US Sentencing Commission schedules public hearing to consider retroactivity of amendments to criminal history rules
I received an official email today from the US Sentencing Commission providing “Notice of Public Hearing” to be on Wednesday, July 19, 2023 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM (EDT). Here is the topic:
Pursuant to Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Practice and Procedure of the United States Sentencing Commission, a public hearing of the Commission is scheduled for Wednesday, July 19, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (EDT). The hearing will be held at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle, N.E., in the Commissioners’ Conference Room of Suite 2-500 (South Lobby).
The purpose of the public hearing is for the Commission to gather testimony from invited witnesses concerning whether the Commission should designate as retroactive Parts A and B of the 2023 Criminal History Amendment. Because these two provisions reduce the sentencing range for some offenders, the Commission is statutorily required to determine whether either or both of these parts of the amendment should be applied retroactively to previously sentenced, imprisoned defendants.
The hearing will also be livestreamed and recorded at this link.
Related Materials: Public Comment and Impact Analysis
The Commission requested public comment on this issue and received thousands of submissions. The comment period has now closed. On May 15, 2023, the Commission also published an analysis of the impact of the amendment if parts A and B are made retroactive.