Some early commentary on notable end-of-year federal criminal justice reform developments

I hope and expect that the new charging and sentencing memos issued by AG Garland (basics here), as well as the failure of the out-going Congress to pass any significant criminal justice reforms, will garner extended attention and analysis in the weeks and months ahead.  Usefully, I have already seen some first-cut accountings from a variety of sources:

From Filter, “The Limits of AG’s Guidelines Against Crack-Powder Sentencing Disparity“

From LISA-Legalinfo, “Blue Christmas for Criminal Justice Reforms“

From MSNBC, “Racist war on drugs is the real winner of Congress’s massive spending bill“

From Reason, “The Failure To Enact Marijuana Banking and Crack Sentencing Reforms Is a Window on Congressional Dysfunction“

From San Diego Union-Tribune, “Creating different punishments for crack and powder cocaine never made sense, unscientific“

Looking forward, the practical impact of AG Garland’s charging and sentencing memos, the continued implementation of the FIRST STEP Act, and especially the coming work of the newly, fully-staffed U.S. Sentencing Commission will be topics to watch closely in the weeks and months ahead.  So, I am tentatively hopeful that the lack of much lasting federal criminal justice reform in 2022 is just a precursor to a big 2023 ahead.