We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.
NEXT STEP ACT ALREADY IN WORKS
The bipartisan team that rallied House support for the First Step Act is drafting new legislation to clean up the existing criminal records of nonviolent drug offenders, a centerpiece of their efforts to pass further reforms.
Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) and Douglas Collins (R-Georgia) are looking at how to expunge the criminal records of people convicted of drug crimes before minimum sentencing requirements were reduced, to restore their eligibility to apply for certain jobs. Nationally, one out of five jobs requires some kind of license, which excludes just about everyone with a prior felony. “’What is being contemplated is removing the stain that has been put on their life’s journey as a result of a nonviolent drug offense, often occurring at a very adolescent stage of their life,” Jeffries said.
The bipartisan legislation could form the basis for what Collins said might be called a ”Next Step Act,” to follow up on the pair’s successful efforts to pass a First Step last year. Both lawmakers hope to continue their established partnership with President Donald Trump’s son in law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, with whom they worked on last year’s criminal justice reforms.
Jeffries said he also hopes to address marijuana as part of any future criminal justice package. “There’s a growing number of conservatives, libertarians and Republicans who are in agreement with Democrats, who believe that we should at least take a hard look at descheduling marijuana,” he said. “[It] shouldn’t actually be that controversial, and it’s consistent with Republican principles of states’ rights and federalism.”
Washington Post, Next step in criminal justice reform could target jobs for ex-convicts, marijuana law (Jan. 17, 2019)
Chicago Tribune, Bipartisan authors of federal sentencing reform have new goal (Jan. 23)
– Thomas L. Root