress dont add up (December 22, 2021), Real Clear Politics, Recall, Remove & Replace Every Last Soros Prosecutor (December 20, 2021). ., Our current federal sentencing laws are out of date and often counterproductive,said Sen. Lee. establishes new, shorter mandatory minimum prison terms for a courier. Delays can occur when there are a large number of bills to prepare or when a very large bill has to be printed. The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015 was a continued effort from the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013/2014. It would be an excellent starting point to developing a less destructive drug-sentencing scheme. 2 0 obj All rights reserved. The Senate has to confirm at least three new members and none has yet been nominated by President Biden before the Commission can do anything. Indeed, there are thousands of Americans still serving draconian sentences authorized by some of then-Sen. Bidens bills., Meanwhile, a piece in the Deseret News made the conservative argument for the EQUAL Act, which would retroactively make crack cocaine sentencing levels equal to those of powder cocaine: The EQUAL Act already passed through the U.S. House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 36-5, garnering support from both sides of the aisle. TheFirst Step Actwas a critical move in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done to reform our criminal justice system. The SSA will give judges the flexibility and discretion they need to impose stiff sentences on the most serious drug lords and cartel bosses, while enabling nonviolent . Data via the congress project. 1013 (117th) S. 1013: Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 Overview Summary Cosponsors Details Text Study Guide The text of the bill below is as of Mar 25, 2021 (Introduced). Congressmen Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Raul Labrador (R-ID) introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act (H.R. Several of its provisions made it into theFirst Step Act, which was enacted into law in 2018, but the changes in mandatory minimums for most drug offenses would not. On the contrary, we suffer from an under-incarceration problem. The column called on Congress to end the jailbreak of slashed sentences and the broader civilizational suicide of the criminal justice reform., Politico, Criminal justice reform faces political buzzsaw as GOP hones its midterm message (April 14, 2022), Politico, Whats next for criminal justice reform? When the SAFE Banking Act, a marijuana bill, passed the House last year, it got 106 Republican votes, demonstrating that the GOP can deliver votes on cannabis legislation. The Senate version of 2013/2014, called S 1410, was introduced by Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Apr 25, 2023. District of Massachusetts | Rhode Island Man Pleads Guilty to 4 0 obj Join 10 million other Americans using GovTrack to learn about and contact your representative and senators and track what Congress is doing each day. Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 (2021 - S. 1013) It would do so in three ways: First, it would expand eligibility for the drug "safety valve" so that people with some criminal history - up to Guidelines Category II - would still be eligible. Please sign up for our advisory group to be a part of making GovTrack a better tool for what you do. Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, S. 1013, 117th Cong.. {{cite web Your note is for you and will not be shared with anyone. Copyright 2016-Present The Law Office of Jeremy Gordon. While Ohio State law professor Doug Berman is skeptical of their chances, he notes that prior iterations of [the, SMARTER SENTENCING ACT RE-INTRODUCED IN SENATE, A lot of what had been contained in prior versions of the. Along with Durbin and Lee, the bill is cosponsored by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Angus King (I-ME), and Tim Kaine (D-VA). It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in Richard Durbin U.S. Senate 711 Hart Senate Building Washington, D.C. 20510 The Hon. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss. I will keep fighting to get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation through the Senate with my colleague, Senator Lee.. This change was incorporated into the First Step Act. [7], On March 11, 2014 updates were done. Committee on the Judiciary, Durbin, Lee Introduce Smarter Sentencing Act (March 26, 2021), Congressional Record, Statements On Introduced Bills And Joint Resolutions (S.1013 and S.1014) (March 25, 2021), Sentencing Law and Policy, Senators Durbin and Grassley re-introduce Smarter Sentencing Act to reduce federal drug mandatory minimums (March 26, 2021). Mandatory minimums provide prosecutors with weapons to bludgeon defendants into effectively coerced plea bargains and convince people to cooperate against others. See Terms of Service, TWO BILLS CUTTING MANDATORY MINIMUMS, PROPOSING RETROACTIVITY, INTRODUCED INSENATE, Mandatory minimum penalties have played a large role in the explosion of the U.S. prison population, often leading to sentences that are unfair, fiscally irresponsible, and a threat to public safety, Sen. Durbin said in a press release. Mandatory minimum penalties have played a large role in the explosion of the U.S. prison population, often leading to sentences that are unfair, fiscally irresponsible, and a threat to public safety, Sen. Durbin said in a press release. That should make sentencing changes that much harder, Politico said. The hearings and testimony that occurred in 2013 in relation to the 2013 version continued to be on record and in support of the 2015 version. The bipartisan bill introduction was led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Given that reform efforts by the Department of Justice would provide, at best, a temporary fix, congressional action is needed to shift the paradigm and mitigate racial inequality. Washington, D.C. 20005 But efforts were severely hobbled last fall when Senate Majority Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced their own version of weed reform, the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (S.4591). Of all the criminal justice reform bills in Congress the First Step Implementation Act (S.1014), the Smarter Sentencing Act (S.1013), the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act (S.312), the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act (S.601), the EQUAL Act (S.79) and the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (H.R. FAX: 410-934-3208. Florida experienced a50 percent spikein crimeafterenacting mandatory minimums. While Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee(D-Texas) has introduced such a bill in a number of previous sessions of Congress since 2001, there is no such bill in the hopper now. With infrastructure and the $3.5 trillion spending bills taking center stage in Congress, it is unlikely that criminal justice reform will get any attention until next year. 