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

GUN AND RE-GUN

The Sentencing Commission does not have enough members for a quorum, so it cannot adopt any Guidelines changes. It still has a busy staff, however, and keeps grinding out studies.

At the end of June, the Commission issued a study of about 3,500 federal firearms offenders, reporting that

•   Gun offenders commit new crimes at a higher rate than non-gun offenders, with 68% being arrested for a new crime during the eight years following release, compared to 46% of non-gun offenders, with higher percentages in every age and criminal history group;

• Gun defendants re-offend more quickly than non-gun defendants. The median time from release to the first new crime was 17 months, compared to 22 months for non-gun people; and

•   More gun offenders were rearrested for serious crimes than non-gun offenders, with assault was the most serious new charge for 29%, followed by drug trafficking (14%) and public order crimes (12%). Of the non-gun offenders, assault was the most common new charge for 22%, followed by 19% for public order crimes and 11% for drug trafficking;

United States Sentencing Commission, Recidivism Among Federal Firearms Offenders (June 27, 2019)

– Thomas L. Root