More than 95,000 federal prisoners are serving time for drug-related offenses—up from fewer than 5,000 in 1980.1 Changes in drug crime patterns and law enforcement practices played a role in this growth, but federal sentencing laws enacted during the 1980s and 1990s also have required more drug offenders to go to [27] Human Rights Watch also found stark racial disparities in arrest rates for drug possession even in the same state or city. /content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/priorities_policy/criminal_justice_system_improvements/federalsentencingreform. A defendant convicted of a federal drug crime could previously receive the following penalties under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act: A conviction of a drug offense involving the trafficking of 500 grams or more of powder cocaine carried a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years in prison. The Strategy prioritizes a targeted response to drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) by hitting them where it hurts the most: their wallets. Domestic Cannabis Suppression / Eradication Program, Red Ribbon Toolkit - Resources For Your Community, DEA National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Intelligence Research Specialist Job Announcements, Schedule A Hiring Authority: Intelligence Research Specialist, Privacy Impact Assessment and Management Information Systems, Victim Witness Assistance Program Resources. [49] For people who struggle with substance use disorder, criminalization often means cycling in and out of jail or prison, with little to no access to voluntary treatment. Federal law allows states to lock people out of welfare assistance and public housing for years and sometimes even for life based on a drug conviction. [23] Human Rights Watch, Decades of Disparity: Drug Arrests and Race in the United States (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2009), https://www.hrw.org/report/2009/03/02/decades-disparity/drug-arrests-and-race-united-states, pp. The United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the judicial branch of the federal government, was organized in 1985 to develop a national sentencing policy for the federal courts. [24] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 4. [20] There has been a national effort to take on parts of the problemaddressing police abuse, long sentences, and reclassification of certain drugs. Addressing Untreated Addiction for Those At-Risk of an OverdoseAccording to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, among the 41.1 million people who needed treatment for substance use disorders (SUD), only 2.7 million (6.5-percent) of them received treatment at a specialty treatment facility over the previous year. But those changes could take two drastically different directions. Share this via Printer. A defendant convicted of a class A-1 felony (possession of 8 or more ounces of substances containing a narcotic drug or 5,760 milligrams of methadone) may be sentenced to a term of 8 to 20 years imprisonment or a fine of $100,000. Lastly, the National Drug Control Strategy includes three companion documents that direct Federal agencies to take actions that stop the trafficking of drugs across our Caribbean, Northern, and Southwest Borders. Although the amount cannot be quantified, the enormous resources spent to identify, arrest, prosecute, sentence, incarcerate, and supervise people whose only offense has been possession of drugs is hardly money well spent, and it has caused far more harm than good. One reason for this gap is that people with addiction and those who care for them face too many barriers to treatment. 3713), to reduce the length of mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenders, modify the federal safety valve to provide sentencing judges with discretion to sentence below mandatory minimum floors in qualified cases, and give retroactive effect to the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act. [6] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 2. Serious changes occurred by the adoption of newly defined federal drug crimes and totally new It also includes efforts to strengthen domestic law enforcement cooperation to disrupt the trafficking of illicit drugs within the United States, and increase collaboration with international partners to disrupt the supply chain of illicit substances and the precursor chemicals used to produce them. The current mandatory minimum sentences were enacted in a 1986 drug bill. [28] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 5. Since the October markup, the number of Senators cosponsoring S. 2123 has grown to 28, comprised equally of 14 Republicans and 14 Democrats. Meanwhile, since 2014 there have been less and less federal AUSAs pursuing federal marijuana possession charges despite the literal language of the CSA. From the Report: Across all judicial districts, the overall number of marijuana possession sentencings followed the same pattern, declining from a high of 2,172 in fiscal year 2014 to a low of 145 in fiscal year 2021. Jan. 13, 2022 WASHINGTON Thousands of federal inmates will become eligible for release this week under a rule the Justice Department published on Thursday WebAnother recent publication worthy of study by federal criminal defense lawyers is the new January 2023 report of the United States Sentencing Commission (USSC), written by United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-New Congress has an opportunity to make transformative changes to drug policies that finally provide an equitable, compassionate, and sound solution to addressing the numerous concerns laid out in this testimony. Comments are welcomed here and I will respond to you -- but please, no requests for personal legal advice here and nothing that's promoting your business or product. