Skip to content
Version 1.0.0
Sentencing Law and Policy
Part of the Law Professor Blogs Network

When exactly in “early 2022” might we expect Prez Biden’s nominees to the US Sentencing Commission?

By Douglas Berman

The question in the title of this post is prompted by this new Law360 article, which discusses the quorum-less status of the US Sentencing Commission and includes a prediction from the last remaining Commissioner as to when new USSC nominations may be forthcoming. The piece is headlined “Biden’s Inaction Keeps Justice Reform Group Sidelined,” and here are a few excerpts:

In November, Reps. Kelly Armstrong, R-N.D., and Jamie Raskin, D-Md., sent a letter to Biden urging him to fill vacancies on the Sentencing Commission, saying that the commission’s inability to issue sentencing guidelines for the First Step Act could result in “uneven application of the law.”

“It is imperative that the vacancies are expeditiously filled so the commission can continue its work to improve the federal criminal justice system,” the pair said in the Nov. 22 letter.

Armstrong told Law360 that he sent the letter to Biden because having the commission’s input would be beneficial as the Senate considers advancing the EQUAL Act, or Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act — a proposed law that would completely eliminate sentencing disparities between crack and powdered cocaine offenses.  The bill has passed in the House.

“Nobody’s ever lost an election being tough on crime, so if you want reasonable smart policy changes, you need experts to give you the advice, because then, you can utilize that, and you don’t take as much political heat,” Armstrong said about the Sentencing Commission.

Congress is currently considering several sentencing reform bills in addition to the EQUAL Act.  Though lawmakers are running out of time to pass the proposed laws with its winter recess scheduled to start Dec. 11.  Four of the proposed sentencing reform bills — the Smarter Sentencing Act, the Preventing Unfair Sentencing Act, the RAISE Act and the Ending the Fentanyl Crisis Act — specifically call on the Sentencing Commission to review and revise its sentencing guidelines, if necessary to comply with the legislation.  However, the commission wouldn’t be able to comply with these directives as long as it lacks a quorum.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about why Biden hasn’t nominated commissioners for the Sentencing Commission yet or when he will announce his nominees.

Breyer, the sole remaining commissioner, told Law360 that he has been in contact with the White House and believes it is currently vetting candidates. He said that he is hoping for a slate of nominees in early 2022.  The White House is “certainly overworked, but I still think that there is some priority in getting this taken care of,” Breyer said.

If there truly was “some priority” in staffing the US Sentencing Commission, I think we would have and could have already seen some USSC nominees now 11 months into the Biden Administration.  But I suppose this setting justifies the old saying “better late than never.” 

I sincerely hope Judge Breyer’s prediction of “nominees in early 2022” means sometime in January or February.  The process of Senate confirmation likely takes a few months even under the best of circumstances, and the prospect of confirmations would seem to diminish as we get closer to the midterm elections.  So even uncontroversial nominations made in January might not result in a full and functioning Commission until Spring 2022.  I fear later and/or controversial nominees could mean we do not get a full and functioning Commission at all in 2022.     

A few of many prior recent related posts: