A 2010 law designed to eliminate harsher sentences for black offenders convicted of crack cocaine crimes should not apply retroactively, a federal appeals court ruled in a deeply divided decision that several dissenting judges wrote amounts to furthering racial discrimination.

11-3121 U.S. v. Matthews

12-1283 U.S. v. Purnell

The Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not preclude a mandatory life sentence for dealers who possess a smaller quantity of crack cocaine than the quantity of powder cocaine necessary to trigger a similar sentence, the 7th Circuit has ruled.

12-1871 U.S. v. Williams

10-3130, 10-3505 & 11-1395 U.S. v. Jones

11-3802 U.S. v. Dixon

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that people who committed crack cocaine crimes before more lenient penalties took effect and received their prison sentence afterward should benefit from the new rules.

11-1313, 11-1323, 11-2057, 11-2061, 11-2062 & 11-2071 U.S. v. Davis

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the sentencing disparity between defendants convicted of crack cocaine-related crimes and those convicted of crimes involving the powder version of the drug.

The Supreme Court seemed split Tuesday on whether criminals who were arrested but not yet sentenced for crack cocaine offenses should be able to take advantage of newly reduced sentences.

Sentencing Crack cocaine

RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Federal officials say they’ve taken down two major drug trafficking operations in southeastern Wisconsin, including one that’s also connected to Texas and Illinois. The U.S. attorney in Wisconsin’s Eastern District, James Santelle, said 17 people have been indicted on drug trafficking and firearms offenses, including several alleged members of the Gangster Disciples street gang. Santelle said ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine

When the U.S. Supreme Court accepted review in Freeman v. U.S., it seemed that the Court would answer a straightforward question with a straightforward answer.

“All crack is cocaine base but not all cocaine base is crack,” Judge Diane S. Sykes noted in U.S. v. Edwards, 397 F.3d 570 (7th Cir. 2005).

The Obama administration is urging the U.S. Sentencing Commission to revise its guidelines to retroactively apply a 2010 law cutting the disparity between sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. If adopted, the proposal would allow more than 5,000 inmates imprisoned for crack offenses to seek an earlier release. Earlier this year, the commission amended federal sentencing guidelines covering ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine; due process The 100:1 crack to powder cocaine ratio does not violate due process. “[T]he Sentencing Commission reports also contain findings indicating that crack is at least somewhat more dangerous than powder cocaine. For example, in 2002, the Sentencing Commission reported that ‘crack is more addictive than powder, crack offenses are more likely to involve weapons or ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine That the government did not oppose a co-defendant’s motion for sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) does not entitle the defendant to a reduction. “As for the issue of a codefendant’s successful § 3582(c)(2) motion, the distinction here is that the government did, in fact, oppose Mr. Duncan’s motion. It is not for this Court to deduce ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine The FSA does not apply retroactively, and the relevant date for a determination of retroactivity is the date of the underlying criminal conduct, not the date of sentencing. “Debate surrounding the crack cocaine sentencing scheme and the infamous ‘100:1 ratio’ has been raging for years, and there is strong rhetoric to be found on either side. The ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine A defendant sentenced under the career offender guideline, but with a downward departure for substantial assistance, is not eligible for a retroactive reduction. “[S]ection 1B1.10 takes for granted that a defendant who received a ‘downward departure’ in the pre-Booker era received a specific term of imprisonment below his applicable range. Specifically, section 1B1.10(b)(2)(B) states that if a ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine; limited remand Where the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences would not have affected a career-offender’s guideline range, he is not entitled to a limited remand. “Kimbrough opened the door for policy disagreements with the Guidelines and Welton closed it only to preclude arguments based on crack/powder disparities when those challenges stemmed from the statutory maximums ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine A defendant cannot make successive motions for sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). “Redd treats §3582(c)(2) as if it countermanded the basic determinate-sentence system and bestowed on district judges a continuing power to adjust sentences-a power that would last indefinitely, unlike the older system limiting that power to 120 days after the final appellate decision. Neither ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine Relief under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2) is not available when a retroactive amendment would not have the effect of lowering the defendant’s applicable guideline range. “We agree with the Eighth Circuit’s resolution of this issue in United States v. Washington, 618 F.3d 869 (8th Cir. 2010). Washington qualified as a career offender subject to an offense level of ...

Sentencing Crack cocaine The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 is not retroactive. “Like our sister circuits that have considered this issue, see United States v. Gomes, ___ F.3d ___, No. 10-11225, 2010 WL 3810872, at *2 (11th Cir. Oct. 1, 2010); United States v. Carradine, ___ F.3d ___, No. 08-3220, 2010 WL 3619799, at *4-*5 (6th Cir. Sept. 20, 2010), ...