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 How You Can Take Action: 1. (9 Democrats, 2 Independents, 2 Republicans). When she did introduce it, the bill never even got a committee hearing. As of 03/27/2021 text has not been received for S.1013 - A bill to focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders. Any bill now pending in the House or Senate that has not passed will disappear on Jan 3, when the new 2-year Congress the 118th convenes. This page was last edited on 15 January 2023, at 20:14. It would not affect mandatory minimums in21 USC 841(b). They become casualties of a process that sets aside proportionality or mercy in favor of increasing the number of convictions. endobj A Bi-partisan Summit on Criminal Justice Reform, met in March 2015 to discuss reforming America's criminal justice system and received national news coverage. Mandatory minimum penalties have played a large role in the explosion of the U.S. prison population, often leading to sentences that are unfair, fiscally irresponsible, and a threat to public safety, Sen. Durbin said in a press release. The First Step Act was a critical move in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done to reform our criminal justice system. Given that commitment, Prez Biden should be a vocal supporter of this bill or should oppose it only because it does not go far enough because it merely seeks to reduce mandatory minimum penalties for certain nonviolent drug offenses, rather than entirely eliminate them. As long time followers will note, we have been covering the introduction of the Smarter Sentencing Act since 2015. stream At the federal level alone, mandatory minimum penalties form the cornerstone of the human caging system. The Smarter Sentencing Act is endorsed by the following organizations: American Conservative Union, Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Dream Corps JUSTICE, Due Process Institute, FAMM, Federal Public and Community Defenders, FreedomWorks, Justice Action Network, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Prison Fellowship, and R Street Institute. In the words of the members of the bipartisan U.S. Third, and perhaps most significantly, the Smarter Sentencing Act would lower the mandatory minimum sentences under 21 U.S.C. Aimed at reducing the disparity in sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine offenses by making crack and powder sentences the same, it would have benefitted thousands of prisoners with retroactive relief. Additionally, last years SSA made existing mandatory minimums inapplicable to a defendant who functions a courier; andestablishes new, shorter mandatory minimum prison terms for a courier. The bill continued to gain momentum in the Senate and House. We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues. The act also proposes to trade the language of "Felony Drug Offense" in 841 with "serious drug felony" or "serious violent felony," the new language from the FIRST STEP Act of 2018. 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). April 12, 2021 The Hon. Other problems flow from this perversion of the power balance. Meanwhile, S.1014 the First Step Implementation Act is equally significant. The bipartisan bill introduction was led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). It would do so in three ways: First, it would expand eligibility for the drug safety valve so that people with some criminal history up to Guidelines Category II would still be eligible. The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. The SSA will give judges the flexibility and discretion they need to impose stiff sentences on the most serious drug lords and cartel bosses, while enabling nonviolent offenders to return more quickly to their families and communities.. Congress was recessed all last week and for part of this one, so no legislative progress was made on the EQUAL Act (S.79), the MORE Act (H.R. We are excited to now be on Mastodon, a social network developed by and for its users. Our mission is to empower every American with the tools to understand and impact Congress. The mandatory minimum for a courier under 21 USC 960, the importation statute, would essentially be cut in half. Bills numbers restart every two years. All 50 statesand DC also have mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Bupkis. Thus, a crack defendant sentenced August 3, 2009, was hammered with the 100:1 ratio, while a defendant sentenced August 3, 2010, was treated more in line with what a cocaine powder defendant would face. But some marijuana and cocaine reform even though it was not quite what was in the MORE Act and EQUAL Act that passed the House looked likely as late as last week. Arecent studyfinds that prosecutors mandatory minimum charges resulted in Black individuals spending more time in prison than whites for the exact same crimes. Mar 25, 2021 117 th Congress (2021-2023) Status Died in a previous Congress This bill was introduced on March 25, 2021, in a previous session of Congress, but it did not receive a vote. The House of Representatives version, known as HR920, was re-introduced by Idaho Republican Raul Labrador in February 2015. Last week, he wrote in Real Clear Politics: Unfortunately, soft-on-crime policies have been, at times, a bipartisan problem. It was clear last summer that the First Step Implementation Act, the