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

SLEEPY IN WASHINGTON

I am already getting questions from people wondering what new laws have been passed on meth, cocaine, guns, porn, you name it.

The answer never changes. None. Nada. Zilch.

The sad fact is that we have a new Congress, now only 50 days old. As Politico put it, “the new Congress has accomplished almost nothing so far… The House and Senate have not passed any new laws, the speaker is jostling with Biden over the debt ceiling and the new Congress’ most significant collaboration was agreeing to meet for the State of the Union. The Democratic Senate has held just eight roll-call votes on nominees and approved only one piece of new legislation alongside a host of non-binding resolutions. The House GOP, meanwhile, has rammed through dozens of bills — few, if any, of which have a chance of coming to the Senate floor.”

It’s a preview of the long slog that Washington expects during divided government. And sadly, it’s a long slog that will probably yield as much criminal justice as the last two years, which is to say “none.”

I reported January 30th that the EQUAL Act was about to be reintroduced. Last Friday, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Richard Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, along with Representatives Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), the House Democratic Leader, announced the reintroduction of the “bipartisan” EQUAL Act (H.R. 1062 in the House, S.524 in the Senate) which would eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity and apply it retroactively to those already convicted or sentenced.

Ohio State University law professor Doug Berman wrote in his Sentencing Law and Policy blog last Saturday that “during the last Congress, I became way too optimistic about the prospect of passage of the EQUAL Act to entirely eliminate the federal crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity. But after the US House voted overwhelmingly, 361-66, to pass the EQUAL Act and after the Senate version secured 11 GOP sponsors, I really thought nearly four decades of a misguided sentencing structure could be coming to an end. But… opposition from some key Republican Senators prevented the bill from getting to the desk of President Biden. I am now inclined to be much less optimistic about the EQUAL Act’s chance in the new Congress.”

Politico, Conservatives gloat as Congress starts off with little to show (February 13, 2023)

Sentencing Law and Policy, Renewed bipartisan effort to end the federal crack/powder sentencing disparity via the EQUAL Act (February 18, 2023)

Press Release, Booker, Durbin, Armstrong, Jeffries Announce Re-Introduction of Bipartisan Legislation to Eliminate Federal Crack and Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity (February 17, 2023)

Ripon Advance, Armstrong unveils bill to end federal sentencing disparity for cocaine offenses (February 22, 2023)

– Thomas L. Root