About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1997 Guide Lines: News from the U.S. Sentencing Commission 1 (1997)

handle is hein.usfed/gdlusc1997 and id is 1 raw text is: -. tE \ T, E AI News from the U.S. Sentencing Commission June 1997 Commission Recommends New Cocaine Sentencing Policy Report to Congress Suggests Range of 0 ptions (Photo not viewable online) T1he U.S. Sentencing Commission unanimously recommended that the disparity in federal penalties for powder cocaine and crack cocaine be reduced. The recommendation came in a report submitted to Con- gress April 29, 1997, pursuant to a congressional directive. Federal law currently distinguishes between the two principal forms of cocaine by requiring much harsher sentences for trafficking in crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine. Five grams of crack and 500 grams of powder both trigger the same five-year mandatory minimum penalty, a differential known as the 100-to-i quantity ra- tio. In its recommendation, the Sentencing Commission said that although re- search and public policy may support somewhat higher penalties for crack than for powder cocaine, a 100-to-I quantity ratio cannot be justified. In the past several years, critics of the law have focused on the dispropor- tionate impact the crack penalties have had on African-American defen- dants, who account for approximately 90 percent of all offenders sentenced under the penalties for crack. Selecting the appropriate threshold for triggering the five-year mandatory minimum penalties is not a precise undertaking, the report said. The Commission is firmly and unan- imously in agreement that the current penalty differential for federal powder and crack cocaine cases should be reduced by changing quantity levels that trigger mandatory minimum penalties for both powder and crack cocaine. Instead of offering a single new ratio, the Commission recommended a range of possible options to adjust both powder and crack penalties. For powder cocaine, the Commis- sion recommends that the current 500-gram trigger for the five-year mandatory minimum sentence should be reduced to a level between 125 and 375 grams, and for crack cocaine, the current five-gram trigger should be increased to between 25 and 75 grams, the report said. Judge Richard P. Conaboy, Chairman of the Sentencing Commission, said, The ranges suggested provide Con- gress the flexibility to make an in- formed judgment about the appropri- ate penalties for these two forms of cocaine. We feel strongly, though, that the current policy must be chang- ed to ensure that severe penalties are targeted at the most serious traffick- ers. In a White House statement, Presi- dent Clinton commended the Sentenc- ing Commission and asked General Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Pol- icy, and Attorney General Janet Reno to review the Commission's recom- mendations and report back to him in 60 days. In order to act on the Commission's recommendations, Congress would need to pass and the President would Commissioner Wayne A. Budd Commissioner Budd Resigns T he U.S. Sentencing Commission dipped to four voting members due to the May 1, 1997, resigna- tion of Wayne A. Budd. Commis- sioner Budd, whose term expires Oc- tober 31, 1999, resigned to devote more time to his position as Senior Vice President at NYNEX in Boston, Massachusetts. Commissioner Budd previously served as United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, Associ- ate Attorney General of the United States, and partner at the Boston law firm of Goodwin, Procter & Hoar. Most recently at the Commission, he co-chaired the development of recom- mendations to revise federal cocaine sentencing policy. Wayne's intelligence, understanding of the criminal justice system, and compassion for his fellow man See DIPAFTY, page 2 See BUDD, page 2

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most