Judicial Conference urges retroactivity of new crack guidelines
Adding a very significant voice in the debate over making the US Sentencing Commission’s new crack guidelines retroactive, the Criminal Law Committee of the Judicial Conference has sent a thoughtful and powerful letter to the USSC supporting retroactivity. This detailed letter (which was authored by Judge Paul Cassell on his last day as a judge) can be downloaded below. Here is the opening paragraph:
I am writing on behalf of the Judicial Conference’s Criminal Law Committee to recommend to the Sentencing Commission that its amendment lowering cocaine base (i.e., “crack” cocaine) penalties apply retroactively. While concerned about the impact that retroactivity may have on the safety of communities, a majority of the Committee believes that the Commission’s precedents, and a general sense of fairness, dictate retroactive application. The Committee also believes that the burden to the courts and probation officers associated with resentencings is not a sufficiently countervailing consideration. The Committee’s recommendation rests on the hope that the Commission will implement procedures to reduce the administrative burden on the federal judiciary associated with the resentencings that would attend retroactive application. The Committee is prepared to help develop and implement such procedures and respectfully suggests that the Commission do what it can to put them in place before applying its amendment retroactively.
Download clc_letter_re_crack_retroactivity.pdf
Some related guidelines retroactivity posts:
- Latest FSR issue covers crack sentencing
- Is there any principled basis for DOJ opposition to the crack amendment being retroactive?
- Debate over retroactive application of new crack guidelines
- USSC analysis on potential crack amendment retroactivity impact
- ABA makes pitch for USSC crack amendments to be made retroactive