Bill Addressing Disparity In Crack Guidelines In Obama’s Hands

Written on July 28, 2010 by Howard Weiner in CRACK SENTENCING REFORM, Drug Defense, Recent Developments in the Law, Sentencing Guidelines
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

With the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 today by the House of Representatives, it is now headed to President Obama’s desk for certain signature within the next 10 days.

The Fair Sentencing Act will:

  • Replace the 100-to-1 ratio with an 18-to-1 ratio;
  • Raise the threshold for mandatory minimum sentences (28 grams would trigger a 5-year mandatory minimum and 280 grams would trigger a ten-year mandatory minimum); and
  • Eliminate altogether the 5 year mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine.

Although the bill is not retroactive (applied to those sentenced before its passage), this issue is likely to be addressed by the courts and / or Congress in light of the volume of cases that are potentially affected by it.

Congress Poised To Amend 100:1 Disparity In Crack Guidelines

Written on July 27, 2010 by Howard Weiner in Alternatives to Prison, CRACK SENTENCING REFORM, Drug Defense, Recent Developments in the Law, Sentencing Guidelines
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

As I discussed in an earlier post, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines contain a 100:1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine.  Some courts have used this disparity as grounds for a downward departure. Possession of as little as 5 grams of crack cocaine — the weight of two pennies — results in a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years, while one would need to possess 500 grams of powder cocaine to trigger the same mandatory minimum.  Congress is now considering the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

This legislation would:

1.  reduce the current crack/powder disparity from 100:1 to 18:1;

2.  eliminate a mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession (the threshold for a 5 year mandatory minimum would increase from 5 to 28 grams of crack; and

3. lower sentences of approximately 3,000 people each year and save the   government an estimated $42 million in the first five years.

DOJ Issues Guidelines for Prosecutors Regarding Criminal Discovery

Written on January 21, 2010 by Howard Weiner in Confrontation, Discovery, Recent Developments in the Law
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

Last year, the Department of Justice assembled a working group consisting of senior prosecutors, law enforcement, and information technology professionals to assess the Department’s policies and practices related to discovery. On January 4, 2010, the Deputy Attorney General issued three memos regarding criminal discovery practices, including one which specifically provides guidance for providing discovery in criminal prosecutions.

Attorney General Eric Holder stated, “The Department of Justice’s responsibility is not just to win cases, but to do justice. Along with the increased training for prosecutors we have already instituted, these new guidelines will ensure that we strive to meet that standard every day and in every case.”

The Guidelines are being released in the wake of several recent cases which have been dismissed based upon prosecutorial misconduct. These include:

- U.S. v. Stein, et al. (Indictments against former KPMG partners dismissed based upon the government’s violation of their right to counsel);

- U.S. v. Ted Stevens (Indictment against former Senator dismissed due to government’s failure to turn over potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense); and

- U.S. v. Slough et al. (Indictments against five former Blackwater security guards for shootings that left 17 civilians dead dismissed based upon, “a reckless violation of defendants’ civil rights” where, among other things, prosecutors withheld, “substantial exculpatory evidence” from the grand jury and presented, “distorted versions” of witnesses’ testimony.

The memos are available here:

• Issuance of Guidance and Summary of Actions Taken in Response to the Report of the Department of Justice Criminal Discovery and Case Management Working Group

• Requirement for Office Discovery Policies in Criminal Matters

• Guidance for Prosecutors Regarding Criminal Discovery

New Jersey Latest State to Legalize Marijuana for Medical Use

Written on January 20, 2010 by Howard Weiner in Alternatives to Prison, Drug Defense, Medical Marijuana, Recent Developments in the Law, Sentencing Guidelines

New Jersey drug defense attorney Howard Weiner discusses New Jersey’s new medical marijuana law, which will allow those living with chronic pain to legally obtain marijuana to alleviate their symptoms without fear of criminal prosecution.

Read the full article »

Sweeping Changes to New York’s DWI Laws As Leandra’s Law Unanimously Passes Senate And Signed by Governor Patterson

Written on November 18, 2009 by Howard Weiner in DWI, Recent Developments in the Law

As I discussed this weekend in The New York Times, in the wake of several highly publicized DWI fatalities in New York, the law is rapidly changing.
Administratively, the New York City Police Department and the City’s five District Attorneys have agreed to a new procedure to expedite the process of obtaining warrants for blood samples in [...]

Read the full article »

Can I Expunge My New Jersey Criminal Conviction?

Written on November 11, 2009 by Howard Weiner in Expungement of Record

Unlike New York, New Jersey does allow records of arrests and convictions to be expunged in certain circumstances.  After you expunge your criminal record, all underlying documents relating to the arrest or conviction will be destroyed, and you are legally entitled to state that the arrest or conviction never occurred.   Because the process is complicated [...]

Read the full article »

New York DWI Crackdown Announced For Halloween Weekend

Written on October 30, 2009 by Howard Weiner in DWI

A statewide DWI crackdown has been announced for this weekend.
Drivers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island,  Westchester and upstate can expect sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols, especially at major bridges, tunnels, and thoroughfares.  Drivers are reminded that .08 or above is considered to be per se intoxicated in New York.

Read the full article »

Junk Science Routinely Used By Prosecutors, Congressional Study Finds

Written on October 21, 2009 by Howard Weiner in Daubert, Drug Defense, Frye, Junk Science, Recent Developments in the Law

A  Report issued by that National Academies of Science found that evidence without proper scientific basis – also known as junk science — is routinely admitted in courts across the country in criminal prosecutions.  With the exception of nuclear DNA analysis, the report found that the evidence to support the reliability of many techniques is [...]

Read the full article »

DOJ Will No Longer Prosecute Medical Marijuana Cases

Written on October 19, 2009 by Howard Weiner in Alternatives to Prison, Drug Defense, Medical Marijuana, Recent Developments in the Law, Sentencing Guidelines, Uncategorized

The Department of Justice announced today that it will no longer seek to prosecute those who act in accordance with state law by using or distributing marijuana for medical purposes.  The directive only affects those in the 14 states which currently have medical marijuana laws: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, [...]

Read the full article »

Up to 90% of U.S. Currency Contains Cocaine Residue

Written on September 21, 2009 by Howard Weiner in Drug Defense, Junk Science

In the largest study to date of cocaine contamination in currency, scientists report that cocaine is present in up to 90 percent of paper money in the United States, particularly in large cities.  Scientists found traces of cocaine in 95 percent of the banknotes analyzed from Washington, D.C., alone.  The results were presented at the [...]

Read the full article »

Tags: