Cocaine and crack sentencing disparity cases

Race and class penalties in crack cocaine sentencing by michael coyle overview after a decade of contentious debate regarding the federal sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a number of significant initiatives to reform current policy. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 cracktopowder cocaine sentencing disparity. Columbia used these cases to create onetoone sentencing ratios of crack cocaine to powder cocaine. The adaa created a 100toone ratio between the quantity of crack versus powder cocaine needed to trigger mandatory minimum sentencing. Judge attacks disparity in cocaine sentencing the boston. The figures for the 6,020 powder cocaine cases are far less skewed. Court mulls crackcocaine sentencing disparity the supreme court hears arguments in two drugcrime cases tuesday. The following information will explain who might be eligible for a sentence reduction and how the process works. A 2010 federal law rectified some, though not all, of the sentencing disparities. Comments in the sdny, i am informed that us attorneys will be actively asking the judge to use a 1. The law includes what critics have called a 100to1 disparity. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. Since congress recognized the gaping racial disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for crack offenses and cocaine offenses and reduced the ratio from 100to1 to 18to1, courts have grappled with when and how to apply the statute to alreadydecided cases.

Supreme court will hear arguments tuesday, october 2, 2007, in a crackpowder cocaine sentencing disparity case kimbrough v. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. The resources on this page help explain the current law and applicable sentencing guidelines. Data on retroactive application of the 2007 crack cocaine amendment a set of tables presenting data on cases in which a. But it said that although the disparity between crack and powder cocaine is not sufficient in itself to justify a downward departure, such a disparity, when coupled with the improper targeting and inducement, might be sufficient to take a case outside the heartland of crack cocaine cases. Under the current law, crack users possessing only 5 grams of the drug are charged with a felony to get the same charge, powder cocaine users have to be caught with 500 grams. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. Federal sentencing guidelines in similar drug cases have changed, in particular to end disparities in how the courts treat crack cocaine vs. Now, the ten year sentence is triggered by 280 grams of crack instead of 50. While eliminating the crackpowder sentencing disparity is a critical step, it is not sufficient to reintroduce fairness and. Sentencing disparity primary sources topics in criminal.

One would think, based on the sentencing laws, that crack cocaine is a very different drug than powder cocaineand much. In fiscal year 2010, before the passage of the fair sentencing act, almost 4,000 defendants, mainly black, received mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine. Supreme court ruled that the reductions in the fair sentencing act applied to at least those cases decided before. The sentencing commission, which has recommended three times that congress narrow. Derrick kimbrough pleaded guilty to distributing fifty or more grams of crack cocaine, along with other drugand firearmrelated offenses. A federal panel has approved changes to the sentencing guidelines for defendants convicted in crackcocaine cases, taking another step toward shrinking the disparity between crack and powdercocaine sentences. Crack cocaine is made by dissolving powder cocaine a derivative of coca leaves and baking soda in boiling water and then cutting the resulting paste into small rocks after it dries. Some people serving prison sentences for crack cocaine offenses may be eligible for a sentence reduction, due to retroactive changes to the sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine. The us sentencing commission provided this analogy in 1997 to support equalizing penalties for crack and powder cocaine. The new law significantly reduces the cocaine sentencing quantity disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1 by raising the quantity of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the five and tenyear mandatory minimum sentences first set in 1986. Edward douglas is serving a life sentence for selling crack cocaine. The us supreme court monday agreed to hear the case of a virginia man sentenced under the harsh federal crack cocaine laws. So, the federal law still imposes a different and harsher sentence for crack cocaine possession than it does for powder cocaine possession, but the disparity is not nearly as great as under the 1986 act.

The difference between crack and cocaine powder cocaine powder is. What is the chemical difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Sentencing commission first called for reform of the 100. This guide highlights the incredible breadth, depth and reliability of government information on this topic. In 2010, congress passed the fair sentencing act fsa, which reduced the sentencing disparity between offenses for crack and powder cocaine from 100. Obama commutes sentences for 8 in crack cocaine cases.

At issue is whether a federal judge has the discretion to impose a more lenient sentence on sellers of crack cocaine based on a finding that the 100. One case involved a crack cocaine dealer who received a 15year term when the guidelines called for 19 to 22 years in prison. Whereas, proposals to remove the federal mandatory minimums for crack and powder cocaine, and to otherwise eliminate the disparity for crack and powder cocaine by sentencing crack in the same manner that powder cocaine is currently sentenced, would threaten efforts to investigate and prosecute significant and violent drug offenders that deal crack. Congress acts to reduce disparity drug war chronicle. At the time, possession of crack cocaine resulted in penalties 100 times higher than possession of an equal amount of the powdered form. Now that disparity is being reduced from 100to1 to 18to1. President obama signed a new law that will close the longdisputed 100. Sentencing commissions contention that the ratio led to exaggerated sentences for crack dealers. We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which. The us house of representatives approved a bill, sb 1789 on july 28. Though his case is an illustration of the disparitys pernicious effects, the.

Keith ellison spent 16 years as a trial lawyer dealing with hundreds of cases involving cocaine arrests. New drug law narrows crack, powder cocaine sentencing gap. The purpose of this report is to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal cocaine sentencing policy by congress. Congress declined to repeal the 100to1 ratio despite the u. Justices hear drug sentences disparity us news crime. Whereas, proposals to remove the federal mandatory minimums for crack and powder cocaine, and to otherwise eliminate the disparity for crack and powder cocaine by sentencing crack in the same manner that powder cocaine is currently sentenced, would threaten efforts to investigate and prosecute significant and violent drug offenders that deal. In 2010 congress passed the fair sentencing act, which repealed the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession and reduced the sentencing disparity from 100.

Since the law went into effect, the ratio dropped to 18to1. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5year mandatory minimum sentence. Crack cocaine sentencing policy prison policy initiative. Because crack and powder cocaine are two forms of the same drug, there should not be any disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses the only truly fair ratio is 1. Sentencing commission regarding the powdercrack cocaine sentencing disparity and reconsider proposals to amend the law. In whats known as the 100to1 rule, federal law mandates a 10year sentence for anyone caught with 50 grams of crack, about the weight of a candy bar. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. Here are the sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine. Crack cocaine disparity, the fair sentencing act 2010. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of. The fair sentencing act amends existing laws by increasing the amounts of crack that trigger these penalties, from five grams to 28 grams for fiveyear minimum sentences and from 50 grams to 280 grams for tenyear minimum sentences.

As an answer to this call, and in an attempt to build on currents studies on the effects of departures as an intervening mechanism, and a source of unwarranted disparity, this study explores federal sentencing data on offenders convicted of crack. Such a change would permit judges to consider the full range of sentencing criteria in all crack cocaine cases, rather than in just the relatively modest number of cases permissible under the current sentencing structure. New guidelines to reduce sentences in crackcocaine cases. Sentence reductions in crack cocaine cases federal. Advocates for changing the law point to crime statistics that show crack is more of an innercity drug while cocaine powder is used more often in the suburbs. This disparity between crack and powder cocaine was driven by fear, instead of by research, of the intensity and perceived dangers of. Introduction defender services office training division. After president obama signed off on new legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between people caught with crack cocaine and those caught with powder cocaine, the minnesota democrat spoke to huffpost about what it all means. Listed below are links to weblogs that reference cocaine cases in limbo as end looms for sentencing disparity. The rocks are usually sold in single doses to users who smoke them.