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The Commission collects, analyzes, and disseminates a broad array of information on federal crime and sentencing practices. Today, President Biden sent his Administrations inaugural National Drug Control Strategy to Congress at a time when drug overdoses have taken a heartbreaking toll, claiming 106,854 lives in the most recent 12-month period. BOSTON A Saugus woman was convicted today by a federal jury in Boston in connection with a scheme to In this section, you can follow the Commissions work through the amendment cycle as priorities are set, research is performed, testimony is heard, and amendments are adopted. In this section, you will find a comprehensive collection of research and data reports published on sentencing issues and other areas of federal crime. Fine $1 million if an individual, $5 million if not an individual. The law will allow courts to grant probation or suspend sentences a practice currently prohibited by state law for people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and Lastly, the USSC Report considers how these points impacted the offenders criminal history category in the calculation of the sentence to be imposed under the USSG. [38] In addition, they bear the stigma associated with the labels of drug offender the state has stamped on them, subjecting them to private discrimination in their daily interactions with landlords, employers, and peers. Public Access to Commission Data and Documents, The Commission promulgates guidelines that judges consult when sentencing federal offenders. WebThe bill also makes retroactive the Fair Sentencing Act and certain statutory reforms that address inequities in drug sentences, a provision that would make an estimated 6,500 [65] Human Rights Watch, Nation Behind Bars, p. 8. 4002, that contains a provision that would provide for a default criminal intent element mens rea for all federal criminal offenses that do not address or are silent as to a criminal intent requirement. Being charged with a federal drug crime could mean a serious punishment if the accused is found guilty. Lawmakers should ensure that criminal laws permit judges to impose proportionate sentences, that consider individualized circumstances and allow appropriate leniency. The U.S. Department of Justice said it would allocate $75 million to fund the First Step Act this year, adding a new risk and needs assessment system designed to assess inmates risks of recidivism and to identify their individualized needs to reduce their risks of re-offending. Nonetheless, other states across the country criminalize drug possession and enforce those laws with high numbers of arrestsas of 2019, more than 86 percent of drug arrests were for simple possession. It also subjects them to discrimination and stigma. Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3)nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808. [26] United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Use of selected substances in the past month among persons aged 12 years and over, by age, sex, and race and Hispanic origin: United States, selected years 20022018, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2019/020-508.pdf (accessed March 8, 2021). The Attorney General, or the Attorney Generals designee, and the Chair of the U.S. Parole Commission serve as. [31] Human Rights Watch, Decades of Disparity, p. 1. SYRACUSE, NEW YORK Kevin Walker, 32, of Elmira, New York, pled guilty today to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. 15-cr-00449-rsh-2. (1) A person possessing or using a controlled substance in an amount no greater than the benchmark amount (determined by the Commission on Substance Use, The plan was flawed. If death or serious injury, not less than 20 or more than life. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is prosecuting the case. Michael Lowe is Celebrating Over 20 YEARS of Service. A defendants sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Finally, it emphasizes the need to develop stronger data collection and analysis systems to better deploy public health interventions. In this section, you will find resources to assist you in understanding and applying the federal sentencing guidelines. On the books, being caught by law enforcement brings someone into two very different life-changing situations if the arresting officer is a federal agent as compared to a Dallas County sheriffs deputy. Two reasons. Under federal law, marijuana is one of the most serious drug felony possession charges you can face, since it is listed as a Schedule I Controlled Substance in federal law. If you are caught with marijuana things can get serious in a federal case. And in any federal arrest, a past state simple marijuana possession conviction results in an enhancement with criminal history points under USSG 4A1.1. [35] Criminalizing simple drug possession has caused dramatic and unnecessary harms around the country, both for individuals and for communities that are subject to discriminatory enforcement. The SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act would reduce the current crack-to-powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 18:1 to 2.5:1. A bipartisan group of senators led by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) on October 1, 2015 introduced comprehensive legislation