[1] The numbers have only worsened in recent years. [4], [5] Each day, tens of thousands more are convicted for that possession, cycle through jails and prisons, and spend extended periods on probation and parole, often burdened with crippling debt from court-imposed fees and fines. Sentencing Commissions Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, which often call for extremely harsh periods of incarceration. 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. Please give now to support our work, Written Testimony of Nicole Austin-Hillery Submitted to the US House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee of Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, Share this via Facebook This is a moment to recognize and address the harms that harsh, disparate policies that have focused more on punishment than supporting healthy individuals, families and communities have had on the people, particularly those who are Black and low-income. Sentencing Commission is an independent agency in the judicial branch that was created as part of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. This report updates an earlier 2016 research study conducted by the USSC, and focuses upon federal sentencing in cases involving simple possession of marijuana in violation of federal law. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. [50] Criminalization undermines the right to health, as fear of law enforcement can drive people who use drugs underground, deterring them from accessing health services and emergency medicine and leading to illness and sometimes fatal overdose. [15] United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Overdose Deaths Accelerating During COVID-19,: Expanded Prevention Efforts Needed, CDC press release, December 17, 2020, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p1218-overdose-deaths-covid-19.html (accessed March 9, 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 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. 5283, the Deterring Undue Enforcement by Protecting Rights of Citizens from Excessive Searches and Seizures Act of 2016 (DUE PROCESS Act) by voice vote on May 25, 2016. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. The federal prison population has increased nearly 800% since 1980 and more than doubled since 1994, with spending up 1700% over that period, and federal prisons are currently operating at 131% of capacity. I am honored to have this opportunity to address the committee regarding ways to effectively, and fairly, approach drug policy in the United States. Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Insofar as individual federal representations, the USSC Report may be helpful in negotiations with the AUSA when the case involves a prior simple marijuana possession charge. The USSC Report successfully identifies the unfairness of the current system where a cannabis possession conviction can mean a significantly enhanced sentence because of a higher criminal history calculation in the USSG. 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. Your email address will not be published. Share this via Printer. In addition, the First Step Act made changes to the safety valve, which relieves certain drug trafficking offenders from statutory mandatory minimum penalties. SYRACUSE, NEW YORK Kevin Walker, 32, of Elmira, New York, pled guilty today to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. 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. He intended to meet another individual in the parking lot of a Cortland business to sell to that individual 447 grams of pure methamphetamine, which Walker had in the trunk of the vehicle. It instructs federal agencies to prioritize actions that will save lives, get people the care they need, go after drug traffickers profits, and make better use of data to guide all these efforts. [51], It is time to rethink the criminalization paradigm. [49] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 3. WebManufacturing methamphetamine carries a federal sentence of up to 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for the first offense, and up to 20 years and a $500,000 fine for the second offense. ABA Letter Urging House Judiciary Committee Approval of Sentencing Reform Legislation, ABA Letter Urging Senate Support for Sentencing Reform Legislation, ABA Letter Urging Senate Judiciary Approval of Sentencing Reform Legislation, Drivers of Growth in the Federal Prison Population, Fact Sheet on US Incarceration of Juveniles, Federal Prison Spending at the U.S. Department of Justice: Unsustainable and Dangerous. Call the Law Office of Patrick J. McLain, PLLC at (214) 238-9392 to schedule your initial consultation. The legal distinction between marijuana and fentanyl, for instance, can be difficult for any federal criminal defense lawyer to explain to their client and the clients loved ones. Even more so with the current law enforcement focus upon fentanyl arrests and prosecutions at both the state and federal level. See, e.g., Fentanyl Charges Under Federal Law: Felonies And Range Of Sentencing and Texas Governors Designation of Mexican Cartels As Terrorist Organizations: Criminal Defense Perspective. An additional 14.7 percent of the marijuana priors were assigned two points under 4A1.1(b), which applies to prior sentences of at least 60 days imprisonment, and 6.0 percent of the marijuana priors were assigned three points under 4A1.1(a), which applies to prior sentences of imprisonment exceeding one year and one month. For several years, the USSC has not been fully functional because it lacked the quorum necessary to act. Six months ago, that changed. All seven Biden appointees to the USSC were confirmed by the Senate. Read, At long last, we have a fully loaded USSC: Senate confirms all seven of Prez Bidens nominees to Sentencing Commission, published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 4, 2022. U.S. This is due in significant degree to the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentences. 