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 ANNOUNCES PRIORITIES FOR COMING YEAR

The U.S. Sentencing Commission last week approved a list of policy priorities for the coming year, including a multi-year examination of the “differences in sentencing practices that have emerged across districts, within districts, and, in some cases, within courthouses under the advisory guidelines system.”

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Koons v. United States, the Commission will also consider application issues related to the calculation of retroactive sentence reductions for certain offenders convicted of mandatory minimum penalties.

For the third consecutive year, the Commission also set as a priority the adoption of a uniform definition of “crime of violence.”  The Dept. of Justice has raised several application issues that have arisen since the Commission’s 2016 amendment, including the meaning of “robbery” and “extortion.”  The Commission will also consider possible amendments to Guideline § 4B1.2 (the “career offender” guideline) to allow courts to consider the actual conduct of the defendant in determining whether an offense is a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.

The USSC will also continue to study recidivism among federal offenders as well as the use of mandatory minimum penalties in the federal system.

Over the past two years, the Commission released eight reports on those topics. Despite the net effect of the prior reports (being zero), the Commission plans an additional recidivism report this coming year, as well as reports on the use of mandatory minimums in cases involving identity theft and sex offenses.

U.S. Sentencing Commission, Final Priorities for Amendment Cycle Ending May 1, 2019 (Aug. 22, 2018)

– Thomas L. Root