Booker and crack/powder cocaine sentencing
As detailed in this post, earlier this month Judge Adelman in US v. Smith, No. 02-CR-163 (E.D. Wisc. Mar. 3, 2005), used his new post-Booker authority to address the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing. I have recently been hearing reports of a number of other district judges taking similar action, and this afternoon I was informed that EDNY District Judge Charles Sifton today issued a lengthy decision in US v. Simon, 90 CR 216, in which Judge Sifton rules, inter alia, that post-Booker courts do not have to follow the 100:1 crack-powder ratio.
I hope to soon be able to provide more information about exactly what Simon says, though in the meantime I would be grateful for readers to use the comments to report other developments in the arena of crack/powder cocaine sentencing.
UPDATE: Thanks to Michael Ausbrook over at INCourts, I can now post a copy of Judge Sifton’s remarkable opinion in US v. Simon, No. CR-90-216 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 17, 2005). Though Simon is perhaps most notable for its extended crack sentencing analysis, the opinion also insightfully covers what weight the guidelines are to be given post-Booker and also has a thoughtful and thorough discussion of the purposes of punishment.
Folks interested in crack cocaine issues post-Booker should, in addition to downloading Simon, also check out recent opinions by Judge Ponsor in US v. Thomas, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3972 (D. Mass. Mar. 14, 2005), and by Judge Robinson in US v. Harris, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3958 (D.D.C. Mar. 7, 2005).