Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

Unanimous(!!) vote by Senate Judiciary Committee to reduce (but not eliminate) crack/powder disparity

By Douglas A. Berman

As detailed in this new press release from Families Against Mandatory Minimums, this morning "the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously passed a bill that would reduce the sentencing disparity between federal crack and powder cocaine offenses."   Here are the basic details, with a pitch-perfect first-cut reaction from the head of FAMM: The bipartisan vote to approve an amended version of Senator Richard Durbin?s (D-Ill.) bill, S. 1789, acknowledging that disparate sentencing policies enacted for federal crack cocaine offenses in 1986 have had a negative impact on the nation?s criminal justice system. The amended bill would reduce the ratio between crack and powder cocaine from 100:1 to 20:1 and direct the U.S. Sentencing Commission to enhance penalties for aggravating factors like violence or bribery of a law enforcement officer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on March 11, 2010 (boomark / email).