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. 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. It is related to the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, the Federal Prison Reform Act of 2013 (S. 1783) and others, in an effort to deal with the over-crowded, and under-funded, federal prison system. |quote=Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 The Brennan Center works to build an America that is democratic, just, and free. The decision was unanimous by the Commission in favor of the reductions which impacts potentially 70% of the drug offense prison population. Smarter Sentencing Act Passes Major Hurdle in Congress The, Additionally, the bill corrects a weird anomaly in the, As for the two new bills, introduction hardly means approval. Ordered Reported, Reintroduced Bill 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.. Several important reforms from theSmarter Sentencing Actwere included in the landmark First Step Act, which was enacted into law in 2018. If they decide that a mandatory minimum should be charged, they should charge the pertinent statutory quantities that apply to powder cocaine offenses. And at sentencing, prosecutors should advocate for a sentence consistent with the guidelines for powder cocaine rather than crack cocaine.. They become casualties of a process that sets aside proportionality or mercy in favor of increasing the number of convictions. I pray something is passed. But as is the case with so many New Years expectations, quite a bit also stayed the same. However, Durbins office said the central remaining sentencing reform in the Lee-Durbin legislation would reduce mandatory minimum penalties for certain nonviolent drug offenses.. cutting mandatory minimums in 21 USC 960 for drug mules carrying drugs into the country courier in half. 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 . But nothing can stop politicians from talking, even during vacations. First Step adjusted mandatory life in 841(b)(1)(A) to 25 years, and mandatory 20 years in the same subsection to 15 years. The bipartisanSmarter Sentencing Act of 2021would enact a narrower reform, reducing mandatory minimums for certain non-violent drug offenses and making other reforms retroactive. That deeply flawed legislation reduced sentences for crack dealers and granted early release to some child predators, carjackers, gang members, and bank robbers. S.1014 applies the same serious drug felony definition to all three subsections. 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. It also provides a retroactivity provision for the court to impose a reduced sentence for those sentenced before this act gets signed after considering the 3553(a) factors. 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. President Biden and his attorney general havedenounced mandatory minimums, as did former Attorney General Eric Holder. Thank you for joining the GovTrack Advisory Community! Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss. 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. The Brennan Center crafts innovative policies and fights for them in Congress and the courts. FAMM has supported past versions of the Smarter Sentencing Act. How You Can Take Action: 1. Finally, mandatory minimums do not promote community safety. Washington, DC 20510 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 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. 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. Further, it reduces the 15 years (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 of not less than 15 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) down to 10 years. What the current version contains is unclear, because the text of the proposed bill has not yet been released. 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. In the House, the EQUAL Act is the only criminal justice bill voted out of committee. <>>> 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. WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced bipartisan legislation that wouldmodernize federal drug sentencing polices by lowering certain mandatory drug sentences. The bill was introduced on July 31, 2013, by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and referred to the Judiciary Committee on October 20, 2013. 3 0 obj But somehow, when the public sees the same defendant, bent and gray, shuffling across the prison yard a quarter century later, the tough sentence seems pretty wasteful. The United States Senate has Bought forth the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, which will do much for mandatory minimums and "Couriers" if passed. 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. 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. 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 . It also provides a retroactivity provision for the court to impose a reduced sentence for those sentenced before this act gets signed after considering the 3553(a) factors (someone looking for retroactive application of this section would also have to prove that they are a courier). <>/ExtGState<>/XObject<>/ProcSet[/PDF/Text/ImageB/ImageC/ImageI] >>/Annots[ 14 0 R] /MediaBox[ 0 0 612 792] /Contents 4 0 R/Group<>/Tabs/S/StructParents 0>> It would be an excellent starting point to developing a less destructive drug-sentencing scheme. Still, it appeared up until a week ago that some crack cocaine relief would be jammed into the giant end-of-year spending bill. The 10-year mandatory minimum (for 1 kilo or more of heroin or five kilos or more of cocaine) would drop to five years. [3] The House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary was the next step in the bill being passed into law. 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. That means there are other bills with the number S. 2850. "Sec. Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. And then there are demagogues like Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas). Sentencing Commission, the Commission unanimously believes that certain mandatory minimum penalties apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently . No one knows. 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. 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., 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. 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. It would not affect mandatory minimums in21 USC 841(b). [1] cutting mandatory minimums in the drug trafficking laws. 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. It is titled S.1013 - A bill to focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders., As of this writing, the text of the act is not present on the bill page, but it is available on a page titled "Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions.". Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1013, S. Sentencing Reform: Smarter Sentencing Act @SentencingR SUPPORT PAGE FOR SENTENCING REFORM *TITLE S.1013-117th CONGRESS (2021-2022): SMARTER SENTENCING ACT 2021* Pennsylvania, USA Joined June 2021 0 Photos and videos Photos and videos Tweets TweetsTweets, current page. Meanwhile, S.1014 the First Step Implementation Act is equally significant. US Congress S1013 Summary Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021 This bill reduces statutory mandatory minimum penalties for certain drug offenses, requires reporting on the impact of cost savings from the reductions, and establishes a public database of federal criminal offenses. 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). But the real work is to be done in Congress, whas yet to progress. To dismantle Americas dehumanizing and racially skewedhuman cagingsystem, we must eliminate mandatory minimums. The bill's Bi-Partisan support from both the Republican and Democratic parties helped increase its likelihood of moving through committee hearings. |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/117/s1013 The most comprehensive solution introduced in recent years was theMandatory Minimum Sentence Reform Act of 2017, which would have repealed all mandatory minimums for federal drug crimes. 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. 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. Long sentences also make it more difficult for people to reintegrate into society. We are grateful to the sponsors for recognizing that this needed reform should apply to those currently serving excessive sentences.. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of this provision would save taxpayers approximately $3 billion over ten years. But both senior senators acknowledge its not a glide path forward, Politico said, particularly given the GOP messaging on rising crime ahead of the 2022 midterms a focus that was on full display during Ketanji Brown Jacksons Supreme Court hearings last month., Jackson was blasted last month by a few Republican senators for being too soft on sentencingchild sex abuse and drug offenders. 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. Attempts to stitch up the tattered old paradigm are futile and will not eradicate the spreading stain of racial inequity. 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. Other problems flow from this perversion of the power balance. The Smarter Sentencing Act: Achieving Fairness Through Financially The Smarter Sentencing Act: Achieving Fairness Through Financially Responsible Federal Sentencing Policies, 48 J. Marshall L. Rev. 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. However, despite Garlands testimony, his Department of Justice has given no sign that it will stop pursuing mandatory minimums. This change was incorporated into the First Step Act. In contrast, studies show that shorter sentences in drug casesneither diminish public safetynorincrease drug abuse. The bipartisan bill introduction was led by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). One of the most important consequences of these confirmation hearings is there are district judges across the country who may have ambitions for elevations, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who led the charge against Judge Jackson, told CNN. 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. The bill continued to gain momentum in the Senate and House. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin (D- Ill.) and cosponsored by 11 of their colleagues. By the summer recess, H.R.920 had 52 co-sponsors and S. 502 had 12. The state attorneys general want legislation to change that. If you can, please take a few minutes to help us improve GovTrack for users like you. "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. 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. All 50 statesand DC also have mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Federal Criminal Cooperation (Rule 3553 and the Safety Valve), Federal Halfway Houses and Home Confinement, Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that implementation of this provision would save taxpayers approximately $3 billion over ten years. And there is no 65% Bill. We love educating Americans about how their government works too! If you stayed awake in high school, you recall that every Congress lasts two years. The bill was held over during several meetings in the fourth quarter of 2013. By June 2014, 25 co-sponsoring Senators (17 Democrat, 6 Republican and 2 Independent) joined to show their support. 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). Lee and Durbin first introduced theSmarter Sentencing Actin 2013. 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 bad news is everything else. 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. Earlier Version Once, only Sen Tom Cotton (R-Ark) (who calls First Step Trumps biggest mistake) demanded longer sentences. At the same time, Durbin and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced S.1014, the First Step Implementation Act of 2021. Both version had been moved to committee for further discussion. EQUAL passed the House with bipartisan support and had what seemed to be a veto-proof majority of 50 Democrat supporters and 11 Republican Senate co-sponsors. Add a note about this bill. And neither is the rumor that everyone will get a sentence cut because of COVID. Third, and perhaps most significantly, the Smarter Sentencing Act would lower the mandatory minimum sentences under 21 U.S.C. 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. Our burgeoning prison population traces much of its growth to the increasing number and length of certain federal mandatory sentences. 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. Last week, mainstream Newsweek magazine ran an opinion piece claiming that America, in the year 2022, does not suffer from an over-incarceration problem. stream 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. When she did introduce it, the bill never even got a committee hearing. It was the end of 2020. This bill was introduced in the 117th Congress, which met from Jan 3, 2021 to Jan 3, 2023. The Smarter Sentencing Act gives federal judges the authority to conduct individualized reviews to determine the appropriate sentences for certain nonviolent drug offenses. 4.Sentencing modifications for certain drug offenses. such person shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment which may not be less than 5 2 years and not more than 40 years and if death or serious bodily injuryresults from the use of such substance shall be not less than 20 years or more than life, a fine not to exceed the greater of that authorized in accordance with the provisions of title 18 or $5,000,000 if the defendant is an individual or $25,000,000 if the defendant is other than an individual, or both. Phone: 410-244-5444 Lee and Durbin first introduced the Smarter Sentencing Act in 2013. As a result, drug sentences which are driven by the amount of drug involved in the crime soared. This is the one from the 116 th Congress. In a political environment where the parties compete for who can be more pro-criminal, the Democrats will always win. 