Other News for January 2, 2023--

ALERT 2020 Update – Other News for January 2, 2023 –

The last Congress is now over. It made (halting) progress on some statutory sentencing reforms, but nothing major made it all the way to the President's desk. Of course, what could you expect when you had Republican Senators like Tom Cotton, Chuck Grassley and Mike Lee against sentencing reforms. Now, starting tomorrow with the House of Representatives in Republican control in the new Congress, legislative dynamics have changed in ways that might diminish the prospects for any big reforms in 2023. But with murder rates ticking down a bit in 2022 and crime narratives seemingly not having a huge midterm political impact, perhaps some modest congressional reform could still happen in the coming year.

On the executive branch, we will be watching closely for early impacts of Attorney General Garland's new charging and sentencing memos. It will be particular interesting to see the effect of AG Garland's instructions to federal prosecutors to "promote the equivalent treatment of crack and powder cocaine offenses." And, with President Biden having used his clemency powers a few times in 2022 (with grants in April, October and December), maybe executive grace as well as prosecutorial discretion will continue to impact federal sentencing realities in 2023.

The judicial branch is the arena in which we are expecting the most action in this new year. Focusing the courts, we may see in the coming weeks if the Supreme Court is finally ready to address acquitted conduct sentencing enhancements. Other notable sentencing issues may also make their way to the U. S. Supreme Court docket because circuits are split on important topics like deference to the guidelines and application of a key part of the FIRST STEP Act. Other notable sentencing issues are sure to keep gurgling in district and circuit courts in this year.

We are most excited and confident to predict judicial branch sentencing action in 2023 because the U. S. Sentencing Commission, which is located in that branch, is finally now fully loaded and is hard at work on potential guidelines reforms. The Commission has now officially announced that it will have a public meeting on January 12, 2023 with an agenda to include "Possible Vote to Publish Proposed Guideline Amendments and Issues for Comment." Though we should not expect the USSC to advance amendments on all the topics mentioned in its ambitious list of priorities, we are sure to get some notable and impactful proposals to start the year from the Commission such as compassionate release and disparity in sentencing incorporating the U. S. Supreme Court Concepcion opinion. It has been far too long to not have any proposed Amendments because there was not enough Sentencing Commissioners. Further, the new commissioners picked are good and fair choices. For example, the opinion the new Chairman Judge Carlton W. Reeves regarding pure vs. a mixture of methamphetamine made that was in our last Newsletter.

As mentioned above, President Joe Biden closed out 2022 by granting full pardons to six people –

On December 30, 2022, the President’s pardons included: (1) a 66-year-old man who pleaded guilty to use of a communication facility (a telephone) to facilitate an unlawful cocaine transaction at age 22; (2) a 50-year-old man who pleaded guilty to involvement in a marijuana trafficking conspiracy at age 23, where his involvement was limited to serving as a courier on five or six occasions; (3) a 37-year-old man who, at approximately age 19, consumed ecstasy and alcohol while serving in the military where he later pleaded guilty at a special court-martial; (4) n 80-year-old woman who was convicted of murder in the second-degree while armed for killing her husband who at age 33 at the time of the incident, was pregnant and testified that before and during her pregnancy, her husband beat her, verbally abused her, and threatened her; (5) a 77-year-old man who pleaded guilty to one count of possession and sale of distilled spirits without tax stamps. The offense, which occurred when he was 18, involved a single illegal whiskey transaction, and resulted in nominal loss to the government; and (6) a 72-year-old man who pleaded guilty to one count of renting and making for use, as an owner, a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana plants.

On November 20, 2022, President Biden pardoned two turkeys.

On October 6, 2022, President Biden granted pardons for the offense of simple possession of marijuana. It is unknown how many federal inmates were pardoned, if any on the proclamation.

On April 26, 2022, President Biden also granted clemency to 78 individuals, consisting of three pardons and 75 commutations.

COMMENT:

We also believe that there are ways to make AG Garland’s Memo work retro in some cases with the right pleading and judge. Anyone who believes they may have a Taylor, Concepcion, Ruan, Bruen, Earned Time Credit or any other claim you believe you may have relief coming for or just want to see if we can find something that will gain you relief should opt for a Written Case Evaluation. The evaluation is an excellent tool to see what can be done for you at any stage of the proceedings. It is thorough and detailed from day one of your case.

If you are serious about fighting your case and want us to evaluate your case to see if you may have relief coming, request a Written Case Evaluation.

Request a Written Case Evaluation