Monday, September 8, 2014

White Collar Offenders Now on Sentencing Commission's List of Priorities for New Year


Sentencing Commission Shifts Focus to White Collar Sentence Reform

 

By Derek Gilna

 

            For the past several years, the main proponent of sentencing reform at the federal level has been the U.S. Sentencing Commission.  While most of its policy emphasis has been on providing a mechanism for reducing the sentences of drug offenders, due largely to their greater incarceration levels, white collar sentence relief has also been on the Commission’s informal agenda.  There has been an obvious need for reform on so-called “loss” calculations, which often seem to be argued by prosecutors with little or no factual underpinning, and greatly inflate white-collar sentences, much as “relevant conduct” has been used to increase drug sentences.

            The U.S. Sentencing Commission has officially made “consideration of federal sentences for economic crimes and continued work on addressing concerns with mandatory minimum penalties,” one of its priorities for 2015.  For those of you have followed the workings of this powerful bureaucracy will note that this is the same pattern that developed that led to crack law sentence reduction, as well as the recent two-level reduction for drug offenders.

            My suspicion is that as soon as the November elections are completed you might very well see Congressional action on sentencing reform in the “lame-duck” session at the end of the year.  When the electoral pressures of the election cycle are completed, there is a greater chance that the new sentencing reform laws that have passed out of committee can progress to a vote, and ultimately, passage into law.  That appears to also be the thrust of the Sentencing Commission’s recent publicity statements, which both challenge and encourage Congress to match Commission reforms with those of their own.

            There also appears to be a movement to redefine what constitutes a “crime of violence,” and “drug trafficking offense,” whose overbroad interpretation by prosecutors has also led to unnecessarily long sentences.  This could be an overlooked avenue of future sentence relief.

            As developments continue, I will make you aware of them.  If you need someone to help you navigate these complicated avenues for possible sentence relief, why not seek help from those whose commitment to prisoner relief stems from years of experience?  The choice is clear.