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 focuses on two critical drivers of the epidemic: untreated addiction and drug trafficking. Web2022 Sentencing Guidelines and Commentary The 2022 Sentencing Guidelines* are effective August 1, and determine the presumptive sentence for felony offenses committed on or after the effective date. 1670 0 obj <> endobj WebOther Schedule I & II drugs (and any drug product containing Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid) Any amount . Defendant was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine or 5 grams or more of actual, pure methamphetamine, two counts of distribution of heroin, and one count of distribution of heroin and methamphetamine. The criminal provisions of the comprehensive Drug Abuse and Control Act did not just change existing law. [3] United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2019, September 28, 2020, https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press-releases/fbi-releases-2019-crime-statistics (accessed March 8, 2021). [6] Drug possession arrests remain significant contributors to mass incarceration in the United States. Strong sentencing reform is the key to addressing federal over-incarceration, like that proposed in the Senate Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123) and the House Sentencing Reform Act (H.R. You have JavaScript disabled. 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. 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. [31] It is actually more than just the burden of drug arrests. The Attorney General, or the Attorney Generals designee, and the Chair of the U.S. Parole Commission serve as. This is because federal offenses fall under the purview of the U.S. Over-reliance on prison is fiscally unsustainable and has imposed a burdensome human toll and a disparate impact on African-American and Latino persons and communities. 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 [2] In 2019, there were 1.35 million arrests for drug possession in the US, up from 1.25 million in 2015, the number upon which Human Rights Watch relied in its Every 25 Seconds report. And the Strategy includes specific actions to improve access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) programs for jails and prisons; identify ways to advance racial equity in the investigation, arrest, and sentencing for drug related offenses without negatively impacting public safety; divert non-violent individuals from the criminal justice system and juvenile justice systems to treatment when appropriate; and remove barriers and expand supportive services to help reintegrate people into society after incarceration. Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3)nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808. In Part One, the USSC Report evaluates trends in these types of sentences since 2014. Although the primer identifies some of the key cases and concepts, it is not a comprehensive compilation of authority nor intended to be a substitute for independent research and analysis of primary sources. See US Department of Justice, Criminal Justice Information Services Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2019, Table 29 https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in- the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/persons-arrested and Persons Arrested data showing that 86.7 percent of arrests for drug abuse violations in 2019 were for possession https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the- u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/persons-arrested (accessed March 9, 2021); see also Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 37. Nearly 70% of the nation's federal drug trafficking defendants will have their sentences reduced by an average of 11 months, thanks to recent amendments to U.S. federal sentencing laws for drug crimes by the U.S. These provisions would allow qualifying inmates to earn reduced sentences through participation in recidivism reduction prison programs including work, job training, drug treatment and faith-based activities. Serious changes occurred by the adoption of newly defined federal drug crimes and totally new [24], Data analyzed by Human Rights Watch shows that, over the course of their lives, white people are more likely than Black people to use illicit drugs in general, as well as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and prescription drugs (for non-medical purposes) specifically. These positions were referred to as Testing Designated Positions (TDPs). What the USSC Report advises is that federal policy regarding marijuana possession appears to be shifting. [59] In the 1980s state and federal legislators began to adopt tough on crime laws in response to rising crime rates, racial tensions, the emergence of crack cocaine, supposed threats to traditional values from counterculture movements, and fears of perceived increases in the numbers of immigrant and youth offenders. Similarly, key tools like naloxone and syringe services programs are often restricted or underfunded at the community level, which limits access for people who use drugs. The President also asked for expedited review of marijuanas scheduling under the CSA. The United States Sentencing Commission today unanimously approved its policy priorities for the 2022-2023 amendment year ending May S. 2123, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (SRCA), is also sponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tim Scott (R-SC). [14] Indeed, the last decade has seen a dramatic rise in overdose deaths, hitting over 81,000the highest number ever recorded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the year that ended in 2020, despite widespread criminalization of simple drug possession. The conflicting holdings and varying results across circuits and districts suggest that the courts could benefit from updated guidance from the Commission, which is why we have set this as an important part of our agenda this year, said Judge Carlton W. Reeves, chair of the Commission.. We'll be in touch with the latest information on how President Biden and his administration are working for the American people, as well as ways you can get involved and help our country build back better. 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