aimed at recalibrating prison sentences for certain drug offenders, narrowing mandatory minimum sentences to target violent criminals, and granting judges greater discretion at sentencing for lower-level drug crimes. Current guidelines require that judges impose on such a defendant a sentence under "Level 32" guidelines, requiring a 121 to 151 month incarceration. The House Judiciary Committee approved H.R. The MORE Act removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and begins to repair the harm marijuana prohibition has caused to millions of people, particularly people of color, by establishing a fund for social equity programs to reinvest in affected communities. The Commission intends to issue amendments to section 5C1.2 to recognize the revised statutory criteria and consider changes to the 2-level reduction in the drug trafficking guideline currently tied to the statutory safety valve. Get the world's top human rights news, straight to your inbox. 9 Once an inmate reached the new date of parole eligibility, the inmate would proceed through the normal [34] Human Rights Watch, Revoked: How Probation and Parole Feed Mass Incarceration in the United States (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2020), https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/07/31/revoked/how-probation-and-parole- feed-mass-incarceration-united-states. These positions were referred to as Testing Designated Positions (TDPs). In federal plea negotiations, it can be life-changing to have an experienced criminal defense attorney as advocate particularly when past marijuana charges are involved. Too many times, there are those who will take a plea offered by the government attorney because they have no faith in the system itself, or because they do not understand the complexities of the federal system. A federal defense lawyer will understand that federal plea negotiations must consider the possibility of cooperators offering assistance and their self-serving bias in the case, for instance. The lawyer will also be well-versed in the innerworkings of the USSG Manual and its Sentencing Tables. [45] Ibid., p. 12; Susan Stellin, Is the War on Drugs Over? Call the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC at (214) 238-9392 to schedule your initial consultation. The authors of the USSC Report acknowledge the changing tide in marijuana possession laws among the states and territories, with more and more jurisdictions not only permitting marijuana use for medicinal purposes but allowing personal recreational marijuana use in small amounts (decriminalization). Webthese crimes, New Jersey would take a significant step towards addressing the lack of proportionality in the States sentencing laws and help undo a system of mass incarceration 8 2019 Commission Report, at 1-2. [15], Governments and communities have a legitimate interest in preventing problematic substance use. The resulting sentencing guidelines provide structure for the courts sentencing discretion to help ensure that similar offenders who commit similar offenses receive similar sentences. Critical to criminal defense advocacy is the recognition in the USSC Report that many federal defendants faced enhancements under the USSG because of past convictions on marijuana crimes in state court. This is true even if that state has changed its marijuana laws or even made marijuana possession legal since the person was convicted on the state marijuana charge. It also creates a process by which people with federal marijuana convictions can have their records for these convictions expunged, in some cases automatically, or can be resentenced. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. [31] It is actually more than just the burden of drug arrests. The bill also makes retroactive the Fair Sentencing Act and certain statutory reforms that address inequities in drug sentences, a provision that would make an estimated 6,500 federal prisoners sentenced prior to the change in law eligible to petition for sentence reduction. WebThe Sentencing Commission was created in 1987 to combat sentencing disparities across jurisdictions. More broadly, because Black communities have been the principal targets in the war on drugs, the burden of drug arrests and incarceration falls disproportionately on Black people, their families, and neighborhoods. Nearly half of all federal prisoners are serving sentences for nonviolent drug crimes. [56] On the contrary, it requires a more direct focus on effective measures to reduce the harms associated with problematic drug use, and providing voluntary access to treatment and support for those who struggle with it. Lock Racial disparities in drug arrests reflect a history of complex political, criminal justice, and socio-economic dynamics, each individually and cumulatively affected by racial concerns and tensions. [27] Drug Policy Alliance, 2020 Annual Report, February 17, 2021, https://drugpolicy.org/resource/drug-policy-alliance-annual-report (accessed March 9, 2021), p. 11. [58], Almost 30 years of harsh sentencing laws have left the US with over 2.2 million people behind bars. endstream endobj startxref You have JavaScript disabled. Testimony of Nicole Austin-Hillery for Hearing on, Controlled Substances: Federal Policies and Enforcement, March 11, 2021, Letter of Opposition to California Assembly Bill 1542, US: House Should Not Pass Policing Bill Without Changes, Re: Threats to Terminate the Mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, Philippines: LGBT Students Face Bullying, Abuse. 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