It goes without saying that this would be a great bill if it manages to pass Congress and get to President Obama. rburks@famm.org. Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. 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. Sen. Bookers hail Mary fell short. This bill was introduced in the 116 th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2019 to Jan 3, 2021. In the words of the members of the bipartisan U.S. 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. Were looking for feedback from educators about how GovTrack can be used and improved for your classroom. PDF April 12, 2021 The Hon. Richard Durbin Washington, D.C. 20510 ), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). The Judiciary chair ranked criminal justice as high on his list of priorities, though he said legislation addressing crime and law enforcement may be just as challenging as immigration a famously tough area of bipartisan compromise on Capitol Hill. Also, last years SSA reduced mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses specified in 21 USC 841(b)(1)(A) and (b)(1)(B): from 10 years to 5 years for a first-time high-level offense (e.g., one kilogram or more of heroin). 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. Inflexible, harsh sentences exacerbate crime and racial disparities alike. Unfortunately, to convince recalcitrant senators to support it, the retroactivity portions of the law were stripped out. A new law that would reduce drug sentences passed a major Senate hurdle this week with bipartisan support. 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. Legal Information Services Associates LLC, Showing Some Compassion: 18 USC 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor noted last week, Biden Commutes Sentences of 31 People Who Are Already At Home Update for May 1, 2023, Code Blue At BOP, GAO Says Update for April 28, 2023, Phoning It In On Review of Magistrates Decision Not Good Enough Update for April 27, 2023, Nothing Really IS Sacred Update for April 25, 2023, Three First Step Reform Retread Bills Introduced Update for April 24, 2023, FBI Legal Handbook for Special Agents 2003, FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide 2008, FBI Manual of Investigative Operations & Guidelines 1998, FBI Manual of Administrative Operations & Procedures 1998, Federal Public Defender lawyers resources. Importantly, the bill makes its changes retroactive, enabling people who now have mandatory minimum sentenceschanged by the bill to ask their judges for a sentence reduction. While Ohio State law professor Doug Berman is skeptical of their chances, he notes that prior iterations of [the Smarter Sentencing Act] got votes in Senate Judiciary Committee from the likes of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. Lee and Durbin first introduced theSmarter Sentencing Actin 2013. Under the proposed change, a couple of felonies will be too much, but more young defendants facing their first serious criminal charge would be sentenced under a scheme that let the judge weigh individual factors rather than applying an inflexible and harsh minimum sentence. 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. Sentencing reform is dead for another two years. It might have even set a record. 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. 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 politics are hard to predict: Democrats have one more seat in the Senate, while Republicans will take narrow control of the House. [4] Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. Additionally, organizations were behind the bill and actively encouraging its passage. The bipartisan bill introduction was led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). FAX: 410-934-3208. Thank you for joining the GovTrack Advisory Community! Visit us on Instagram, If sponsors had their way, the lyric in Youre a Grand Old Flag would change its description of America to a country where theres never Apr 27, 2023, March 29 was an unusually busy day in Congress for one Arizona Republican. At The Law Office of Jeremy Gordon, we fight aggressively for our clients. We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues. United States Senators Bring Forth Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 Sentencing Reform: Smarter Sentencing Act (@SentencingR - Twitter This is unfortunate because Garland has real power to reduce racialized mass incarceration. Join 10 million other Americans using GovTrack to learn about and contact your representative and senators and track what Congress is doing each day. If it did exist, it wouldnt get one now. 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. We love educating Americans about how their government works too! The disparity has been diluted by Congress over the last decade the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act reformed the disparity to be 18 to 1 instead of 100 to 1, and the 2018 First Step Act made the . 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). The Smarter Sentencing Act also adds a courier exception to the importation statute of 21 usc 960, the importation statute. FAMM has supported past versions of the Smarter Sentencing Act. 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. April 12, 2021 The Hon. How You Can Take Action: 1. It was proposed to strike "mandatory life imprisonment to "not less than 25 years. ), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Angus King (I-Maine), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). While Ohio State law professor Doug Berman is skeptical of their chances, he notes that prior iterations of [the Smarter Sentencing Act] got votes in Senate Judiciary Committee from the likes of Ted Cruz and Rand Paul. All of that would be great, but as Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor noted last week currently, six of the seven voting members seats are vacant. It would return to judges some of the vital discretion they need to provide more individualized sentencing and enable many people convicted of low-level offenses to return home to their families much sooner. 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. See Terms of Service, Then, Sen Charles Grassley (R-IA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee and introduced his, Sen. Booker then sought unanimous consent to release the stand-alone version of the, Grassley was enraged, blasting the Garland memo as demanding that prosecutors ignore the text and spirit of federal statutes [and] undermining legislative efforts to address this sentencing disparity. And just like that, when the text of the 4,000-page, $1.7 trillion spending bill was released, the watered-down, FAMM vice president Molly Gill wants to see the, The fact that a large number of House Republicans joined Democrats in passing the, Congress was recessed all last week and for part of this one, so no legislative progress was made on the, But both senior senators acknowledge its not a glide path forward,, Meanwhile, Durbin said hes concerned about a, Senate aides on both sides of the aisle warn that, Since Bidens inauguration, criminal justice reform has taken a back seat to his more prominent initiatives, last Marchs, A couple of bills before Congress would reduce but not eliminate mandatory minimums: the, In the House, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (South Carolina) introduced the. |title=S. Although sentencing is supposed to be carried out by a neutral judge, mandatory minimums upend this system by positioning one adversary the prosecutor as the ultimate decision-maker, barring the judge from considering a persons history, culpability, or family responsibilities. The clocks running out. Congress.gov is generally updated one day after events occur, and so legislative activity shown here may be one day behind. from 20 years to 10 years for a high-level offense after one prior felony drug offense. We are grateful to the sponsors for recognizing that this needed reform should apply to those currently serving excessive sentences.. Sentencing Commission, the Commission unanimously believes that certain mandatory minimum penalties apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently . "Reducing the federal prison population has become urgent, with that population almost three times where it was in 1991.". . All rights reserved. And then there are demagogues like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas). Still, EQUAL had a chance until Sen Tom Cotton (RAR) single-handedly stopped the Senate from considering the bill last Wednesday. The good news is that all of the talk about EQUAL which makes crack sentences equal to cocaine powder sentences suggests it has the support for passage. 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. 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 . For nearly three decades, FAMM has united the voices of affected families, the formerly incarcerated, and a range of stakeholders and advocates to fight for a more fair and effective justice system. While Ohio State law professor Doug Berman is skeptical of their chances, he notes that prior iterations of [the. Yes, indeedy, the 2017 version of the bill is identical to old S.502, except for a boatload more sponsors (21 from both sides of the aisle).
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