The Second Look Act would allow any individual who has served at least 10 years in federal prison to petition a court to take a second look at their sentence before a judge and determine whether they are eligible for a sentence reduction or release. [26] Yet, in the US, Black adults are three times as likely as white adults to be arrested for simple drug possession. Share this via Telegram Under federal law, as defined in the USSC Report, [s]imple possession of marijuana refers to possessing a small amount of marijuana to consume or use, but without an intent to sell or give it to another person. USSC Report, p. 1. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 2123 in a 15-5 vote on October 22, after rejecting several amendments. [2] Then and now, police in the United States make far more arrests for simple drug possession than for any other crime. Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Please enable JavaScript to use this feature. This is because federal offenses fall under the purview of the U.S. The Commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. It's time to renew your membership and keep access to free CLE, valuable publications and more. [39], In 2021, the nation experienced a national election with record-breaking numbers of voters engaged in the electoral process, yet 5.2 million Americans were forbidden to vote because of felony disenfranchisement, or laws restricting voting rights for those convicted of felony-level crimes.[40] Many of these individuals have a drug conviction that prevents them from enjoying full civic participation. [57] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 13. Tennessees legislature is expected to consider major changes to the states criminal sentencing guidelines in the new session. An official website of the United States government. On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I wish to thank Chairman Nadler, Subcommittee Chair, Sheila Jackson Lee, Ranking Chair, Andy Biggs, Subcommittee Vice-Chair, Cori Bush and all members of the US House Committee on the Judiciarys Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, for the opportunity and privilege to submit this statement for its hearing to address Controlled Substances: Federal Policies and Enforcement. Posted on February 27, 2023 by The Attorney General, or the Attorney Generals designee, and the Chair of the U.S. Parole Commission serve as. 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. [54], [55], Ending the criminalization of simple drug possession does not mean turning a blind eye to the misery that substance use disorder can cause in the lives of those who struggle with it and their families. 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. Being charged with a federal drug crime could mean a serious punishment if the accused is found guilty. 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. 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. Web*The minimum sentence for a violation after two or more prior convictions for a felony drug offense have become final is a mandatory term of life imprisonment without release and [22] What is needed, particularly in this historic moment where we have come face to face with issues of racial and economic disparities, is a comprehensive approach to ending the failed policies of the war on drugs and addressing the economic, social, and health needs of communities, disproportionately impacted by them, largely Black and brown. 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. Congress must repeal federal mandatory minimums, make the change retroactive for those already serving mandatory minimum sentences, and incentivize states to follow suit. %%EOF [29] The sheer magnitude of drug possession arrests means that they are a defining feature of the way certain communities experience and interact with police in the United States.[30]. 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. Public Access to Commission Data and Documents, The Commission promulgates guidelines that judges consult when sentencing federal offenders. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. McCrobie is prosecuting the case. 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. Share this via Printer. For more information, check out ourweb resources,readMichael Lowes Case Results,and read his in-depth article,Federal Sentencing Guidelines on Federal Child Pornography cases.. With just 5% of the worlds population, the U.S. holds nearly a quarter of the worlds prisoners, including one-third of all women incarcerated worldwide. [65] Human Rights Watch, Nation Behind Bars, p. 8. The Commission looks forward to hearing more from experts and researching more fully the benefits of these programs.. [19] The American criminal justice system holds almost 2.3 million people in 1,833 state prisons, 110 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,134 local jails, 218 immigration detention facilities, and 80 Indian Country jails as well as in military prisons, civil commitment centers, state psychiatric hospitals, and prisons in U.S. territories. Prison Policy Initiative, Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2020, March 24, 2020, https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2020.html (accessed March 9, 2021), p. 1. [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. Since the October markup, the number of Senators cosponsoring S. 2123 has grown to 28, comprised equally of 14 Republicans and 14 Democrats. [17] It punishes an activity that does not directly harm others. The ABA urges House and Senate members to cosponsor or support H.R. The Strategy delivers on the call to action in President Bidens Unity Agenda through a whole-of-government approach to beat the overdose epidemic. Se habla Espaol. The Attorney General, or the Attorney Generals designee, and the Chair of the U.S. Parole Commission serve as. Each year, the Commission reviews and refines these policies in light of congressional action, decisions from courts of appeals, sentencing-related research, and input from the criminal justice community. [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. 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. [49] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 3. This, of course, flies in the face of the continued classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) (21 USC 802. 2d 714 (1989). My name is Nicole Austin- Hillery and I am the Executive Director of the US Program at Human Rights Watch. [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. Finally, it emphasizes the need to develop stronger data collection and analysis systems to better deploy public health interventions. %PDF-1.6 % From a criminal defense viewpoint, the USSC Report appears to be the necessary cornerstone for the USSC to amend its USSG for marijuana possession charges in the future. How much the new USSC Report can sway lawmakers to amend the current Controlled Substances schedule of the CSA, removing marijuana from its current Schedule I classification, has yet to be seen. The New York State Police and DEA investigated the case, with assistance from the Elmira Police Department. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( 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 Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. [8] What these numbers tell us is that there is a human cost to criminalizing personal drug use and possession in the United States. [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. 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. Share this via WhatsApp An error occurred while subscribing your email address. 3 . Include in any sentencing reform legislation provisions that ensure the new law will be applied retroactively to individuals who have already been sentenced. [21] Each of these steps is critical and I will address some of them further herein. [51], It is time to rethink the criminalization paradigm. About ten percent (10.2%) of these offenders (n=448) had no criminal history points other than those assigned for prior marijuana possession sentences. Share this via Email /content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/advocacy/governmental_legislative_work/priorities_policy/criminal_justice_system_improvements/federalsentencingreform. [20] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 4. These one-size-fits-all punishments allow prosecutors to strong-arm guilty pleas and severely punish anyone who chooses to go to trial. [27] Human Rights Watch also found stark racial disparities in arrest rates for drug possession even in the same state or city. [44] Last year, Oregon took an important step, with a majority of voters approving a ballot initiative that shifts the state away from criminalization and toward a health-centered approach to drug use, investing in voluntary treatment, services, and support for people who are struggling with problematic drug use. The House is expected to package together the several separately approved Judiciary bills for floor action during a "criminal justice reform week" later this year. However, drug producers continue to produce entirely new synthetic drugs, and drug traffickers continue to refine their methods and techniques for distributing them throughout our communities. 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. For more on how the sentencing guidelines work in a particular case, read some of our earlier discussions of the USSG with examples of how the Sentencing Tables are used: The newly published USSC Report is the latest in a series of research reports compiled by the USSC. It builds upon an earlier report entitled Simple Possession Of Drugs in the Federal Criminal Justice System, published by the Commission on September 21, 2016. While USSC research reports are not the stuff of formal amendments to the USSG themselves, they are still very important. WebThe growth of mandatory minimum sentencing laws. It directs federal agencies to expand scientific understanding of the recovery process by establishing a federal recovery research agenda; adopt flexible, responsive approaches that help people with SUD find and follow a pathway to recovery or remission that works for them; and eliminate barriers and increase economic opportunities for people in recovery. These limitations amount to individuals taking on the moniker of second class citizens., Laws criminalizing the possession of drugs for personal use are inconsistent with respect for human autonomy, which is at the heart of the right to privacy, and contravene the human rights principle of proportionality in punishment. It goes into details like demographics; past criminal histories; and how these sentences compare to those involving other types of drug charges. Sentencing Commissions Voluntary Sentencing Guidelines, which often call for extremely harsh periods of incarceration. [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. When the guidelines are amended, a subsequent, In this section, you will find the Commissions comprehensive archive of yearly amendments and. I have worked as both a civil and human rights attorney and advocate on criminal justice issues for over a decade, including the interconnected issues of reform, drug policy and racial justice as they relate to the criminal justice system. WebUSSC Guidelines. This is due in significant degree to the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentences. In this section, you will find a comprehensive collection of research and data reports published on sentencing issues and other areas of federal crime. New York Penal Law Sections 221.05 - 221.30 (possession of marijuana) Penalties and Sentences. In addition to reducing prison terms for certain offenders through sentencing reform, the bill includes provisions from the prison reform CORRECTIONS Act introduced by Senators Cornyn and Whitehouse. 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. These sentences are criminal penalties that limit judicial discretion and require judges to impose a specified minimum term of imprisonment upon conviction.[66] Nearly two-thirds of all federal drug sentences are subject to mandatory minimums. 15-cr-00449-rsh-2. Second Offense: Not more than 30 yrs. Possession Laws: Federal drug statutes outline mandatory drug sentences for the distribution, manufacturing, and possession with the intent to distribute for a variety of substances. [42] The harms experienced by people who use drugs, and their families and broader communities, as a result of the enforcement of these laws, may constitute additional, separate human rights violations. WebOther Schedule I & II drugs (and any drug product containing Gamma Hydroxybutyric Acid) Any amount . WebFEDERAL TRAFFICKING PENALTIES DRUG/SCHEDULE QUANTITY. [7] A criminal record locks these individuals out of jobs, housing, education, welfare assistance, voting and much more. Michael Lowe. The Biden-Harris Administration has already taken significant actions to address addiction and the overdose epidemic based on the Presidents Drug Policy Priorities for Year One. 2018 Guidelines Manual Annotated | United States Sentencing Commi Sentencing Commission provide judges recommended minimum and maximum terms for federal crimes. From Guilty Plea to Sentencing Hearing in a Drug Case, Prosecutors Have Standards to Follow: the Federal Principles of Prosecution. [44] Human Rights Watch, Every 25 Seconds, p. 4. On October 6, 2022, President Joseph Biden granted a pardon to current U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents convicted of the federal offense of simple possession of marijuana.