Smarter Sentencing Act, the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act (and the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act were going nowhere. Reuters reported a week ago that Senate negotiators had reached a potential compromise. The Brennan Center crafts innovative policies and fights for them in Congress and the courts. Sen. Angus King co-sponsors the 'Smarter Sentencing Act' NEWS CENTER Maine 38.9K subscribers Subscribe 213 views 1 year ago The 'Smarter Sentencing Act' would allow federal judges to. On March 25, 2021, Senators Durbin and several others introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021. To dismantle Americas dehumanizing and racially skewedhuman cagingsystem, we must eliminate mandatory minimums. The bill was introduced on July 31, 2013, by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and referred to the Judiciary Committee on October 20, 2013. Sentencing reform is dead for another two years. The confusion was compounded because we were unable to locate a draft of theSmarter Sentencing Act of 2017 anywhere over the next 10 days. Since 1980, the number of inmates in federal prison has increased by 653%. 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). The First Step Act was a critical move in the right direction, but there is much more work to be done to reform our criminal justice system. This page is sourced primarily from 920, the Smarter Sentencing Act", http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/10-01-15%20Sentencing%20Reform%20and%20Corrections%20Act%20-%20Bill%20Text.pdf, "Kinder, gentler: Less time inside for less-serious crimes", "Too many Americans are incarcerated for too long", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Smarter_Sentencing_Act&oldid=1133844659, United States proposed federal criminal legislation, Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress, Proposed legislation of the 114th United States Congress, Proposed legislation of the 115th United States Congress, Proposed legislation of the 116th United States Congress, Proposed legislation of the 117th United States Congress, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. its mandate to formulate guidelines to minimize the likelihood that the federal prison population will exceed federal prison capacity, the intent of Congress that penalties for violent and serious drug traffickers who present public safety risks remain appropriately severe, and. Sen. Booker then sought unanimous consent to release the stand-alone version of the EQUAL Act from the Senate Judiciary Committee. is amended Under the SSA, a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence would become 5 years, 20 years would become 10 years, five years would become two years. Democrat. (2023). Over the last 12 months, politicians hsome steps to advance justice reform. PDF April 12, 2021 The Hon. Richard Durbin Washington, D.C. 20510 Currently, the dominant paradigm in the criminal legal system is the myth that imposing harsh mandatory minimum sentences and locking people of color in cages are necessary to keep white people safe. Either MOREor CAOA would have been good for prisoners, but Democratic leaderships push of an alternative bill diluted the groundswell of support needed to get MORE passed. It gained momentum on January 30, 2014 when the Senate Judiciary Committee passed it[5][6] and agreed to move the bill to the floor for additional work. ), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). ], 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. It also added language making the reforms applicable to past cases. If the new law is passed, someone who was sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the FSA was enacted could file a motion and seek a shorter sentence under the FSA sentencing scheme. It still has a long way to go before it will become law, but it is off to a good start. Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience and may not be complete or accurate. Most of the original text was lined through and new text was incorporated. As Reason magazine said last week, it wasnt just the close of just any year. Alexander was charged and arrested in November 2021. Both parties and both chambers of Congress agreed to revisions to federal sentencing guidelines and the mandatory minimums. The Brennan Center works to reform and defend our countrys systems of democracy and justice. My kids need their father home and I would love to have the help and our family complete . On New Years Day, the San Francisco Chronicle called for a targeted bill to abolish mandatory minimums, said, The good news is that criminal justice reform can be accomplished with relatively limited expenditures compared to, for example, Build Back Betters sweeping expansion of the social safety net. Required fields are marked *, There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice. ~ Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de la Brde et de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Law (1748), Copyright 2022, LISA Foundation and Legal Information Services Associates LLC. cutting mandatory minimums in the drug trafficking laws. Sen. Cotton, a hardline prohibitionist described by Beforeitsnews.com as someone who has never met a drug penalty he thought was too severe, objected. The fact that a large number of House Republicans joined Democrats in passing the EQUAL Act last year is not reassuring: the trick will be getting a Republican speaker who controls what comes up for a vote put the bill in front of the chamber. At the same time, Durbin and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced S.1014, the First Step Implementation Act of 2021. Durbin and Grassley both think a Second Step Act is needed to implement sentencing changes in the First Step law by making them retroactive, midterms are coming up in a little more than 6 months and campaign-season politics surrounding criminal justice reform threaten broader GOP support. The original text reduces sentences by about half. Posted by: Elisia | Mar 26, 2021 5:35:17 PM.
How Long Does It Take For A Bird To Decompose,
Mary Chapin Carpenter Related To Harry Chapin,
Articles W