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). 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. Posted by: Elisia | Mar 26, 2021 5:35:17 PM. 13 Cosponsors A couple of bills before Congress would reduce but not eliminate mandatory minimums: the EQUAL Act (lowers minimums for crack to equal those of powder) has passed the House but hasnt yet cleared committee in the Senate; the MORE Act (decriminalizes marijuana retroactively) has been approved by a House committee but has not been passed by the House or Senate; the First Step Implementation Act (makes First Step mandatory minimum reductions retroactive) and the Smarter Sentencing Act (reduces mandatory minimum penalties for certain nonviolent drug offenses only) have not even cleared committee in either the House or Senate. subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills). 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. Join GovTrack.uss Inner Circle With a Yearly Membership, In retaliation for prosecutor Alvin Bragg indicting Trump, ALVIN Act would ban federal funds for, On March 29, Arizona Republican Andy Biggs introduced a (possible record) 521 bills in one day, No More Political Prosecutions Act would give presidents like Trump option to move their legal. It might have even set a record. 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. In the last iteration of the bill, S.1933 (115th Congress, 2017-18), the bill proposed an expanded safety valve under 18 USC 3553(f) to allow a court to impose a sentence below the statutory mandatory minimum for an otherwise eligible drug offender who has three or fewer criminal history points. 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. Mandatory minimums dehumanize people by in the words of Judge Stephanos Bibas acting as sledgehammers rather than scalpels, falling with equal force on people whose circumstances are dramatically different from one another and preventing judges from calibrating punishment to suit the person or the crime. And starting in 2019 well be tracking Congresss oversight investigations of the executive branch. |accessdate=May 1, 2023 It still has a long way to go before it will become law, but it is off to a good start. 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. And with mid-terms putting all of the House and a third of Senate up for re-election in November and crime rates shooting up, getting legislators on board for criminal justice reform is going to be more challenging. In 2018, Republicans passed the pro-criminal First Step Act. Your note is for you and will not be shared with anyone. [4] Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. Smarter Sentencing Act of 2019 (2019 - S. 2850) - GovTrack.us Please join our advisory group to let us know what more we can do. We are excited to now be on Mastodon, a social network developed by and for its users. FAMM releases statement on the introduction of the Smarter Sentencing While the House also passed the MORE Act to decriminalize marijuana, the measure has been dead on arrival in the Senate, where Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) announced plans to draft his own version of the bill. (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. The Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. Heres how you can help. SmarterSentencing would also create a new category of `courier for a defendant whose role was limited to transporting or storing drugs or money. Congress should pass the EQUALAct to ensure these penalties are equalized and fairness is restored to criminal sentencing.C. The United States Senate has Bought forth the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021, which will do much for mandatory minimums and "Couriers" if passed. 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 current version of the Smarter Sentencing Act gives federal judges the authority to conduct individualized reviews to determine the appropriate sentences for certain nonviolent drug offenses, Durbin said in a press release. For prompt, courteous and skilled representation as your federal criminal defense attorney, contact us today to schedule a free phone consultation. Bills numbers restart every two years. 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). establishes new, shorter mandatory minimum prison terms for a courier. S.1014 applies the same serious drug felony definition to all three subsections. As Isabel Wilkersonwrites, our countrys racial caste system relies on dehumanization to lock the marginalized outside the norms of humanity so that any action against them is seen as reasonable. So many of the horrors Wilkerson catalogs in the program of purposeful dehumanization instituted by the Nazis and by the United States during chattel slavery have analogues in todays carceral state: anonymous uniforms replacing clothing, inmate numbers supplanting names, the shaving of heads, the roll calls. The, Additionally, the bill corrects a weird anomaly in the, As for the two new bills, introduction hardly means approval. If anything here applies to you, contact us today. 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. 4 0 obj The Smarter Sentencing Act, an updated version of the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2019 (which went nowhere), continues the mandatory minimum adjustments to 21 USC 841 (b), the sentencing section of the drug trafficking statute begun by the First Step Act. We were a bit befuddled when Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) announced by press release on October 5, 2017, that he and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) had reintroduced the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2017. It was not clear whether this was a complete retread of the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2015, S. 502, that died without a vote last December, or whether it was new and improved (or just different). 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. }}. We called Sen. Lees office last week for a copy of the measure, and received our copy yesterday. 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. "Bill Summary: Smarter Sentencing Act of 2021", "Democrats and Republicans in Congress Actually Found Something to Agree on", "S. 502 / H.R. Both parties and both chambers of Congress agreed to revisions to federal sentencing guidelines and the mandatory minimums. |title=S. In March 2020, in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which among other things, created a temporary federal unemployment .