We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues. 

SENTENCING COMMISSION DOES NOTHING ON FIRST OFFENDER PROPOSAL

In a half-hour meeting ending yesterday, the U.S. Sentencing Commission promulgated amendments which will become effective on November 1, 2018, unless Congress blocks their effectiveness. As expected, the Commission proposed tough new sentencing guidelines for synthetic drugs like fentanyl. But not as anticipated, the USSC mentioned nothing about its ballyhooed First Offender Proposal.

Last year, the Commission proposed a “First Offender” amendment, one that would give additional Guidelines benefit to people with pure criminal records. The USSC proposed that the virgins of the criminal world – people who had no prior convictions – get bonus points for a prior record that’s even better than Crim I.

For prisoners, the proposal has been the most hyped change in the Guidelines since the 2014 drug table amendments, despite the fact that its retroactivity was in doubt. Yet at yesterday’s meeting, without a single mention, the Commission adjourned without acting on the proposal.

As we have reported, if President Trump is successful in get his latest two nominees past the Senate and onto the Commission, retroactivity will enter the dark ages. But judging from yesterday’s nonevent, it looks like things could not get a whole lot worse for the already-sentenced.

U.S. Sentencing Commission, Amendments to Sentencing Guidelines (Preliminary) (April 12, 2018)

– Thomas L. Root