Democrat. The safety valve is critical to many defendants because a) it lowers their offense level by two points and b) it can drop an offender below a mandatory minimum sentence. This produces theCooperation Paradox: Big fish who are more culpable and have information about other criminal activity can avoid a mandatory minimum by collaborating in the prosecution of others. 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, Durbin said. Home Blog News and Politics United States Senators Bring Forth Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, On March 25, 2021, Senators Durbin and several others introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021. Currently, a single misdemeanor in ones background can disqualify the defendant from safety valve consideration. cutting mandatory minimums in 21 USC 960 for drug mules carrying drugs into the country courier in half. Congress.gov, the official portal of the United States Congress. Even though federal prosecutors all of whom are subject to supervision by the Department of Justice have long been the primary proponents of mandatory minimums, Attorney General Merrick Garland affirmed this position during his confirmation hearings: We should . The Smarter Sentencing Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, would take some of the sting out of federal drug sentencing. Under 21 USC 960, the drug importation criminal statute, they get hammered with the same mandatory sentences as Mr. Big, the kingpin staying safely offshore. Meanwhile, S.1014 the First Step Implementation Act is equally significant. The confusion was compounded because we were unable to locate a draft of theSmarter Sentencing Act of 2017 anywhere over the next 10 days. Still, EQUAL had a chance until Sen Tom Cotton (RAR) single-handedly stopped the Senate from considering the bill last Wednesday. This is the one from the 117th Congress. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of this provision would save taxpayers approximately $3 billion over ten years. Join 10 million other Americans using GovTrack to learn about and contact your representative and senators and track what Congress is doing each day. The Smarter Sentencing Act promotes the value of proportional punishment by addressing excessive sentences for those convicted of federal drug offenses. However, despite bipartisan support for both bills, Senate Republicans shot them down, but with plenty of help from Senate Democrats and the Biden Administration. Second, prosecutors power over mandatory minimums in turn creates racial disparities, obliterating any pretense of an unbiased system. |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1013 (iii)by striking "mandatory term of life imprisonment without release" and inserting "term of imprisonment of not less than 25 years"; and, (B)in the flush text following clause (viii) And then there are demagogues like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas). After years of urging by the Sentencing Commission and studies showing that Congress rationale for the ADA that crack was more addictive and crack offenses more violent was bunkum, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010. Alexander was charged and arrested in November 2021. FAMM As for the two new bills, introduction hardly means approval. Over the last 12 months, politicians hsome steps to advance justice reform. (b)(1)(B): The 10-year mandatory minimumfor a prior drug offense would drop to 5 years, and the 5-year mandatory minimumfloor would drop to 2 years. from 10 years to 5 years for a low-level offense after one prior felony drug offense. (A)in the flush text following clause (viii), (i)by striking "10 years or more" and inserting "5 years or more"; 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. x\[o6~GH([8^bpI\';3%9$;v8swM1[x^r.~^\=-/}Urs~.y{HF_i<=Q:=Q dEB$6.Sq[1S\>U!zP$H\(PzA PI`6>Zpozd8E5ztcME}OE#D!V|pvr?~LafR,[|jYm*mr'\N5{wu+3JMnc. The bills titles are written by its sponsor. As Reason magazine said last week, it wasnt just the close of just any year. 3382) in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it gained cosponsors from both parties. Esta pgina no est disponible en espaol. The United States Sentencing Commission scheduled a vote of for April 10, 2014, to consider a reduction in the base level offense of certain drug convictions. The Smarter Sentencing Act is a commonsense solution that will greatly reduce the financial, and more importantly the human, cost imposed on society by the broken status quo. Congress should pass the EQUALAct to ensure these penalties are equalized and fairness is restored to criminal sentencing.C. 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 clocks running out. Introduced, on this bill on a six-point scale from strongly oppose to strongly support. This change was incorporated into the First Step Act. 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. Richard Durbin U.S. Senate 711 Hart Senate Building Washington, D.C. 20510 The Hon. The bill would also apply these changes retroactively, giving people currently in prison an opportunity to receive a new sentence under the reformed law. 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. A new law that would reduce drug sentences passed a major Senate hurdle this week with bipartisan support. 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. 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. 801 et seq.) "The Smarter Sentencing Act is a commonsense solution that will greatly reduce the financial and, more importantly, the human cost imposed on society by the broken status quo. After answering yet another email about the mythical 65% bill legislation that purportedly would reduce everyones sentence to 65% of what the court imposed I thought I would lead with this sad news: There is no Santa Claus. Last week, he wrote in Real Clear Politics: Unfortunately, soft-on-crime policies have been, at times, a bipartisan problem. It still has a long way to go before it will become law, but it is off to a good start. [1] The Smarter Sentencing Act gives federal judges the authority to conduct individualized reviews to determine the appropriate sentences for certain nonviolent drug offenses. If any person commits such a violation after a prior conviction for a serious drug felony or serious violent felony has become final, such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which