Crack Resentencing

Crack Resentencing. Second Circuit: No Below New Guidelines Sentences On Crack Resentencings. Following retroactive amendment to crack guidelines.

Crack Resentencing

The US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit official website on Friday ruled opinion, PDF that people convicted of crack cocaine offenses have a right to resentencing hearings under the Fair Sentencing Act FSA text, PDF; JURIST report. The case was brought by two incarcerated defendants seeking retroactive relief from racially discriminatory, 10-year mandatory minimum sentences imposed on them in 2005. The ruling expands the FSA, which lessens penalties for possession and dealing, to people whose cases was concluded before the law was passed, potentially opening the door for thousands of inmates to request reduced prison time from federal judges. In the opinion, Judge Gilbert Merritt wrote: T he law can and should be interpreted to replace the old, discriminatory mandatory minimums. Perpetuation of such racially discriminatory sentences by federal courts is unconstitutional and therefore the sentencing guidelines must be interpreted to eliminate such a result.The court also found that the intentional maintenance of discriminatory sentences constitutes a denial of equal protection.

Friday s ruling expands upon a June 2012 US Supreme Court official website ruling opinion, PDF to expand the FSA JURIST report by applying the FSA to defendants who were sentenced after the act was in place, even if they were arrested before the act took effect. In Dorsey, Justice Stephen Breyer concluded: T he FSA did not include any language to make it apply retroactively, but it not did explicitly deny such retroactivity either. In April 2008, a study released by the US Sentencing Commission USSC official website reported that more than 3,000 prison inmates convicted of crack cocaine offenses had their sentences reduced JURIST report under an amendment to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. In 2007, the USSC voted unanimously JURIST report to give retroactive effect to an earlier sentencing guideline amendment that reduced crack cocaine penalties.

Related Crack and resentencing. Crack is the only drug to carry a mandatory penalty five years in prison for a first-time, simple possession offense.

Federal appeals court rules crack cocaine offenders have right to resentencing hearing

United States v. Savoy, Docket No. 08-4900-cr 2d Cir. May 27, 2009 found here

The Second Circuit including Judge Sotomayor considered the question of whether Section 1B1.10 of the Guidelines the Sentencing Commission s policy statement regarding the reduction of sentences pursuant to an amended Guidelines range precludes sentencing a defendant below an amended Guidelines range. 

Specifically, Section 1B1.10 of the Guidelines provides that courts may reduce a defendant s sentence if the Sentencing Commission subsequently reduces the applicable Guidelines range of imprisonment.  It further provides that a district court, when considering whether a reduction is warranted, shall determine the amended guideline range that would have been applicable to the defendant  if the amendment s to the guidelines. . . had been in effect at the time the defendant was sentenced.   And it provides that, save for exceptions not applicable to Savoy, the court shall not reduce the defendant s terms of imprisonment in crack cocaine cases to a term that is less than the minimum of the amended guideline range. . . .

Thus, the question before the Second Circuit was w hether courts are required to construe the shall not language of Section 1B1.10 b 2 A as advisory rather than mandatory in light of Booker and its progeny -- an open question in the Second Circuit.  Joining several of its sister circuits, the Second Circuit found that it is not required to consider it advisory.  Rather, the Second Circuit held that Section 1B1.10 is binding on sentencing courts, and held that district courts lack the authority when reducing a sentence pursuant to Section 3582 c 2 to reduce that sentence below the amended Guidelines range where the original sentence fell within the applicable pre-amendment Guidelines range.

May 31, 2011  New Crack Cocaine Sentencing Guidelines May Apply To Old Cases Prisoners charged with crack offenses have already had one recent.

Crack Retroactivity: Procedural Issues Prepared by the Office of General Counsel U.S. Sentencing Commission April 2013 Disclaimer: This document provided by the.

The move to lessen the crack/powder disparity follows a report from The Sentencing Project last year.

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Public Law 111-220 was an act of Congress signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on August 3, 2010. Similar bills were.

Often when a convict is up for resentencing, it is because an appellate. FindLaw s Blotter; Oral Args. in Blewett Crack Resentencing En.

Crack Cocaine Mandatory Minimum Sentences. Reform the crack-powder cocaine mandatory minimum sentences to reflect a ratio of 1-to-1, rather than 18-to-1.