Hearings on Sensenbrenner bill

While we await word from the USSC and DOJ on Blakely, we can soon expect to hear from some Congress members about federal sentencing. A hearing scheduled for Tuesday, July 6 before the House of Representative’s Crime Subcommittee, although it’s formally to consider a drug sentencing bill that Congressman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), introduced about a week before Blakely changed the sentencing universe.

Sensenbrenner’s bill, H.R. 4547, is called “Defending America’s Most Vulnerable: Safe Access to Drug Treatment and Child Protection Act of 2004.” Though styled as a measure to promote drug treatment while protecting children, the bill includes a broad slate of harsh mandatory minimum sentences for a wide rnage of drug crimes.

Families Against Mandatory Minimums has a thoughtful explanation of the bill’s most troublesome features here as well as a full analysis of the bill’s provisions here. Likewise, the folks at TalkLeft discuss the Sensenbrenner bill’s problems here and here.

Of course, the Blakely decision will be an unavoidable topic of discussion during the hearings. But how will it be discussed? Will there be any bashing of Justice Scalia and Judge Cassell as “activist judges”?