may not be less than 10 5 years and not more than life imprisonment and if death or serious bodily injury results from the use of such substance shall be sentenced to life imprisonment. Hackers/journalists/researchers: See these open data sources. In 2018, Republicans passed the pro-criminal First Step Act. We are also still on Instagram at @govtrack.us posting 60-second video summaries of legislation in Congress. Chuck Grassley U.S. Senate 135 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Chairman Durbin and Ranking Member Grassley: We are writing to urge you to advance the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, a bipartisan bill that promotes The SSAwould make the FSA retroactive, permitting defendants sentenced harshly prior to the adoption of the law eligible for resentencing, at their judges discretion, to a more reasonable term. The sheer number of motions likely to be filed might be enough to give Congress pause on this one. The Smarter Sentencing Act, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, would take some of the sting out of federal drug sentencing. She thanks Clare Downing, Mikaila Smith, Jaden Lessnick, and Michael Jeung for their tremendous research assistance and Professors Erica Zunkel and Judith Miller for resolutely bending the arc toward justice. About 50% of those federal inmates are serving sentences for drug-related offenses, increasing the taxpayer burden by more than 2,000%. Alison Siegler is a clinical professor of law and the founding director of the Federal Criminal Justice Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. Additionally, the bill corrects a weird anomaly in the First Step Act that redefined prior drug cases for which a defendant can get an 851 enhancement (which increases the mandatory minimum where the defendant has certain prior drug convictions) to limit such priors to crimes punishable by more than 10 years for which the defendant was actually sentenced to more than a year. Writing in the Washington Examiner last week, Matt Schlapp chairman of the American Conservative Union argued that Congress should act to ensure that CARES Act home confinees stay at home after the pandemic ends. WASHINGTON - FAMM President Kevin Ring released the following statement in support of the U.S. Senate introduction of the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, which would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses. If anything here applies to you, contact us today. 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. [7], On March 11, 2014 updates were done. But then, Attorney General Merrick Garland picked the middle of the negotiations to issue a memo directing federal prosecutors to promote the equivalent treatment of crack and powder cocaine offenses in two ways. This misguided push by Republicans to win applause from liberals strengthened the hand of radicals like George Soros. Tweets & replies 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), Your email address will not be published. As of the date of this report, we have no bill number to associate with the legislation. I will keep fighting to get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation through the Senate with my colleague, Senator Lee.. At the same time, Durbin and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced S.1014, the First Step Implementation Act of 2021. The term 'courier' means a defendant whose role in the offense was limited to transporting or storing drugs or money.''. We hope that with your input we can make GovTrack more accessible to minority and disadvantaged communities who we may currently struggle to reach. 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. The sheer number of motions likely to be filed might be enough to give Congress pause on this one. 4.Sentencing modifications for certain drug offenses. For Media Inquiries: The bill did not have any further action in the legislative season as was re-introduced as the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015 (or S502) by Republican Senator of Utah Mike Lee. Any of these reforms would be a step toward establishing a new paradigm that abjures mandatory minimums and respects human dignity. A 65% bill would stand a chance of passage approaching zero. |quote=Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 I will keep fighting to get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation through the Senate with my colleague, Senator Lee.. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D- Ill.) and cosponsored by 11of their colleagues. If youve visited a bill page on GovTrack.us recently, you may have noticed a new study guide tab located just below the bill title. 1013 117th Congress: Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021. www.GovTrack.us. Sure, the publics thirst for vengeance is slaked by such toughness. Paradoxically, by criticizing arbitrary sentencing practices, these reformers (chief among them, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts) ultimately helped usher in the current tough-on-crime era. Mandatory minimums provide prosecutors with weapons to bludgeon defendants into effectively coerced plea bargains and convince people to cooperate against others. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of this provision would save taxpayers approximately $3 billion over ten years. Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. Zip. Law Enforcement Lobby Quietly Tries To Kill Sentencing Reform - HuffPost As written 1 0 obj The defendants in crack cases were overwhelmingly black. FAMM releases statement on the introduction of the Smarter Sentencing FAMM is a national nonpartisan advocacy organization that promotes fair and effective criminal justice policies that safeguard taxpayer dollars and keep our communities safe. 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. Please help us make GovTrack better address the needs of educators by joining our advisory group. If you can, please take a few minutes to help us improve GovTrack for users like you. Last week, mainstream Newsweek magazine ran an opinion piece claiming that America, in the year 2022, does not suffer from an over-incarceration problem. I will keep fighting to get this commonsense, bipartisan legislation through the Senate with my colleague, Senator Lee., Our current federal sentencing laws are out of date and often counterproductive, said Lee.